The TRIO Talent Search program at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City and Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville have been awarded federal funding for the next five years.
Iowa Lakes will receive $2 million to continue offering Talent Search through 2031, while WITCC is getting $1.95 million.
That federal funding is through a highly competitive program that not all applying colleges will be awarded, and Briar Cliff University in Sioux City will not be getting money.
TRIO Talent Search is a federally funded college and career access program serving students in grades 6-12. There is an emphasis on those who are potential first-generation college students or meet federal income guidelines.
For more than 30 years, Briar Cliff's TRIO Talent Search has served regional middle and high school students.
In a Thursday statement to Siouxland Public Media, a Briar Cliff spokesman noted, “This year, a nationwide restructuring of the federal program shifted priorities and reduced the number of grants awarded, and Briar Cliff's Talent Search program was among those that went unfunded.”
The TRIO program provides students access to resources designed to help them successfully transition beyond high school.
