Resilient-by-Design-TRIO-Works.php

Resilient by Design: TRIO Works

  • Students
  • 05/05/2026

“Our common denominator is Rock Valley College. Our journeys are all unique. Together, we will break the cycle because success is contagious,” Rock Valley College President Howard Spearman shared with TRIO graduates during the May 1, 2026, completion ceremony.

Two African American women stand and smile in front of a backdrop that says TRIO

Turnia Holliman (left) celebrates with a friend at the TRIO Completion Ceremony on May 1, 2026

For Spearman, the message was personal. As a former participant in Upward Bound and TRIO programs himself, he understands that the path to higher education is often anything but linear. His remarks centered on a theme that resonated throughout the ceremony: resilience, not as a trait some are born with, but as something built, practiced, and sustained through support and community.

For more than 60 years, TRIO programs across the United States have helped millions of students navigate barriers to higher education. TRIO is a federally funded initiative designed to support students who are low-income, first-generation, and/or students with disabilities. At RVC, that legacy continues. This year, 39 students were honored for completing the TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Achieve and Complete programs.

“Resilience is not about avoiding hardship,” Spearman emphasized. “It’s about continuing forward in spite of it, and knowing you don’t have to do it alone.”

Community college students often balance academic responsibilities alongside work, family obligations, and personal challenges. TRIO exists to meet those realities head-on, offering advising, tutoring, mentorship, and a network of support that helps students persist when the path feels uncertain.

Student speaker and TRIO graduate, Turnia Holliman said, “This journey was worth it, because it shaped me into the woman I am today. I have witnessed what it means to be resilient in every area of my life.”

Holliman, a single mother, met countless challenges in the pursuit of her degree, yet she never gave up. She continued, “I had to make many sacrifices for my education. I'm the breadwinner, and it was a huge setback to withdraw or drop classes, because I had to make sure my family was good.”   

Spearman encouraged Holliman and all of the graduates to recognize the strength in their journeys, not just in reaching completion, but in every obstacle they navigated along the way.

“We do not quit. We are resilient by design,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what life throws at us; we take our experiences and use them to propel ourselves, and each other, forward.”

That collective resilience was evident throughout the ceremony, as students crossed the stage not only as individuals, but as part of a broader community committed to lifting up one another. Many are the first in their families to attend college. Others have navigated significant personal or systemic barriers. All leave with a shared understanding: their success is both personal and generational.

In addition to celebrating TRIO graduates, the ceremony also recognized students inducted into Delta Alpha Pi (DAP) Honor Society—one of the few collegiate honor societies dedicated to students with disabilities. Inductees must complete at least 24 credit hours, maintain a 3.1 GPA or higher, and self-identify as a student with a disability.

For many, the dual recognition highlighted not only academic achievement, but the power of persistence.

As the ceremony concluded, Spearman’s message lingered: resilience is not just about enduring—it’s about transforming challenges into momentum. And for TRIO students, that momentum doesn’t end at graduation. It carries forward into careers, communities, and the lives they will impact next.

TRIO Student Support Services Graduates

  • Juan Acosta-Artega
  • Salah Alhaj Ali
  • Ibrahim Alkordi
  • Amjad (MJ) Alsalih
  • Aiden Barenklau
  • Nori Cecil Barnes *
  • Isiah Blake
  • Carlos Brown Jr.
  • Kristin Callis
  • Yaritza Carillo
  • Nya Chai
  • Ja’Juan Cozark
  • Jabez DeCarlo
  • Sylestasia Finister
  • Isabella Fritz
  • Xohanny Garay
  • Emily Garcia Garrido
  • Courtney Hamberlin
  • Kaylee Harter
  • Kenyatta Henderson
  • Deziyah Hicks
  • Turnia Holliman
  • Benjamin Holmertz
  • Owen Hunt
  • Taesoo Jang
  • Jameson Jognson
  • Briana Knudson
  • Nicholas Martinez
  • Elesea Mayberry *
  • Christopher Moreno *
  • Zailyne Negron
  • Toni Quick
  • Jamarion Readus
  • Jon’tayveon Samuels
  • Grant Schroeder
  • Xion Smith *
  • Keyla Suarez
  • Olivia Uwiduhaye
  • Kristina Vinger

* denotes current Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society membership

 

Delta Alpha Pi, Delta Tau Chapter – Honor Society Inductees

  • Isiah Blake + #
  • Sait Culafi #
  • Sylestasia Finister + #
  • Dina Giamalva
  • Hayden Gilson +
  • Ella Greenfield #
  • Kalynn Hejduk
  • Ollie Hougan #
  • Benjamin Kohn #
  • Isaac Macmurchy +
  • Jesus Maldonado #
  • Sawyer Mundell
  • Elijah Norris #
  • Sabine Salgado
  • Christopher Swagger +
  • Stephanie Thompson +
  • Grace Van Barriger #
  • Grace VanBriesen +
  • Kristina Vinger + #

+ denotes graduating Delta Alpha Pi inductee

# denotes TRIO student

 

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