Students write letters, fight for TRIO program

MOSES LAKE — Some Moses Lake High School students gathered April 30 to make their voices heard. 

“I’ve grown up in a low-income first-generation household,” Vanguard Academy student Daniel Heeney wrote in a letter to state Rep. Alex Ybarra. “I’ve always wanted to pursue higher education and a career as a veterinarian, but that would not have been possible without TRIO (Upward Bound). Before I joined TRIO UB I lacked things like motivation, knowledge, and leadership. TRIO UB provided me with knowledge and insights that have helped me find and win scholarships making college more affordable.” 

Heeney was one of about 20 students from the TRIO Upward Bound program who gathered to write to lawmakers at both the state and federal levels, asking them to fight to keep the program funded. The proposed federal budget for 2026 eliminates funding for the program, which helps low-income and first-generation students go on to higher education. 

TRIO staff help students apply for scholarships and sometimes take them on campus tours if their parents are unable to, explained WSU TRIO Upward Bound Program Director Irina Estes. WSU TRIO serves 63 students at Moses Lake High School, Estes said, and a TRIO program at Big Bend Community College serves other MLHS students. 

Last year’s budget would have cut the program as well, Estes said, but Congress replaced the funding, and the students hope to make that happen again. 

“One of my students came to me and ... said ‘I heard there’s a possibility that TRIO won’t be around next year, and what can we do to help fight that?’” Estes said. 

That student, Serenity Maltos, reached out to other students in both the WSU TRIO and the sister chapter at Big Bend and arranged a time for students to gather at Moses Lake high School to write letters and emails to their elected officials about their experiences in the program, Estes said. The event was completely student-led, Estes added, although some TRIO staff members were there as volunteers on their own time. 

“The students … were the ones who opened up the meeting explaining what’s happening,” Estes said. “They’re the ones who were walking around and providing feedback.” 

“Before TRIO, I believed that being a first-generation student meant having to be alone through everything,” Janet Farias wrote. “I could not rely on my parents for tutoring or help with homework. I could not rely on my siblings, as I am the oldest. I only had myself to rely on, through getting through my homework, through finding and applying for scholarships, and through understanding what it meant to go through college. However, upon joining TRIO, I realized that this was not a journey I had to do alone, as with TRIO, I learned that being a first-generation student would be me having an education beyond high school, as my parents were unable to pursue that.” 

Sophomore Sparrow Skinner addressed her request to Sen. Maria Cantwell. 

“TRIO doesn’t just help people who are struggling financially. It is not a handout. It is a support, and for many, a lifeline. TRIO helps people who are first-generation college students, people in marginalized communities, and people who have no idea how to further their education. It isn’t free money. It’s equity.”