The U.S. House of Representatives restored $837 million in funding to all Upward Bound and TRIO programs.

“In short, TRIO programs help to support and prepare low income students for post high school education,” U.S. Rep. Michael K. Simpson, R-Idaho, said in a press release.

The Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill funds TRIO, Simpson said. The goal of the program, which exists at colleges across the country, is to prepare high school students for the college experience.

“They let students see what it is like to live in a dorm, utilize a Flashcard, carry a room key and importantly, see what it is like to walk across a campus,” said Geraldine Hayes Nelson, associate dean for Undergraduate Studies at Kent State.

Kent State has 192 students who are currently enrolled in the programs, said Dana Lawless-Andric, associate director of TRIO.

Students from select high schools in Summit, Portage, Trumbull, Stark and Lorain County areas are invited to participate in Upward Bound. High school advisers have to refer the students to the program after they meet specific criteria, Lawless-Andric said.

“You get to learn really cool things,” said Samantha Fink, a high school freshman from Warren G. Harding High School who is enrolled in TRIO. “You get ahead in high school, which means you get ahead in college.”

Kent State offers three different programs for students to choose from: The Upward Bound Classic Program, which serves 92 students; the Math and Science Center, which serves 50 students; and the Upward Bound PREP Academy, which also serves 50 students, Lawless-Andric said.

Contact College of Business reporter Joanne Bello at [email protected].