Thanks to a new federal grant, New Mexico State University has the opportunity to help improve the lives of hundreds of middle school and high school students in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Through the NMSU TRIO Educational Talent Search program, students will receive services to help them graduate high school and pursue a postsecondary education.
The NMSU TRIO Educational Talent Search program will serve Mountain View Middle School and Alamogordo High School students in Otero County. The five-year, $1,386,620 grant from the United States Department of Education will support 500 low-income students, who would be first-generation college students, and their families each year.
“The Talent Search Program strengthens NMSU’s commitment to empower, engage and guide potential first-generation college-bound students to reach their educational potential by providing academic and non-academic support services,” said Tony Marin, program co-principal investigator and assistant vice president of student affairs.
“Since learning of the award in the fall, the Alamogordo Public Schools have embraced this program and the participants that have and will be served are recognizing the investment that New Mexico State University is making in their futures,” Marin said.
The program, which is funded from September 2022 through August 2027, offers services such as academic, financial, career or personal counseling including advice on entry to secondary and postsecondary programs; career exploration and aptitude assessment; tutorial services, information on postsecondary education and exposure to college campuses; information on student financial assistance and assistance in completing college admissions and financial aid applications; assistance in preparing for college entrance exams; mentoring programs; special activities for sixth through eighth graders; and workshops for the families of participants.
“Middle school is a critical period of development in which children are beginning to really explore and examine their future career goals and who they see themselves becoming,” said Merranda Romero Marin, program co-principal investigator and human development and family science professor. “Therefore, a program, like the new TRIO Educational Talent Search Program is crucial in exposing them to potential possibilities that they would not have been exposed to otherwise. For first-generation, low-income students, a program like this can significantly change the trajectory of their lives. As a first-generation college student myself, having guidance and mentorship along my pathway helped me to fulfill my potential and now I feel obligated to give back and I’m thrilled to be a part of this program.”
With the addition of the TRIO Educational Talent Search program, NMSU now supports seven TRIO programs, the most of any higher education institution in New Mexico. Tony Marin said he is proud of the TRIO educational opportunity pipeline that has been established from middle school through graduate school.
“This type of program helps create opportunities that would otherwise may not seem as real possibilities for some students,” said Carlos Posadas, program co-principal investigator and criminal justice professor. “I too am a first-generation college student and in looking back, I can see how the TRIO Educational Talent Search Program would have impacted my life. Having support at the middle and high school levels is crucial in determining whether students choose to pursue a higher education. I am grateful to be a part of this initiative as I know how higher education can change lives for the better.”
To learn more about NMSU’s TRIO programs, visit the Student Success Center website at ssc.nmsu.edu.