- CEO Scholars have found a place to learn, share and grow together.
It’s been 20 years since visionary leaders brought the TRIO program to UW-Madison. Today, more than 1,076 successful UW-Madison graduates have come through the program – now known as the Center for Educational Opportunity (CeO) – and the vision at work is stronger than ever.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, CeO — formerly known as TRIO — will celebrate helping minority, low income and first-generation college students complete their undergraduate degrees for nearly a generation. Years of staff, friends and alumni will gather to honor the “founding fathers” of the program from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. in Great Hall of the Memorial Union. The event is free and open to the public. Register to join the celebration at: http://ceotrio20th.splashthat.com/
CEO was launched in the fall of 1993 through the combined vision and leadership of Walter Lane, Paul Barrows, Gary Sandefur, Akbar Ally and Brenda Pfaehler. Originally part of the federally-funded TRIO Student Support Services program, these astute UW-Madison administrators recognized the unique issues facing first-generation college students at Wisconsin’s flagship institution and founded what would later become CeO.
Navigating the process of financial aid, college life and the unfamiliar world of higher academic studies was too often prematurely ending the education careers of talented students who didn’t have mentors and experience managing available resources. Although it took 22 years — from 1964 to 1986 – to construct the array of programs including Upward Bound, Talent Search and others – they were all sparked by the national War on Poverty Statute to prepare and improve access for students from all backgrounds to higher education.”It was extremely clear after the Vietnam War that there was an economic and class divide among students,” said Wilma (Barrows) Callaway, who was the third staff member to be hired in the program’s first year. “The GI Bill gave access to college, but no direction to succeed for former soldiers who had no experience with the process among family and friends.”
Walter Lane, a Vietnam veteran, strongly felt that TRIO — which had been embraced by many small and private colleges and universities as a pipeline tool for the new ranks of federally- funded students — also needed to be available at major institutions. So a funding grant was written to bring the programs to UW-Madison in 1993.
The “founding fathers” of Madison’s early CeO program hand-picked Brenda Pfaehler, then director of the UW Business Learning Center, to nurture it into existence. Pfaehler served until her death in 1996, when CeO’s current director Kirk Malnor took the helm.
The shifting social economic landscape had created more students who needed financial advising, peer mentoring, study partners, academic and career advising, tutoring assistance, opportunities to learn how to study abroad , internship and employment assistance, cultural programs and activities along with the essence of college – social connection, growth and support. CeO – formerly TRIO — became the headquarters for tying information on essential resources and guidelines to success together.
Functionally, launching a targeted “help” program prior to active and consistent tracking of eligible students wasn’t easy, Callaway said.
The first cohort of 175 students was hunted down by a process of elimination, intuition and self-selection. Without knowing any student’s race, ethnicity or economic status, they had to be very creative, she said. After innovatively weeding out common European names, they sent out mass mailings to everyone else — to the huge annoyance of students who didn’t need or want TRIO services.
But the original staff that Pfaehler hired was very determined to make a difference, Callaway said. They were hand-picked with heart and for having a particular affinity for students – especially those targeted students.
“She would always say “you can teach them anything, but you can’t teach them to have a heart,” Callaway said, adding that she still uses that premise as a guide for hiring CeO staff, which focuses on the whole student. “We’ve always had a welcoming space. It’s a safe space where it’s okay to not know what to do or admit that you’re struggling with school or personal challenges.”
Yi-Yin (Winnie) Ko, Wilma (Barrows) Callaway, Ruttanatip (Dang) Chonwerawong
Lee Vang (seated in back) and CeO Director Kirk Malnor.
That important mentoring work hasn’t changed much. CeO remains a student-centered program that helps students feel valued, comfortable and supported on a largely non-diversified campus, providing an extended family with a positive, collaborative attitude toward conquering the challenges of attending college for students with very little experience or support in the process. Based on peer group interaction and social networks, CeO promotes the building of interpersonal relationships and connection.Although he didn’t officially join the staff until 2009, CEO counselor Bill Hebert had been a frequent visitor and informal volunteer while working in the cross-college advising office. Over the years, his experience with the CeO staff and their success with students was affirmed through his professional and education research.
