TRIO General Knowledge
TRIO SSS
Peer Mentoring Basics
Kohawk Trivia
100

Is TRIO an acronym? 

If so, what does TRIO stand for?

It is not. TRIO Programs originally started with three programs, Upward Bound (UB), Educational Talent Search (ETS), and Student Support Services (SSS).

100

What does the SSS in TRIO SSS stand for?

Student Support Services

100

What is the FIRST thing a peer mentor should do when a mentee shares an academic concern?

Listen and ask clarifying questions (not immediately solve the problem)

100

When was Charlie Kohawk adopted as the official mascot of Coe College?

1922

200

Under which president did the TRIO initiatives begin?

President Lyndon B. Johnson


It was apart of his War on Poverty initiative.

200

Name ONE service TRIO SSS provides to help students succeed academically.

Academic Tutoring

Course Selection Advice

Financial Aid Counseling

Financial Literacy Education

Graduate School Assistance

200

Name ONE thing a peer mentor can help a mentee with.

Navigating college, finding resources, staying organized, encouragement, goal-setting

200

What does the P.U.B. stand for?

Permanent Union Building

300

True or False: TRIO funding is guaranteed.

False.

Each presidency, congress votes on how much money to allocate to TRIO programs. 

300

True or False: Only first-year students can join TRIO SSS.

False

300

True or False: Peer mentors are allowed to give advice based on their own experience, but should not replace professional staff.

True

300

Coe College originally had a very different name when it was founded in 1851. What was it called?

The School for the Prophets (before it became Cedar Rapids Collegiate Institute and eventually Coe College).

400

Name ONE eligibility factor for TRIO SSS participation.

First-generation, low-income, or documented disability

400

TRIO SSS students can get help with this important form that helps pay for college each year.

FAFSA

400

A mentee is struggling in a class but hasn’t talked to the professor. What is the mentor’s best next step?

Encourage and help prepare the mentee to contact the professor or refer to tutoring/SSS advising 

400

According to legend, how was the first major donation for the college physically carried across the country?

Sewn into the petticoat of a woman traveling by stagecoach to Iowa!

500

Why is documentation (like meeting trackers) important in TRIO SSS?

It verifies services were provided and supports federal reporting and compliance

500

How long has TRIO SSS been at Coe College?

48 years! Since 1978

500

What is the key difference between supporting a mentee and doing the work for them?

Supporting builds skills and independence; doing the work removes student agency

500

What unique requirement came with the original gift from Daniel Coe that shaped Coe College from the beginning?

That the college educate both men and women (making it co-educational from the start).

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