TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) celebrates another successful year of financial aid planning, transfer field trips to universities around the nation, and hosting workshops to build confidence in life and career skills. TRIO SSS serves first-generation college students along with low-income students and students with disabilities. It has operated on Eastfield’s campus for more than 20 years.
TRIO SSS assists students with their financial aid applications and makes sure uncertainties are settled at the financial aid office. It prepares students to afford and plan for transferring to four-year universities. TRIO SSS also holds workshops for members to develop important life skills.
“A lot of our student success workshops are geared for first-generation students and ensuring that they’re receiving the tools necessary to advocate for themselves,” said Nayely Martinez De Lima, senior manager of TRIO SSS at the Eastfield campus. She’s worked for TRIO SSS at Eastfield for two years and has five years of experience working for TRIO programs.
Another benefit of TRIO SSS is the field trips, designed to introduce members to universities they may not have access to alone. They’ve toured universities all throughout Texas, including University of Houston, University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University. On select trips to New York City and Washington, D.C., members had the opportunity to tour Colombia, Pace, American and Georgetown Universities.
When asked about what her favorite memory in TRIO SSS has been this year, Martinez De Lima replied with an anecdote about the New York trip, “Just seeing them think or know that there’s more to what’s here in Dallas and that they are able to apply to these schools and get in.”
TRIO programs are some of the first initiatives funded by the federal government designed to serve first-generation students. The government coined the term “first generation,” which became official in the 1980s, to represent students who are the first to graduate in their immediate family.
Being a first-generation student herself, Martinez De Lima ran a book club throughout the school year with her coworker, Jessenia Balderas, a program services coordinator for TRIO SSS. They read and talked about first-gen hardships and experiences. “It was a very intimate setting here at our office space, and students were very vulnerable when opening up about some of the challenges that they encountered as a first-gen student,” she recalled.
TRIO SSS created a community for students to support each other, socialize and practice networking skills. Consistent care from both staff and students allows each member to find their voice. “I think, oftentimes, first-generation students hesitate asking for help because they’re so used to doing things on their own,” Martinez de Lima said.
TRIO was awarded Outstanding Student Organization of the Year at the Student Life and Engagement Awards in April for its constant effort to lift students higher and help them set goals for their careers. For further questions about TRIO SSS membership eligibility, visit their office on the second floor of building B, room B2400.
Martinez De Lima emphasizes that students don’t have to be considered first-generation or qualify for TRIO SSS to share similar experiences or need additional resources, and they’re valid to reach out for extra help. To first-generation students, she urges them to keep overcoming adversity saying, “First-gen is not a limitation.”
