Inside this issue

Student Spotlight ..................... 1

Upcoming Events ..................... 2

Student Highlights/Congrats. ... 2

Message from Melissa ............. 3

January Birthdays .................... 3

Past Events .............................. 3

Interesting TRiO Fact:

Before the Holiday break TRiO - SSS had 76% of our students registered for the 2017 Winter semester.

Being a single parent and attending Jackson College takes a lot of determination and hard work. It took a long time to reach my goals and I am thankful to the TRiO staff for helping me make the right decisions. Most importantly, you have to have the personal determination to succeed in order to reach your dreams. My brother is my inspiration and the one who drives me. He passed away 14 years ago and his death is still a mystery. I received word 14 years to the date after his passing that I was accepted into the Michigan Department of Corrections, and I will start working there in late January. Don’t give up! Only you can make the final decision that will direct your path in a certain way. I am not done, and I will continue to grow and be a lifelong learner. I will continue to better myself so I can help others who have gone through tragic events like mine. Gina Ojeda-Bedore

A huge thanks to the Financial Aid staff for all your hard work with helping our TRiO students on processing their FAFSA for the 2017-2018 year. ~ TRiO Staff

Student Spotlight:

Drawing by: Katie Shotwell TRiO - SSS Student

TRiO - SSS students please share

with us your accomplishments

and achievements so we can

share it in future TRiO news-

letters.

Tyler Madden was accepted to Western Michigan University

Samantha Campbell was accepted to Eastern Michigan University

Alexander Barich was accepted to Eastern Michigan University

Jerika Lewis was accepted to attend the U.S. Brazil Connect class

and program

Upcoming Events

Student Highlights/Congratulations!

January 30th – Scholarship Workshop w/ Cindy Gilmore

February 17th – Bowling @ Airport Lanes

February 20th – TRiO Financial Literacy

February 23rd– Internship Workshop w/ Heather Marshall

2

Message from the Director:

The TRiO department is excited to welcome back all of our students and our co-workers after a nice Holiday break. The theme of our office for the winter semester is collaboration. The TRiO department will be col-laborating with multiple departments to offer various workshops for students. We will also be collaborating with community partners to offer more global/cultural opportunities so we can assist our students in becoming well rounded individuals. If you would like to collaborate with us this semester, let us know! Thank you! Melissa Merkel, M.A. Higher Education

3

January Birthdays:

1/3 Areshia Gibbs-Bradley 1/6 Russell Foust 1/6 Jessica Mullins 1/7 Candace Riggins 1/10 Nora Munoz 1/14 Tyler Bearden 1/19 Hope Knight

1/22 Kayla Brown 1/26 Emma Bevans 1/26 Bernice Novess 1/27 Paula Jones 1/28 Haley Miller 1/30 Auonna Nix

Past Events: 12/8 - FAFSA Workshop 12/20 - TRiO Holiday Potluck 1/18 - Welcome back Waffles & Ice-cream 1/24 - Motivation Workshop w/ Anthony