Blanding Student Support Services striving to increase academic achievement

Utah State University Blanding is improving the college experience of low-income and first-generation students through the federally funded TRIO grant and Student Support Services.  

TRIO represents the three primary programs originally funded in Title IV of the Higher Education Act: Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search and Student Support Services. 

Kimberly Hiatt is a director of TRIO Student Support Services on the USU Blanding campus. 

“TRIO Student Support Service project is a federally funded project that serves income-eligible, first-generation students, as well as students with a disability,” Hiatt said. “Our particular project was awarded to serve 185 students.” 

The USU Logan campus has a TRIO and SSS project which assists four-year students. According to Hiatt, the Blanding branch serves two-year students working towards their associate degree. 

“We make sure that our students have that extra help with tutoring and scholarship and Pell grants and financial literacy,” Hiatt said. “And having that extra success coordinating going on so that they never — they should never feel lost.” 

Hiatt’s experience in college allows her to understand what it is like for her students. 

“I myself am a first-generation college student,” Hiatt said. “And we had nothing like this in my junior college in California, so I was all on my own.” 

Tylan Dee is an academic adviser and success coordinator for students at the Blanding campus. Dee recently replaced Renee Palmer, an employee at Blanding for over 30 years.  

“Big shoes to fill,” Dee said. 

He said he always had a strong interest in advising. 

“I’m very familiar with helping students, basically all-around helping students with everything they need, because I am a student myself, and a lot of our students are Native American,” Dee said. “So a lot of the scholarships I applied for, they applied for.” 

According to Dee, his experience has helped him to relate to the students he serves. 

“I would say they’re one of the best student support service groups that our campus offers, or that any campus could offer,” Dee said. “I believe, for our campus, the TRIO’s success has contributed to the experience and the willingness of our TRIO staff to go above and beyond what they do and what their specialties are.” 

Dee said the women who work in TRIO are great at offering students the aid they need. 

“I’ve noticed, being able to work with them, that they are very excellent at everything they do,” Dee said. “Whether it’s advising or coaching students.” 

Kelsey Bushman, the learning specialist of Blanding’s TRIO program, said Blanding offers specific classes for TRIO students. 

“They’re called habits of mind classes,” Bushman said. “The first generation and low-income, they may not have had the advantages that other students have had. So, we kind of try to fill some gaps.” 

Bushman teaches Reading for College Success, a course designed to help students navigate their textbooks. 

“I teach them reading strategies for textbooks,” Bushman said. “A lot of times we don’t approach reading a textbook differently than we approach any other type of reading, which doesn’t really work.” 

Bushman said SSS can help students throughout their college careers. 

“It’s a team,” Bushman said. “There’s this team of people that will help a student with anything.” 

Bushman said since everyone working for SSS is in the same hallway, they can refer students to each other very easily. 

“I always say ‘don’t be afraid to ask for help’,” Bushman said. “There’s an army of people that will help if a student just asks. Including instructors anybody is willing to. I feel like at USU, we’re a big family, and anybody’s willing to step up and help anybody.” 

Hiatt said many students will come in not knowing what their strengths are. In the TRIO program, students take the CliftonStrengths Assessment. 

“We want our students to know what our talent themes are — what their strengths are,” Hiatt said. “And then to know them, to be able to name them, and they claim them and aim them in their education and just in life. And what we find is that it increases their well-being when they know that. This is where I’m powerful.” 

Hiatt said students knowing their strengths encourages other students to find their own. 

“Not every student is going to be successful in the same way, but if they learn where they do engage in their power, then they do engage in the college experience,” Hiatt said. “Research has shown that when students are more engaged in their college experience, they’re more successful.” 

Many people assume USU Blanding doesn’t have student housing, according to Hiatt. 

“Blanding has dorms here,” Hiatt said. “We’re a little community that supports the college student.” 

Hiatt encourages any low-income or first-generation student to consider attending the Blanding campus and applying for TRIO. 

“If a student is reading this, or a family member, and they know someone who is a first gen student or is income eligible, and they want to have a unique small-town experience where they don’t feel like they’re just a number but a real person, and they get this little family that surrounds them,” Hiatt said. “USU Blanding is a campus to come to and they have those supports.”