TRIO Students Visit State Legislators

Four local high school students who are participants in TRIO programs at UC Clermont College, shadowed state legislators recently. They also attended the Partners in College Access and Success Policy Breakfast at the Statehouse in Columbus.

The purpose of the breakfast was to highlight the importance of college access and success in Ohio and to emphasize the partnership of organizations working together to help more Ohioans attend and succeed in college. The Ohio TRIO programs were among the five partner organizations that sponsored the breakfast.

TRIO Upward Bound students Danitra Campbell of Bethel-Tate High School and Emilee Richmond of Georgetown High School shadowed Sen. Tom Niehaus along with Student Development Specialist Amy Thomas. They observed a hearing on water rights and sat in on a lobbying session.

TRIO Educational Talent Search students Jessica North of Batavia High School and Nancy Regensburger of Bethel-Tate High School shadowed Rep. Joe Uecker along with Educational Advisors Tonya OBrien and Shari Taylor. They also observed a legislative hearing. All of the students enjoyed tours of the State House conducted by the legislators. 

The keynote speaker at the breakfast was Nancy Zimpher, president of the University of Cincinnati. Zimpher spoke of the importance of collaboration of like-minded organizations to produce more college graduates in Ohio. She also presented the next phase of the KnowHow2GoOhio campaign messages that encourage students to take challenging classes to prepare them for college success. Governor Strickland sent a proclamation recognizing College Access Day in Ohio.

“We had a great experience, interacting with state policy makers and learning more about democracy in action,” said Dan Schneider, Academic Director of Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound at UC Clermont College.

TRIO programs are federally funded programs that open doors to college opportunity and support educational enrichment and achievement. Educational Talent Search works with students in grades six through twelve, and Upward Bound works with high school students.