A $1.4 million dollar federal grant to help low-income and first-generation students earn high school diplomas has been awarded to Oklahoma State University. School officials say this can create more paths to higher education.
The U.S. Department of Education grant went to OSU's Talent Search program, one of four federal TRIO programs at the university aimed at helping students earn a bachelor’s degree. The program works with students between the 6th and 12th grades to prepare them for higher education. Services include counseling, scholarships and college admission information.
Dr. Clyde Wilson Jr., assistant vice president of Institutional Diversity at OSU, said creating a space to help students is rewarding.
"I, too, am a first generation college student and so, I knew what it was like to figure out, 'oh well, I know I want to accomplish my goals, but I don't have any immediate family that had gone off to college,'" said Wilson.
Since its inception at OSU, the Talent Search program has maintained a four-year high school graduation rate of 98 percent.
Cameron University in Lawton recently received a $2 million dollar federal grant for their Open Doors / Talent Search program.
