Sixteen TRIO students will be better prepared to start classes this fall thanks to a $2,384 mini-grant from the Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Foundation.
The TRIO Student Support Services program at the Quad-Cities Campus serves first-generation students, low-income students and students with a documented disability who plan to transfer to pursue a four-year degree.
“These groups tend to have lower graduation and retention rates,” said Lisa Hansen, director of tutoring and TRIO Student Support Services.
College Experience and Success (CES 100) can help students prepare for college classes. Hansen applied for a mini-grant to cover the cost of tuition for 16 new TRIO students to take the one-hour class this summer.
“The hope is this class will ramp up the skills they need to complete their degrees at Black Hawk College then continue on at a four-year college/university to finish their bachelor’s degree,” Hansen said.
TRIO student Natalia Rosales took CES 100 and said it taught her college basics such as emailing instructors, how to take notes, how to prepare for exams or tests, and tips on different ways to study.
“The CES course has assisted me in many ways,” she said. “Many of the skills I learned in class, I still use today.”
While the BHC Quad-Cities Foundation is most known for providing scholarships to students, it also helps support innovative projects that encourage student success through the mini-grants program.
“The TRIO staff, students and I would like to extend our deepest thanks to the BHC Quad-Cities Foundation for this tuition mini-grant,” Hansen said. “We greatly appreciate the continued gracious support of the TRIO program.”
BHC Quad-Cities Foundation mini-grants range from $500-$2,500. Applications are accepted four times a year. For more information, contact Zenaida Landeros at landerosz@bhc.edu.
Pictured from left to right are Zenaida Landeros, executive director of the BHC QC Foundation; Natalia Rosales, TRIO student; Renata Lara; TRIO student; Danielle Townsend, recent BHC grad and former TRIO student; and Lisa Hansen, director of tutoring and TRIO Student Support Services.