Lori Ohnesorge began her new position as Director of the TRIO Program in August. Photo from Lori Ohnesorge via Facebook.
TRiO is a federally funded program by the Department of Education, which was given its name after the first three programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services) were implemented after the Higher Education Act of 1965. The name of the program itself is not an acronym. Nearly all colleges and universities nationally have this program and Lake Land College (LLC) is no exception.
Lori Ohnesorge became the new TRiO Director here on campus prior to the start of the fall semester, replacing Amber Webb. Previously, Ohnesorge oversaw TRiO Destination College for 17 years. She pointed out that “Webb left Lake Land for a different position as the Director of Academic Support at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) last October. Over time, it was best for the structure of the program to have one director for both programs.”
Ohnesorge explained “There are two different TRiO programs on campus. One is the Student Support Services, which is a great support service for current college students. We help meet students one-on-one, work intensively with students to help them connect with resources, and overcome any obstacles to successfully complete any college program here at Lake Land.”
She further clarified that “the second program is the TRiO Destination College, which is funded through the TRiO Talent Search Grant. That program works with 600 middle and high school students to help them overcome barriers, in order for them to reach the college of their choice. It is not necessarily just Lake Land, but any college they want to attend and we help them prepare for that transition.”
She pointed out that the above-mentioned students “are from specific schools named in our grant to serve. They are from the cities of Casey, Paris, Mattoon, Altamont, Brownstown, Pana, Ramsey, and Cowden.” She stated that “Charleston is not part of this grant despite being only approximately ten miles away based on demographics and the grant has been going on since 2006. It has to do with the need in the school district, as well as the schools that we worked with over the years in the grant.”
As mentioned previously, she directed one program, TRiO Destination College, for 17 years before being promoted to her new position in August. She stated that she “had previous case management experience, working with dislocated workers through LLC, my first job experience beginning in January 2005 and before that worked with adolescent substance abuse counseling. Both experiences helped me know and serve the needs of people.”
Moreover, she received a bachelor’s in Family & Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Family Services from Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in 2001 and earned her master’s in Family Science from EIU in 2002, which was a one-year program.
Let’s welcome her to her new position and give her the support that she richly deserves. To contact her regarding any questions concerning the TRiO program, you can email [email protected] or reach her at 217-234-5007.
