Saturday (Feb. 28) marks TRIO Day in West Virginia. Students from West Virginia University’s two TRIO programs, McNair Scholars and Student Support Services, plan to show their appreciation and support through an open house on campus and a trip to the state capital.

The open house will take place from 9 a.m.-noon Friday, Feb. 27, in the lobby of the Student Services Center behind the WVU Bookstore on the downtown campus. McNair Scholars Program Coordinator Betty Mei said undergraduates will have an opportunity to learn about both programs, eat cake and chat with staff.

Also Friday, Student Support Services is taking a group of students to Charleston for Gov. Bob Wise’s proclamation of TRIO Day. Students will tour the Capitol Complex and West Virginia Supreme Court, sit in on the legislative session and meeting with Lisa DeFrank-Cole, PROMISE Scholarship Program executive director.

TRIO programs are designed to identify promising students, prepare them to do college-level work and offer support services to students once they reach campus. Congress established the TRIO programs more than 30 years ago to enable Americansregardless of economic circumstance, race or ethnic backgroundto successfully enter college and graduate.

The McNair Scholars Program,http://www.wvu.edu/~mcnair/, helps prepare low-income, first-generation and under-represented college students for graduate school. The program can fund 20 scholars annually and is still taking applications for its 2004 summer research internship.

Student Support Services,http://www.wvu.edu/~trio/, serves 200 students at WVU , providing academic advising and counseling, financial aid assistance and tutoring.

To learn more about TRIO Day, visithttp://www.trioprograms.org/trioday.html.