[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S2039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           NATIONAL TRIO DAY

 Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to bring my colleagues' 
attention to the celebration of National TRIO Day on February 27th. The 
99th Congress designated the last Saturday in February as the day to 
celebrate these very important and successful federal programs designed 
to raise the educational aspirations of students by providing services 
that help them overcome social, cultural, and other barriers to success 
in higher education.
  Currently, two thousand colleges, universities, and community 
agencies sponsor TRIO programs. More than 780,000 lower-income middle 
school, high school, and adult students benefit from the services of 
such TRIO programs as Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Student Support 
Services. Not only do students personally benefit from their 
participation in higher education, but also our nation benefits from a 
better-educated population motivated to serve their communities and 
their country.
  My home state of Maine has one of the country's lowest rates of 
participation in postsecondary education. The fifteen TRIO programs 
operating in Maine are working successfully to increase this number. 
Each year, these programs serve 6,000 students, building their 
aspirations for higher education and providing them the counseling, 
confidence, and academic support they need to pursue higher education.
  Father James Nadeau, a native of my hometown in Aroostook County, is 
a graduate of the Bowdoin College Upward Bound program. His story tells 
why the TRIO programs are so important. His parents did not have the 
opportunity to pursue an education beyond the eighth grade. Father 
Jim's participation in Upward Bound changed his life and opened up a 
world of opportunity to him.
  Beginning in 1977, Father Jim spent three summers enrolled in Upward 
Bound and then attended Dartmouth College and studied in France and 
Scotland. Subsequently, he studied for five years at the Gregorian 
University in Rome and received two graduate degrees in theology. His 
ministry has spanned from Mother Teresa in Calcutta to school children 
in Portland, Maine and continues to affect lives all over the world. He 
is an excellent role model for the youth of Maine and remains a 
terrific example of the success of the TRIO programs. There are many 
similar stories of TRIO graduates in all professions and walks of life. 
These are stories of successful, educated individuals who were 
introduced by a TRIO program to the endless possibilities that become 
attainable through education.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to visit TRIO programs in their 
states as I have done in Maine. You will see for yourselves why these 
programs are vital to our efforts to promote equal educational 
opportunity for all our citizens.

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