MSJC TRIO hosts 20th annual celebration for high school graduates

SAN JACINTO – Mt. San Jacinto College hosted its 20th annual TRIO Upward Bound and Talent Search graduation ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the program’s high school seniors Saturday, April 29. More than 100 students and their families attended the TRIO Senior Recognition Celebration at the San Jacinto Campus library. This year, MSJC’s Talent Search program served 500 students from Monte Vista Middle School, North Mountain Middle School and San Jacinto High School and Upward Bound served 52 students from San Jacinto High School.

At the celebration, 37 high school seniors were recognized for their commitment to their education by completing the program.

Keynote speaker Joshua Rivera, MSJC board president and Upward Bound graduate, shared his experience being a student at MSJC and how transformative these programs are. He also shared his advice to the students.

“Ask yourself, what is my why?” Rivera said. “When you can answer it, things will come into place.”

Roger Schultz, Ph.D., superintendent and president of MSJC, congratulated the students and commended them for participating in the TRIO program. He shared words of encouragement and reminded the graduates of the importance of perseverance and determination in achieving their goals.

For the first time in the program’s history, a donation for student scholarships was received. Wedbush United, a private investment firm based in Los Angeles, donated $4,000, providing four graduating seniors with $1,000 scholarships each.

Alonso Zul, a scholarship recipient, thanked Wedbush representatives for their donation.

“With this scholarship I can worry a little less about my finances, and it will help my parents with their cancer payments for my grandma,” he said.

Zul plans to attend University of California Berkeley in the fall.

“We are so proud of our TRIO graduating class for their accomplishments,” Marisa Jones, director of MSJC’s TRIO grant programs, said. “This time of the year is one of our favorite moments with our students. We are extremely grateful to Wedbush for making our students’ dreams come true.”

TRIO Upward Bound and Talent Search are federally funded programs that provide academic and personal support to high school students from lowincome families, first-generation college students and students with disabilities. Both programs help students develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed in college and beyond.

Submitted by Mt. San Jacinto College.