Tags
  • Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Accolades & Honors

Support Program for Low-Income, First-Generation Students Receives Funding

The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences is home to TRIO Student Support Services (SSS), a U.S. Department of Education program that provides academic, social and cultural support to first generation, low-income college students.

SSS has been funded again for the next five years at $454,704 annually—a total of more than $2 million. During this grant cycle, in 2022, the Dietrich School will celebrate 50 years of continuous funding of TRIO SSS at Pitt.

Last year, for the first time, program director Michele Lagnese and her staff hosted a four-day retreat for all new SSS students, translated this year into a virtual event. SSS Peer Mentors hosted a meal on Zoom where everyone brought their food and ate together. One advisor led a yoga session. And two young alumnae of the program participated in a Q&A program focusing on how they’d used their time at Pitt to prepare them for their careers.