Mark Munger
This is a Manager's Special from Siouxland Public Media. I'm Mark Munger. The times are a-changing, not just on the Omaha Reservation, but everywhere, and it's especially noticeable in the halls of education. Since Congress created it in 1964, TRIO has helped individuals who might otherwise be left behind succeed in school and gain college degrees. Eight programs are under the umbrella of TRIO, including Talent Search, which identifies and assists disadvantaged students in grades six through 12 who have the potential to succeed in higher education. Under the Trump administration, the mission, purpose, guidelines, and even overseeing governmental department have been changed. Many of these changes have left talent search departments without funding and children without services. Kathy Lehmann, director of TRIO Talent Search at Western Iowa Tech Community College, recently received word that her program would be funded. She joined me to talk about the changes to the program.
Kathy Lehmann
The last grant that we worked with, it was really STEM related, and so lots of extra experiences, you know, in the math and science, the science world, you know, to get the students, you know, more interested in in those types of careers. And so this grant was very different in the fact that it wasn't really college per se, but more career and technical education. And for example, AI was one of their initiatives that they really wanted to push up for the students: digital wallets, pre-apprenticeships for students.
Mark Munger
Can I stop you for a second? When you say digital wallets, et cetera, what does that? I mean, I understand what a digital wallet is, but as far as a criteria for a student, what does that mean?
Kathy Lehmann
So, a student, the idea is, and I mean, we we're still learning how to put this all together in real life. But the idea is, just like today, adult job seeker would have, you know they might do some additional trainings and get like a Credly badge that they could add on to their LinkedIn accounts, and it would just be like something digitally that would carry with them. And a lot of times you'll see like the little emblems, like you know you've been trained in this area, and so employers can see that, like on your application or on your LinkedIn accounts, and know that, "Hey, I I really like that they have this cutting edge expertise," and so that just might be what gets you in the door and gets you hired. And so the idea is that we will do something similar with the students, you know, at their grade level, you know, and experience. But by the time that they graduate from high school, that they themselves would have like a junior LinkedIn account, and you know, or something similar to that, and so that they would be hireable, you know, and you know, desired by employers at you know at the time of high school graduation.
Mark Munger
It sounds and correct me if I'm wrong. Like it's a bit of a philosophical shift, as you're saying too, from STEM, like like the idea that you're just going into a science, technology, engineering, and math sort of field that broadly to a very specific vocational direction that you're going toward the specific job goal.
Kathy Lehmann
Yes, and so the shift is that that students will that we will provide opportunities for students to receive training through Western Iowa Tech Community College and our, you know, business partners that we have in various communities that we serve that that students can get certificates of completion, you know, taking a 10 hour course that would make them, you know, more employable when they graduate from high school. You know, philosophically we are a college preparation program, and our you know success is judged, but by students you know obviously successfully completing high school, and then by the fall after they graduate from high school, it is our hope that they will enroll in a two-year college or a four-year college, and then complete within six years.
Mark Munger
I mean, it sounds as though you had to almost create a whole new program.
Kathy Lehmann
I had to create a whole new program.
Mark Munger
Not almost.
Kathy Lehmann
Not almost. Absolutely. Yes.
Mark Munger
So, are you getting personal messages through this process from from from the people you serve? I mean, are they reaching out?
Kathy Lehmann
Oh yeah, yeah. I have students that are like, are we going to be able to visit? You know, you this year? You know, what's going to happen if TRIO goes away? You know, like I said, we have had meetings with our students that, you know, with legislators saying, "Hey, this is what trio's done for me," and and so you know that is those are always great meetings. And fortunately, we have legislators in the state of Iowa that do support TRIO. A lot of other states maybe don't have that kind of support, but thankfully we do, and so we knew going in we have bipartisan support through through the process. So that's that's wonderful for us.
Mark Munger
But at the at the federal level, when you're saying, you know, TRIO has been under fire really since the new administration came in, is my understanding wrong in that it was perceived as like a DEI program. And that was the Administration's approach to it?
