Big Bend CC receives continuing Trio grant

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College will receive a $2.4 million, five-year grant to continue its Upward Bound services for students.

Big Bend provides Upward Bound services for students in Grant and Adams counties. The program offers academic tutoring, mentoring, financial advice and social enrichment. Upward Bound is designed to help low-income students, many of whom are the first in their families to go to college.

The program, called Trio, included 117 students from Moses Lake, Warden, Othello. Royal and Lake Roosevelt high schools in the 2016-17 school year, said Matt Killebrew, BBCC communications director. Of those students, 22 were high school juniors and seniors in the Running Start program.

All the high school seniors in the program graduated from high school and will be attending college for the 2017-18 school year, Killebrew said. Two students in the BBCC program won $20,000 Dell scholarships; they were among 400 winners nationwide.

The Upward Bound/Trio program includes a summer component. The 2017 class will include 52 students from Grant and Adams county high schools, living on the BBCC campus during the six-week course. Classes include both high school and college coursework.

Eight are taking BBCC classes “while working on campus in a position similar to work-study.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of the summer program at BBCC, Killebrew said.

In addition, Trio students receive help preparing for college placement tests, assistance with college and financial aid applications, along with academic tutoring. Participants also take classes to increase academic skills and can visit college campuses at no cost to the students.

“In our program, we teach students that a goal without a plan is just a wish,” wrote program director Anita De Leon. “We assist students in developing an academic plan, teach them how to set goals and the necessary skills to accomplish them.” Big Bend has the oldest Upward Bound program in Washington, De Leon said.

Upward Bound dates to 1964. It’s an initiative by the federal government to provide help for low-income students who want to go to college, and who might be the first in their family to attend college.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.