ETSU TRIO Programs Rank Among Nation’s Strongest
Dr. Ronnie Gross, director of ETSU’s TRIO programs.
“One of the best representations of the mission of East Tennessee State University is an individual who came here in 1989 and who, since then, has brought over $59 million in federal support to the university. That support not only impacts ETSU but also the lives of families, and it is life-changing,” says ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland.
That individual is Dr. Ronnie Gross, and his mission in life, as Director of ETSU’s TRIO programs, perfectly parallels the university’s reason for being: to improve the quality of life for the people of the region and beyond.
The federally-funded TRIO programs are designed to provide services for low-income and first-generation individuals. As is shown by the individuals who stand when recognized during every ETSU commencement ceremony, the university’s population of first-generation college students continues to be high.
According to Gross, TRIO programs are pipelines for students in middle school, high school, and college, as well as adults and veterans. Thus far, almost 52,000 people have been served by TRIO programs at ETSU.
An alumnus of ETSU who completed his doctorate while working full-time, Gross describes himself as “a free-lunch kid in elementary school and high school.” His parents, who divorced when he was a child, each had a ninth-grade education. Later in life, they both passed General Educational Development (GED) tests.
Student Support Services: Helps students stay in college until they earn their baccalaureate degrees.
Educational Talent Search: An early intervention program that encourages middle school and high school students to complete secondary and post-secondary programs.
Veterans Upward Bound: Provides academic services for veterans in post-secondary education programs.
Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement: Encourages low-income and minority undergraduates to consider careers in college teaching and research and prepares them for doctoral study.
Upward Bound: Helps high school students prepare for higher education.
Educational Opportunity Center: A free program designed to assist adults in obtaining a GED and/or with college or vocational school enrollment.
Gross pointed out that many students have difficulty asking for help. TRIO participants are often conflicted as they struggle with the desire to have a new life while burdened with the feeling that they are leaving their families behind.
“Our students have tremendous adaptability, grit, and resilience,” Gross says. “They’re stubborn, but when you match that stubbornness with guidance on how to use it, the result is really powerful.”
Noland knew about the success of ETSU’s TRIO programs even before he accepted the ETSU presidency.
“I was at a meeting with individuals in the college access world, and they said, ‘You know you’re going to the school with the Michael Jordan of TRIO. The best TRIO director in the United States of America is on that campus,'" Noland recalled.
Gross humbly diverts such praise, acknowledging the support he receives from the ETSU administration and the tireless work of the 26 full-time employees in his department—88 percent of whom are first-generation college graduates.
As Gross was completing work on his doctorate in education at ETSU, Stephen Hendrix was enrolling in ETSU’s Upward Bound program through Unicoi County High School in Erwin. Not only is he now a member of the County Commission in Unicoi County, he recently completed a term as President of the ETSU Faculty Senate. His praise for the TRIO programs is boundless.
“I came to ETSU in 1999 as undeclared,” Hendrix recalls. “I fell in love with computer science and completed my undergraduate and graduate degrees and now teach here. ETSU, in so many different ways, has improved the quality of my life, and it began in 1995 with the Upward Bound program.”
By Fred Sauceman | Photos by Ron Campbell
Read more incredible stories in the Summer 2024 Edition of ETSU Today. #BucsGoBeyond
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