Iowa Senator Joni Ernst was on campus last Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, to learn more about Southwestern's TRIO programs. Southwestern houses a TRIO-Talent Search (TS) program, as well as TRIO-Student Support Services (SSS).
The TRIO participants in attendance took time to tell Ernst heartfelt stories of how TRIO has assisted/is assisting them in earning their high school and college educations. TRIO programs are designed to assist secondary and post-secondary students who are first generation (neither parent has a four-year college degree), have documented disabilities, or are low income. Many of these students said they could not have done it without the assistance of TRIO and the staff members working for TRIO.
Students sharing their stories with Ernst included the following:
- Macy Burgess of Villisca, a graduate of Southwest Valley High School and Central College. Burgess is currently working on her master's degree at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
- Reagan Brown of Afton. Brown is a graduate of East Union High School and the University of Northern Iowa.
- Abbe Baumfalk of Murray. She is a senior at Murray High School and will be graduating this spring.
- Kaydence Kirkland of Greenfield. She is an eighth grader at Orient-Macksburg. She plans to attend SWCC following high school graduation and major in physical therapy.
The ceremony also included a scholarship presentation. Baumfalk was announced as this year's winner of the Karen and Cody Shay Scholarship. The scholarship has a value of $1,000 and is awarded to "a deserving Talent Search student who completed an outstanding scholarship application, who shows dedication to their academics, and has been active in their community and Talent Search." Karen was a former employee of SWCC's TRIO-TS department and the couple gives generously for this scholarship each year.
Pictured above (L to R): Chase Miner, SWCC student and TRIO-SSS participant; Abbe Baumfalk; Reagan Brown; Iowa Senator Joni Ernst; Erica Frey, SWCC TRIO-TS director; Macy Burgess; Laurie Besco, SWCC TRIO-SSS director; Kaydence Kirkland; and Dr. Marjorie McGuire-Welch, SWCC president.
