When Laura Tran first stepped onto Michigan State University’s campus, she didn’t know anything about college.
Tran, a first-generation college student, came to MSU without a strong support system to help start her college career. She didn’t understand FAFSA and financial aid, didn’t know which classes to enroll in and struggled to navigate the extensive MSU campus.
Just as Tran was beginning to feel lost, a friend three years ahead of her shared information about TRIO Student Support Services, or TRIO SSS, a program at MSU dedicated to supporting first-generation students throughout their college journey. She connected with TRIO SSS a few weeks before starting her freshman year and, soon, her questions were being answered. With each interaction, Tran gained confidence and comfort as she embarked on her journey as a Spartan.
“When I came to MSU, I didn’t know what to do,” she said, crediting TRIO SSS for helping her reach academic success. “I evolved mentally and academically, and I’ve learned so much. I’ve grown as a person, and it’s all thanks to TRIO SSS because, without them, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today. They taught me so much, and I will forever be indebted to them.”
TRIO SSS is a federally funded program designed to support first-generation and limited-income undergraduate students, as well as students with disabilities. Through support such as academic advising, peer mentoring, academic tutoring, financial literacy coaching and graduate school preparation, TRIO SSS works to increase graduation rates, retention and persistence among its student population.
Over the last five years, graduation rates of the students served offer a look at the success of the program, including a 79% graduation rate for 2023-24, an increase from 77% in 2022-23; in 2021-22, the graduation rate rose as high as 82% over 76% in 2020-21. In addition, about 85% of TRIO SSS students have finished in good academic standing every year from 2020-21 to 2023-24.
MSU’s TRIO SSS is funded to serve 600 students per year, making it the largest single student support services program among universities in the state and among the largest in the country, according to Jieron Robinson, TRIO Student Support Services program director.
Figuring out the hidden curriculum
Robinson, who also was a first-generation student at Eastern Michigan University, understands the challenges faced by the students he now serves. He and his team work diligently to ensure that TRIO SSS provides the services, support and resources needed to help their students succeed.
“One of the first challenges students face when they come to college is the hidden curriculum. We bring them to Michigan State, give them this amazing opportunity, and then just set them free,” he said. “They have to figure out how financial aid works, how to register for classes and how those choices affect their aid. The hidden curriculum is something students must navigate, especially during the transition from high school to college. TRIO SSS is a program that helps them with that transition. We provide resources to guide them in registering for classes, setting academic and professional goals and ensuring they are supported holistically.”
To receive TRIO SSS support, students submit an application, provide necessary documentation and income verification and acknowledge whether they are first-generation students. Applications are vetted by an academic advisor and approved by Robinson. After completing an orientation, students are free to use the tools and resources that TRIO SSS offers.
Eligible students can receive supplemental grant aid from TRIO SSS each spring semester. The program also provides emergency grant aid for students who are at high risk of dropping out or facing barriers that affect their college journey. These efforts are designed to improve TRIO SSS participants’ retention by supplementing financial assistance.
Robinson and the TRIO SSS team also work to provide cultural enrichment to the students they serve, giving them experiences they may not have access to outside the program. Past trips to cities like Boston and Chicago gave students opportunities to visit museums, tour historic sites and explore graduate schools.
“We’re really like a family”
Through the TRIO SSS summer bridge program, eligible students can come to campus a week before the fall semester begins for workshops, sessions and partner presentations. This gives them a chance to get acclimated to campus and to learn about the various resources offered by MSU to help them succeed in their college journey.
It’s through the summer bridge program that Kayla Lewis first got involved with TRIO SSS. Lewis, now a TRIO SSS alumna and a social work graduate student at MSU, is also a first-generation college student. She arrived at MSU without knowing anyone and without awareness of the tools and resources available to her.
As Lewis approached high school graduation and prepared for her journey at MSU, a TRIO SSS representative visited her school to share information about the resources offered, including the summer program. Once she arrived on campus, Lewis found not only the support and resources she needed, but also a community that provided a sense of belonging she hadn’t realized was missing.
“TRIO SSS has really helped me build the confidence and the skills to succeed in college,” she said. “From the advising to the tutoring and mentorship, those were all essential but, just as important, was having people who believed in me and pushed me to my highest potential. Without TRIO SSS, I may not have had the guidance or the encouragement to keep going when things got tough.”
The TRIO Student Support Services program has been a staple at MSU for more than 30 years, making it one of the largest and oldest TRIO programs in the country. Its continued success is something that students, as well as Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Student Success Renata Opoczynski, credit the TRIO SSS staff for.
The staff is composed of former first-generation college students who know the struggles, challenges, abilities and strengths that the students they serve face.
“What gives it that unique spark is that the staff really does take it personally because we have been that student,” Robinson said. “We have been in their shoes.”
Some students may encounter impostor syndrome and feel they can’t be successful at MSU, that they don’t belong here. But by connecting with peer mentors and working with staff, they come to understand how much they matter, that they belong and add value to MSU, and they can be successful at the university.
“It increases access. They show students that a path for them is feasible at MSU. They’re wanted here and we have full faith that they can be successful here, and the TRIO SSS program will be a key part of that,” Opoczynski said. “With our land-grant mission, I think the more pathways and opportunities we provide for students to come to MSU, the better.”
Thanks to federal support, the MSU TRIO Student Support Services program will carry forward its work from the past three decades to continue to create pathways and opportunities for some of MSU’s underrepresented students. The TRIO Student Support Services grant was renewed by the Department of Education for another five-year cycle, securing about $4 million in funding to allow TRIO SSS to continue its mission.
“The fact that we’ve been around for so many years speaks for itself,” Robinson said. “We’ve done the work, and the Department of Education believes we’ve done good work, and it’s why they fund us cycle after cycle.”
The funding will also support the TRIO SSS team as they look to enhance their work and the student experience. Among the new changes Robinson, Opoczynski and Strategic Innovation Manager Joy Hannibal added to the latest approved grant proposal was the creation of an on-campus living-learning community. Robinson said it would allow TRIO SSS students to live on the same floor of a residence hall and further build their community while also providing them with advising and other supportive services within the hall.
The success of the program is aptly represented in #TRIOWorks, a hashtag that celebrates the decades-long mission of helping students thrive and graduate.
“It’s not just a program. We’re really like a family,” Tran said.
Learn more about MSU’s TRIO Student Services Support program.
