University of the Pacific’s leadership in improving access, retention and graduation rates for first-generation students and students with disabilities through the TRIO program received national recognition on Good Morning America this week.

The television appearance—part of a segment on TRIO’s impact on students across the country—highlighted Pacific’s long-standing commitment to providing resources to underserved students. Pacific has supported low-income students through TRIO since 1979, helping more than 1,400 students stay on track, graduate and launch successful careers.

“Our TRIO success students are no different than any other college student in the United States,” said Vice President of Student Life Maria Blandizzi during the segment. “They have brilliance and ability that will matter to all of us and to future generations.”

Current students Simran Mann ’27, in the Eberhardt School of Business, and Mark Castaneda ’26, in the School of Engineering and Computer Science, shared their experiences while Pacific alumnus and former NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez ’84 joined Good Morning America host John Quinones to discuss the TRIO Upward Bound program, which both men participated in as students.

“You and I wouldn’t be here if those programs didn’t exist,” Quinones told Hernandez. “You and I both picked vegetables as migrant farm workers and then our wildest dreams came true.”

Hernandez agreed. “Without the TRIO program, I never would have achieved my dream of becoming an astronaut,” he said. “I don’t think I would have been prepared for the rigors of graduate school. I have found education to be the great equalizer.”

Upward Bound is one of several programs under the TRIO umbrella. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, it partners with Pacific students to offer tutoring and a six-week college exploration summer program for students from nearby Edison High School.

Pacific also recently launched the First Gen Hub last year to support all first-generation students. The collaborative space includes study rooms, a computer lab, a kitchen and common areas on the ground floor of the McCaffrey Center.

“We all are going through this college journey together and we all are trying our best to reach our best potential,” Mann said. “It really makes my college degree much more accessible and it makes me feel a lot more confident in my space of being at college.”

The hub supports Pacific’s equity programs, including the Community Involvement Program, Success TRIO and Promise Scholars, and also serves first-generation students who are not enrolled in an equity program.

“I was homeless for about eight years. I’m very proud of the things that I have been able to overcome,” Castaneda said. “Without programs like TRIO, without that type of support, the growth and healing and resilience that I’ve developed doesn’t happen.”

The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded Pacific a $1.7 million grant to improve college retention and graduation rates for first-generation students and students with disabilities.

The five-year TRIO Student Support Services grant will help 200 students per year receive academic tutoring, financial aid, scholarship guidance, career exploration, personal and academic counseling and mentoring.

Current Pacific students can apply for the program’s services online.