The University of Guam TRiO program recently received a five-year, $1.8M federal grant to support its Educational Talent Search (ETS) program.

TRiO’s ETS program will receive $354,240 each year until 2021 from the U.S. Department of Education to support services targeted to middle and high school students from low income families and first generation college students.

TRiO Director Yoichi K. Rengiil said with the help of TRiO’s three assistant directors—Chrislynn R. Takawo, Lovey Mongami, and Ms. Rowena T. Andrade—TRiO is able to craft and submit grant proposals that keep their programs funded every year.

“Writing grant proposals is, not by any stretch of the imagination, an easy thing to do, but it’s well worth it for the students we serve,” Rengiil said. “The mission of our programs is to help middle and high school students complete, at least, a secondary education and enroll in the post-secondary educational institution of their choice. We’re happy that our Education Talent Search has been funded for another five years.”

The ETS Program, which currently serves 738 students from across the island, is 100-percent federally funded, making the need for grants essential to the success of the program, Rengiil said.

UOG TRIO’s mission is to motivate and assist economically and educationally disadvantaged students from our community and Micronesia, to ensure their progress through the academic pipeline, from middle school through post-secondary programs, and to increase college retention and graduation rates of the target population.  For more information about UOG TRIO programs, call (671) 735-2246 or visit www.uog.edu/trio.