Kilgore College will celebrate National TRIO Day Feb. 28

The Kilgore College TRIO Student Support Services program (SSS), Upward Bound program (UB) and the Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) will celebrate National TRIO Day on Friday, Feb. 28.

The cities of Longview and Kilgore will also officially recognize Feb. 28, 2025, as National TRIO Day, honoring the impact of TRIO programs in empowering students and fostering educational success.

For millions of students from low-income families who strive to be the first in their families to attend and graduate from college, eight federally funded programs called TRIO are making a world of difference. KC currently has three TRIO programs annually serving approximately 1,200 students from different populations in the Northeast Texas area.

The program, first introduced in 1968 under the Higher Education Act, was named TRIO because it consisted of three programs: Upward Bound, Talent Search and Student Support Services.  Serving U.S. citizens and permanent residents, TRIO now includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs. TRIO also includes a training program for directors and staff of TRIO projects.

In its 19th year at KC, the TRIO Student Support Services program was awarded a $1.37 million federal grant in 2020 to continue its services through the year 2025.

Since 2001, the TRIO SSS program at KC has helped almost 2,200 students with their educational needs. TRIO SSS annually serves 160 students enrolled at KC.

The KC Upward Bound pre-college program is in its 18th year and services 50 students each year from Kilgore High School, Longview High School and Pine Tree High School.

In 2022, the UB Program at KC was awarded a $1.48 million federal grant to continue services through 2027.

KC was awarded a $1.2 million federal grant in 2021 to establish an Educational Opportunity Center, with funding through 2026. The EOC annually serves 850 potential and current college students with college admissions and enrollment processes.

For more information on KC’s TRIO SSS program, contact assistant director Heidi Everett at (903) 988-7592, heverett@kilgore.edu or visit www.kilgore.edu/trio.

For more information on KC Upward Bound, contact UB director Rebekah Metcalf at (903) 988-3760,  rmetcalf@kilgore.edu or visit www.kilgore.edu/upward-bound.

For more information on KC’s Educational Opportunity Center, contact EOC director Rosa Hopkins at (903) 983-8615, rhopkins@kilgore.edu or visit  www.kilgore.edu/eoc.