February 26, 2003

TSU to play host to state Trio Day Celebration

Troy State University will be the host site for the annual State of Alabama Trio Day Celebration, which recognizes student achievers in federal programs established to ensure equal educational opportunity.    The program, set for Saturday, March 8, will be held in Sartain Hall on the TSU campus beginning at 9:30 a.m. More than 700 students and program support staff from 16 Alabama colleges and universities will participate, according to Mary J. Griffin, Director of the Upward Bound program at TSU and Chair of the State Trio Day Committee.

The federally funded Trio Programs were established in 1965. They are designed to serve students from low-income families. The programs are Talent Search, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Veterans Upward Bound, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Centers and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.

Tonya Terry, news anchor for WSFA-TV in Montgomery, will deliver the keynote address. A Troy State University graduate, Terry spent five years in Huntsville where she worked as a news anchor and reporter at both the ABC and CBS affiliates. She has also worked at television and radio stations in Troy, Dothan and Enterprise. She joined WSFA in September. She lives in Troy with her husband and three sons.

The celebration will also include an awards ceremony and a college fair.

The celebration also marks the 10th anniversary of the TSU Upward Bound Program, which currently serves 70 students from Pike, Coffee and Dale counties.

Students and staff from the following institutions are scheduled to participate:

Alabama A & M University, Alabama Southern Community College - Thomasville, Alabama State University, Auburn University at Montgomery, Bishop State Community College, Concordia College, Gadsden State Community College, H. Council Trenholm State Technical College, Jefferson Davis Community College, Lurleen B. Wallace Junior College , North Alabama Center for Educational Excellence, Troy State University, University of Montevallo, Wallace Community College - Aviation Campus, Wallace Community College - Sparks Campus, Wallace Community College Selma.