Me’Shi Avery, right, director of TRIO Student Support Services for Decatur Campus, meets with GPC students, from left, Deshure Raston, Alex Myers II and Courtney Dix. (Photo by Leita Cowart)

by Kysa Anderson Daniels

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Georgia Perimeter College $3.4 million dollars to fund three TRIO programs, one on each of its Clarkston, Decatur and Dunwoody campuses.

The money will provide student support services, such as academic success coaches, for low-income, first-generation and disabled students during the next five years. Research shows this type of support increases the likelihood that students complete college. It is estimated the funding could help more than 1,300 students during the five-year grant cycle.

The awards, announced during the summer, will allow Clarkston and Decatur campuses to continue existing TRIO programs and enable Dunwoody to establish a new program.

Trichele Davenport Harris, TRIO Student Support Services director at Clarkston, says GPC beat back stiff competition to receive the Dunwoody funding and earned a perfect score on all three grant applications.

“That’s remarkable, we’re all celebrating,” Harris says. “It’s definitely needed, and the students are going to benefit tremendously.”