Oakton receives $1.75 million grant to help low-income and first-generation students

Oakton Community College will receive a federal Student Support Services grant of nearly $1.75 million over five years from the U.S. Department of Education to help more students succeed in and graduate from college.

Oakton first received this grant in 1990 and since then it has helped thousands of students accomplish their academic goals, officials said.

Student Support Services helps college students who are low income, first-generation or have disabilities. The services the grant will provide include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring and help in choosing courses.

Student Support Services began in 1968 and is one of the eight federal "TRIO" programs authorized by the Higher Education Act to help college students succeed. It recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success. Programs bolster students from low-income families who have not had the academic opportunities that their college peers have had and helps students with disabilities remove obstacles preventing them from thriving academically.

"We are very excited to be able to continue our work with current TRIO SSS students and to know we will be able to help future students achieve their academic goals," Esperanza Salgado-Rodriguez, Oakton's manager of TRIO Student Support Services, said in a news release.