South Los Angeles Kids Taste University Life with USC Trio

A five-week summer residential program is winding down, with some interesting and enlightening final exams that will result in high school sophomores, juniors and seniors earning college credit and staking a claim in continuing their education

USC Trio programs target those who would be the first in their families to go to college. Among the topics of study in one biotechnology class: forensic science and crime scene investigations.

Over the past 30 years, nearly 20,000 children have benefited from the Trio programs, which include three Upward Bound programs serving all of South Los Angeles. This spring, 85 percent of Trio seniors were accepted to post-secondary institutions.

“Summer residential programs provide first-generation, college-bound students with the opportunity to experience college life while still in high school,” said Oscar Cobian, director of the USC Trio Program.

Visual opportunities include:

What: A talent show in which students perform their final exams by displaying their acting, musical and dancing skills
When: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, August 2
Where: USC Town and Gown

What: A “green” world competition in which engineers from such firms as Boeing and AeroVironment will judge students’ attempts to create working sustainable three-dimensional cities using ideas as novel as putting grass on roofs and ideas as logical as better insulation and lighting
When: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday, August 3
Where: Taper Hall, Room 201, on the University Park Campus

More: During the academic year, Trio students have access to weekend academic classes at USC, SAT preparation, tutoring, mentor programs, college preparation workshops, parent activities/workshops, academic advisement and college tours.

“This program has proven to be successful in preparing low-income high school students for college,” Cobian said.

Upward Bound was launched at USC in 1977 with 60 youths from three area high schools; it has since expanded to eight schools. The Educational Talent Search program and the Upward Bound Mathematics and Science Regional Center were added in the early 1990s. The USC Trio Programs moniker was adopted in 2006.

Seven federal Trio programs operate in more than 1,200 colleges, universities and agencies across the country.

Contact: Eddie North-Hager (213) 740-9335 or edwardnh@usc.edu

From University of Southern California Media Relations
Los Angeles, Calif.
Tel: (213) 740-2215