June 28, 2012

On Friday, June 29th from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, TRiO programs from southwest Ohio will gather in Kelly Auditorium of Xavier University’s Alter Hall to discuss “Advocacy: TRiO and Me.”

The Federal TRiO Programs are Federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. TRiO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and those with disabilities with progressing through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.

Groups from the University of Cincinnati, UC Clermont, Cincinnati State & Technical College, the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Xavier University, high schools, and students, parents, politicians, and TRiO personnel will learn about advocacy.

“TRiO is an answer to many of the problems facing our society today,” says Amy Reed, Xavier University’s TRiO director. “It confronts the problems of an undereducated workforce. It educates and empowers those who have the potential to make significant contributions to society but who need help to become educated and successful.”

Attendees on June 29 will learn two kinds of advocacy. First, they will learn to be self-advocates, to take charge of their own education and their own lives. Second, they will learn to advocate for TRiO and other programs that benefit society.

The agenda:

10:00 – 10:15 – Opening session (Welcome from Scott Chadwick, PhD, Xavier Provost and Chief Academic Officer, and TRiO history by Dan Schneider, director of TRiO, Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound)

10:30 – 11:15 – Student and parent workshops (conducted by students and other personnel from UC and Xavier) covering communication and financial literacy topics
11:30 – 12:00 – Congressional panel – State Representatives Denise Driehaus and Peter Stautberg, and Brad Wenstrup, candidate for Second District United States House of Representatives and aide to Senator Rob Portman

12:15 – 1:00 – Lunch in Hoff Dining Commons (Fenwick Place)

1:15 – 2:00 – Student and parent workshops (conducted by students and other personnel from UC and Xavier) covering decision making and differences to expect in college versus high school

2:15 – 2:30 – Closing session (Recap by Amy Reed, Director of TRiO and Student Support Services at Xavier)