Government-sponsored social programs do not always have a good reputation. Many see them as a useless endeavor and a waste of tax dollars. While I haven’t been involved in many forms of social welfare and will agree that there might be some poorly run programs, there is one government-sponsored program that has had a profound impact on my life. The TRiO Student Support Services Program.

Up until I began college, I have always struggled with my education. I come from a family of immigrants. My parents came to the U.S in the 80s and 90s and had never received a college education. They didn’t even have a lot of time for schooling in the English language. They came to this country with very little. I wouldn’t say I was poor growing, but I definitely wasn’t wealthy, and my family struggled quite a bit financially.

My parents also struggled with adapting to the culture of the United States. Ultimately when I entered the public-school education system as a five-year-old, I felt alone and out of place. I struggled greatly with learning and relating to other students and my parents weren’t able to necessarily support me. All in all, I failed the public-school system as a 6-year-old. But my mother refused to have me be failed and found a small k-12 Catholic school. It was very small and very affordable, and I ended up spending my entire pre-college academic career there.

When I look back on myself, as a grade school and high school student, the ideas that come to my mind would be lazy and unmotivated. Throughout nearly my entire time at my school, I had consistently low grades. I felt stupid, especially when compared to other children who seemed to do their homework effortlessly.

The thing was though, that while I was lazy and unmotivated, I also didn’t know what or how to do my schoolwork. I didn’t know how to be a good student, and I hadn’t developed the habits for becoming one. Taking a look at my background this makes sense. I was an only child to working-class immigrants from a former communist Eastern Bloc country, of course, I wasn’t a good student.

Being a good, smart, successful student in the United States was not something my background prepared me for.

So it makes total sense how I struggled with tasks that might have seemed simple to others. If only I knew that at that time, however. It’s funny because I have always had a deep awareness of being an intelligent person, even from when I was a young child, I’ve always felt very aware of my surroundings and very pensive. Yet when I reached the education, I didn’t have the tools to be able to express that side of me. This led my teachers both in public and in private school to not take me seriously as an intelligent person, and I felt that. Especially in my private school, I’ve always felt pitied by my teachers there, and it felt like they thought I was stupid, and I internalized that.

While I had always dreamed of going to university, it never felt like an attainable goal. When the time came to take the SATs and apply for college, I had no idea what I was doing. I literally did not know how to apply for college. “What kind of essay do I write, what do I say in it?" “how do I make it sound good?” “how do I submit transcripts?" "how do I know if I meet the requirements?” I literally had zero knowledge of the American university system and absolutely no one to help prepare me. I tried asking the teacher for help once and she told me to just read the instructions online (yeah, but what if I don’t understand the instructions?) Ultimately, I ended up applying to community college.

I began community college the fall right after I had graduated. I was doing alright at first, but I could be doing better. Reluctantly, I asked my assigned advisor if there were any tutoring programs for math. After learning about my background, she steered me towards TRiO. Even before I started there I was pointed toward the TRiO Student Support Services, a federally funded program geared towards helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Such as coming from a minority background, a low-income background, or having a disability. I met two of those three criteria right off the bat.

The program offered free personalized tutoring, a special academic advisor who I could meet with frequently, free supplies, a special computer lab, free university tours, basically all the support I needed. I didn’t want to join this program, initially because I felt I was doing fine and that I didn’t need help. But something pushed me to go for it anyway. I did. I applied to the program and was immediately accepted.

I clicked with my advisor Chelsi, right away, and it was the beginning of a year of office visits and various questions in regards to my education. I was also given a math tutor Simrat (helped me get As in my math classes). I would meet with Chelsi at least once a quarter, but usually 2 or 3 times a quarter for me, and she’d helped me pick out classes, or talk to me about the different fields I could major in, etc.

At the end of it all, we would just chat, and boy, we could chat for hours. Honestly, she was a super cool person. Most importantly she supported me in every way possible and she gradually helped me build the tool that I needed to succeed. I learned so much about myself that year and earned grades in the upper 3.0 range, consistently. I eventually felt ready enough to transfer to a 4-year university and she fully supported me in that decision. By helping my look for schools, to apply for schools, and looking over my essay over FIVE times to make sure it was perfect. I got into the school I wanted to get into.

Later in the year, before I had transferred, Chelsi went on maternity leave and a woman named Christine became my advisor for the remainder of spring quarter. She was also just as amazing and continued to support me.

Near the end of the year, after having a long conversation about my educational future, she expressed that she bellied in me and that she knew that I was an intelligent leader. It’s funny how powerful words can be. I had never really heard anyone tell me that before, and I will never forget that moment. Now at my current institution, I have continued my streak of earning high grades, consistently earning 4.0s and grades in the high 3.0 range. I’ve only gone below a 3.0 my first quarter here.

I have continued to reap the benefits of my decision to join TRiO four years ago!

Federally funded social programs, like TRiO, tend to get criticized often for being a waste of tax-payer dollars, or of not being effective in actually changing any lives. But my life has changed. I’ve become the student I never thought I’d be through TRiO. With total honesty, I can say that if it weren’t for TRiO, I would not be where I am today, and I wouldn’t be as smart as the person I am today.

Yes, while programs like TRiO may not always be perfect, they most definitely make an impact.