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View from the Valley
The TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program at IECC is a federally funded program that is designed to empower students by giving them the information and tools necessary to be successful in college and beyond. The Academic Counselor at Wabash Valley College, Tayna Smith, wanted to recognize her former IECC TRIO SSS students who successfully went through the program and are achieving their career goals. Tayna said, "one day recently, I was standing in Student Services at WVC and looked around. Just within sight, there were four former students who are presently working at Wabash and not only excelling but loving what they do." There are others and she wants to celebrate them. "When someone is touched and empowered by the TRIO program, they cannot help but pay it forward," says Smith. Tayna said that on her first day of class each school year, she asks students what the word “Success” means to them and what it looks like; she has received many answers, from a wife and kids to making a lot of money. There are many others who realized their life dreams without going through college, but as an educator, she feels that many other advantages come from going to college, and a degree is only one of them! From Associates degrees to graduate degrees, these students (pictured below) are proof that not only does Wabash Valley College do an excellent job at successfully graduating its students, but TRIO Student Support Services does a wonderful job at preparing its participants for life after college. “Our mission is to provide educational services and cultural experiences to under-represented students empowering them to achieve lifelong success.” TRIO Student Support Services is funded by the U.S. Department of Education for $348,002 for the 2022 – 2023 program year. STUDENT SUCCESS
Back row from left to right: Tosha Baker, Business Instructor, graduated in 2007. Kelly Wagner, Administrative Assistant, graduated in 2015. Alexis (Annie) Garner, Assistant Director of TRIO Upward Bound, graduated in 2014. Ronda Hockeiger, Social Services Specialist Lead Instructor, graduated from WVC in 2009. Front Row from left to right: Shauna Waldrip, Early Childhood Education Facilitator, graduated in 2016. Hunter Collard, Administrative Assistant, graduated in 2021. Christy Morely, TRIO Upward Bound Counselor, graduated in 2017.
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