Kathy Lehmann
Yes, yes. So that was there were you know some misconceptions that that we are you know a DEI program and and you know like like all of the world in education, you know, was coming under scrutiny, and we we are we've we're not a DEI program. We've never been a DEI program. We are a college preparation program. We serve low income first generation students, and so we knew what Congress had intended 60 years ago. We know what our mission is then we know what it is now, and you know we're continuing to do the same work using the same methods that we have because we know trio works, and we have so many graduates. We have so we have a nation full of alumni that you know will tell you that if it wasn't for TRIO, I would not be sitting in this, you know, like I wouldn't be in this governor role, or I wouldn't be, you know, an actress, or I wouldn't be an astronaut, you know, doctor, whatever it is. You know, they specifically will go back. It gives me goosebumps because they will go back and they will say this all started. My career started because a TRIO advisor believed in me.
Mark Munger
So it's a five-year grant, which means ideally, as long as you meet the criteria each year, you shouldn't have to worry so much about continued funding, at least for these this coming five years.
Kathy Lehmann
Yes, exactly. So we don't know things are changing because the Department of Education, at least for Talent Search, has teamed up with the Department of Labor, and so remember how I was telling you how this there's a mixture of the career technical things? You know that's more of a Department of Labor type of thing like a job, job workforce type situation, and so it's kind of like we're we're the we're married now. So you know our grants are all through the Department of Labor now instead of the Department of Ed, but the Department of Ed is still in charge of us. So it'll be interesting the new metrics and things that that will come out, you know, with the with the annual performance reviews. So we will cross that bridge when we get there.
Mark Munger
Are students who are, let's say, you know, they've been in this for I guess four years already. They have a couple years before they go to college. Are they having to readjust and say, okay, this is what I wanted to go into before, but it was a STEM field, and that's what they've been preparing for. And now it's they're having to switch gears, sort of in in stride and go for...
Kathy Lehmann
I hope not. I hope not. And you know, the all of their hopes and aspirations and dreams, you know that we we're still here to to, you know, our main focus is college preparation and doing whatever it takes to prepare them, you know, to whatever whatever it is that they want to do. You know they're the leaders. We just assist. I think what it does open up is for more opportunities for some of my students that are interested in, you know, trades like not necessarily just getting like a certificate but you know completing a two year associate's degree. You know, and there's lots of research that says, "Hey, you know, you you can do just as well, you know, in those programs too." And so with us being a technical college, that's that's who we are, and so that is exciting.
Mark Munger
But does that also mean that the kid who comes in and says, "I want I want to be an astronaut," or "I want to be a doctor," or you know, pursue those longer term degrees, that this is not the program for them anymore.
Kathy Lehmann
Well, I, you know, I think as far as our support goes and the the steps that that we would go you know through with them to get them prepared for that, you know, there there isn't going to be as much programming in those things, you know, specifically for that. However, we still can, you know, if a student's like, hey, there's this really cool camp that I want to attend. You know, there is some leeway and some funding within our grant that we can send them, you know, to that camp to provide that educational experience. But there won't be as much funding for that. So yeah, it could, it could. I hope it doesn't.
Mark Munger
Yeah, well, I guess the future will tell.
Kathy Lehmann
That's my job to make sure that all of this runs beautifully.
Mark Munger
And right, right now, I think it's worth celebrating that there is a future.
Kathy Lehmann
Absolutely, yeah, we're thrilled. Yeah, and you know, we've been we've been a constant in a lot of these communities for a long time.
Mark Munger
I'm pleased that this is the outcome.
Kathy Lehmann
Yeah, I I told you earlier that grant life is not for the fickle. So fickle of heart. So it is labor of love. And you know, as as a as a helper, as a counselor, as a director, as a mom, you know all of that. It's important to me that that students, that students get education. Thank you for having me.
Mark Munger
Oh, thank you. Kathy Layman is the director of Trio Talent Search and Upward Bound at Western Iowa Tech Community College. You're listening to a Manager's Special on Siouxland Public Media. I'm Mark Munger.
