Ava Cordle is about to graduate from Oregon State University Cascades with a degree in environmental science and a focus on applied ecology. She has one more quarter to go. However, getting to this moment wasn’t easy.
Cordle, 21, is the first person in her family to attend college. When she got to school, she said she “came into it with no knowledge, and needed a lot of help.”
At OSU-Cascades, roughly a quarter of students are first-generation, like Cordle. This month, the school is celebrating the trailblazing students by hosting events linked to the national First-Generation College Celebration.
The celebration aims to spotlight first-generation students while also marking when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Higher Education Act into law in Nov. 1965. The act created federal financial aid programs for college students and codified TRIO programs. Initially a set of three programs, TRIO now includes eight programs intended to help students who have documented disabilities, are low-income or first-generation, succeed in school.
Earning a college degree is still a good investment, despite changing views on the worth of a college degree, according to recent findings by the Pew Research Center. People with a college degree or higher earn more money than people with some college education or just a high school diploma, according to Pew and data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Oregon is trying to reach a goal of 40% of residents aged 25-34 attaining a college degree by 2025. According to the state’s most recent data, 37% of people had earned a degree in 2022.
OSU-Cascades participates in the TRIO program by providing Student Support Services. In 2023, OSU enrolled 856 students systemwide in TRIO programs, with 140 at OSU-Cascades.
Cassie Copeland Tobey is the assistant director of the program in Bend and Cordle’s advisor. She said the program has existed for five years, and in that time, the majority of its students maintained good academic standing and made it through a whole year of school.
Students in the TRIO program have access to peer mentorship, academic support, finding money to pay for school or housing and just learning how to go to school, Copeland Tobey said.
When she was a student at the University of Oregon, the 30-year-old participated in a program similar to Student Support Services, called PathwayOregon.
“I was first gen myself, so I definitely remember going to college and not necessarily knowing what a syllabus is or what office hours meant,” Copeland Tobey said.
Cordle, her advisee, has been as a TRIO peer mentor for three years now. When she started in the program her freshman year, she said she struggled with the transition from high school to college. Her peer mentor, a chemistry major, not only helped her acclimate, but also helped her with some tricky lab homework.
While students get the hang of college life, many are also trying to find a place to live.
“Here in Bend, I think finding affordable housing has definitely been a struggle that students have had,” Copeland Tobey said.
A recent statewide survey conducted by the Oregon Student Association found that obtaining and paying for housing, food and living expenses are the most pressing issues for students.
The cheapest on-campus housing option at OSU-Cascades will increase to $8,250 per year in the next academic year.
Cordle said she lived on campus for a few years before looking for a place off campus. She now shares an apartment with two other TRIO students.
Rentals near where the university is located are some of the more expensive options in Bend.
The funding cycle for Student Support Services is every five years. The team recently sent their grant application to the Department of Education. By Copeland Tobey’s account, the program is working.
“We’re doing all the things they’ve asked. It really just depends on how Department of Education funding is looking,” she said.
But, she acknowledged that President-elect Donald Trump has said he intends to eliminate the department in his upcoming term.
“We’re definitely optimistic, but we’re eagerly awaiting the results,” she said.
Copyright 2024 OPB
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.