MY SUMMER VACATION

No doubt, the students at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges are an active bunch. But the adrenaline seems to amp up even more in the summer. Scott Community College’s TRIO Program put a little twist on the “What I did on my summer vacation” assignments we all received in our school days by asking current and previous students to send photos of what they did during break. Kind of a summer selfie report. “We were overwhelmed at the amazing things our students were doing,” said TRIO Program Director Dave Carson. “I was a little envious of all their adventures and at the same time very proud of what they are accomplishing.” Cassandra Cruz and Brittni Perkins used the summer to continue their education. Both completed their Certified Nursing Assistant certification and are transferring to St. Ambrose University to earn their Bachelor’s in Science in Nursing degrees.

Masengo Aime fought fires and trained in First Aid in Alaska. Maxwell McCarty interned with the Iowa Heritage Foundation.

Briana Leon visited Scotland, Emelynen Castel visited family in Mexico, and Miluska Pacheco visited Peru. Jordan Sperry went skydiving, Katelynn England started EMT classes and the list goes on. All of these students are succeeding through their personal hard work and determination, with a little help from the college’s TRIO program. It is one of many academic support programs available at Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community Colleges. TRIO is a federally funded Student Support Services program helping students succeed in college and transfer to the four-year college/university level. TRIO takes students on visits to colleges and universities, provides personal and leadership development, individualized tutoring, career exploration, and much more. To be eligible students must meet certain criteria such as being a first-generation student (parents do not have a bachelor’s degree) and certain federal household income guidelines. For more information about the program visit eicc.edu/trio