“We knew what the students needed — we had gone through it ourselves and as staff, we had many of the same needs,” Hebert said. It wasn’t just the students who needed resource information and social colleagues, staff needed it, too, he said. It was a place to connect with food, nurturing and his personal favorite — the giant wall-mounted scrabble board.Although CeO’s programs and space needs continued to grow, the offices remained in Grainger Hall until the summer of 2001 when its headquarters moved to new digs in Ingraham Hall.
“We literally had nothing in that first office in Grainger,” Callaway said. Like most UW departments today, they like to believe the CeO staff elevated ‘hall shopping’ for discarded furniture and supplies to an administrative art. But it was the perfect location in the heart of campus where students could find the program they desperately needed.
“We were the envy of all the programs, although we were trying to do individual advising in one big room,” Callaway said. Serving student needs made the lack of privacy and perceived need for confidentiality a relative issue, she added. It was about making sure students had access and information on how to succeed. Today, returning students are a growing segment of their participants, and as in the early days, a growing number are veterans.
“Over all those years, it’s still the connections and the ability to connect with resources that makes CeO a pivotal program,” said CeO Executive Director Kirk Malnor. “In fact, that’s become more important.” In 2010, CeO became one of the core student service programs in the UW-Madison Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement.
CeO is still that place to turn, connect and succeed. “CeO is an amazing place for me to come in the middle of my day to get away from it all,” said student Farah Elakhaoui. “They provide a comforting welcoming atmosphere, not to mention the great work environment. I go to the CeO office five days a week and I do not know what I would do without the space, and most importantly all the support, from the staff.”
“When I was down for the count, my CeO advisor was there to help me stand up and keep going,” said recent UW-Madison graduate and CeO student Linda Lam. She is not like my family; she is a part of my family. I am extremely thankful and appreciative that I am exposed to the CeO program. Students that lack the necessary support and guidance can come to CeO and find it for all aspects of being a college student.”
CEO has evolved since 1993 to serve a growing number of low income and first generation students, up from 60 percent of its students to the current 77 percent. Augmented in the fall of 2008 with supplemental state dollars and renamed the Center for Educational Opportunity to reflect the hybrid funding, its federal funding grant has been renewed for five consecutive four-year cycles.
Toua Thao, who now works as a counselor on the CEO staff, was a student in the original program cohort 20 years ago.“My family escaped from Laos during the Vietnam War to a refugee camp in Thailand,” Thao recounts. “I spent 10 years in the refugee camp without a chance to have a formal education. Life in the camp was hopeless and stressful, not much different from a life in prison. Thao ended up in Madison at West High School in Madison.
“Although learning a new language and adapting to a new a culture at the age of 19 was extremely difficult for me, I knew that education was the key for a better life and an opportunity for future success. I was the first person in my family out of 11 children to have the chance and honor to walk during high school commencement. ”
He studied hard and was admitted to UW-Madison. It was like another foreign land to him, and he wouldn’t have graduated without the guidance and of TRIO. He earned his undergraduate degree in International Relations and went on to earn a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology.
“As a low-income, academically-unprepared and first-generation college student, my academic experience at a large university like UW-Madison was extremely difficult,” Thao said. The campus and class size were big for me. I got lost, cried, and gave up so many times, but TRIO was always there to help and motivate me. I even returned to Thailand as a graduate student to research how the Thai educational system affects Hmong and hill-tribes.”
Thao earned his doctorate degree from Edgewood College.“I’ll always be grateful and appreciative that TRIO has made a huge difference in and provided the opportunity for success in my life,” Thao said. “Therefore, I feel it’s a great honor to be able to help others and make a difference in their lives. I once was searching for an accessible educational opportunity and finally found one; it was a long journey.”
The first 20 years is just a beginning, said CeO Executive Director Kirk Malnor.
“The Center for Educational Opportunity has always been a community and foundation of support for a diverse group of undergraduates who are first-generation college students, students with disabilities, and/or whose families meet federal income guidelines promoting academic rigor and preparing graduates to succeed as influential leaders and global citizens. We plan to continue to be partners in developing students’ talents and abilities to ensure a prosperous future for all. We want people to know about the services we offer and the need to expand our program to serve more students from low-income families across the state.”
For more information on the UW-Madison Center for Educational Opportunity, its services or to donate to its work, go to http://ceo.wisc.edu/