Hundreds of students, families, and educators filled the Joe Crowley Student Union at UNR to celebrate National TRIO Day in February. The annual event recognizes the impact of TRIO Programs on first-generation and low-income students across the country.
The federally funded program provides students with individualized support throughout high school, helping them overcome the academic and socioeconomic barriers to higher education, said Jennifer Sims, director of Upward Bound at UNR.
“For many of our students, this might be one of the only significant adults that meets with them one on one and looks them in the eyes and asks them, ‘What do you hope to accomplish with your life? What are your hopes and dreams?’” Sims said
Since 1967, Upward Bound has worked with students across Northern Nevada, offering services like tutoring, college prep workshops, and summer programs where students experience life on a college campus. Coordinators at eight schools across Washoe and Lyon counties meet regularly with students to help them stay on track academically and prepare for the future.
Reed High School freshman Jazlynn Jimenez said the program changed the way she saw college.
“I never really thought about college until my eighth grade year,” Jimenez said. “ I wasn't sure that I was going to go until I had signed up for the program. That's when I had made my decision like this is where I'm going to go from here. I'm going to go as far as I can go.”
Another student, Laniyah Stacker, joined Upward Bound as a freshman and is now preparing to attend UNR’s Orvis School of Nursing. She said the program helped her stay ahead academically and even guide classmates through the college application process.
“It wasn't just, like, ‘Oh, you could go to college if you want to,’" Stacker said. “But it was, like, ‘You're going to college and this is how you're going to do it,’ and they just helped me.”
Simssaid the program’s results reflect its impact. Last year, 100% of Upward Bound senior students graduated high school and were accepted into at least one institution of higher education.
But programs like Upward Bound rely on federal grants that must be renewed every five years, leaving uncertainty about future funding beyond 2027. For students like Jimenez, losing the program would mean losing an important source of guidance and support.
“I feel like in this world, nobody really helps us after high school… This program is helping me decide what I want to be and who I want to be,” Jimenez said.
At the National TRIO Day celebration, one message echoed throughout the room: “TRIO works.” And for thousands of first-generation students across the country, they see that programs like Upward Bound and TRIO don’t just support students, they change what they believe is possible.
Mariana Ortega is a senior at TMCC High School and a participant in KUNR’s Youth Media program, a special partnership with the Washoe County School District to train the next generation of journalists.