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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

$1.3M Grant Introduces NM Middle, High Schoolers to College Options

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Tuesday, April 18, 2023   

Research shows college graduates have 60% more job opportunities than non-graduates, and a New Mexico program will make sure kids - starting in middle school - know they can choose that route. New Mexico State University is using a $1.3 million federal grant to help students in Alamogordo near the Texas state line access services leading toward postsecondary education.

Tony Marín, assistant vice president for student affairs and co-principal investigator, TRIO Educational Talent Search at New Mexico State University, said the program will serve Mountain View Middle School and Alamogordo High School students in Otero County.

"They would be the first in their families to potentially graduate from college, and so what we're going to do is work with the students as early as middle school and through high school to their entry into either a two-year or a four-year school," Marin explained.

The TRIO Educational Talent Search program is administered by the U.S. Department of Education. It is meant to identify and assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. The 5 year Alamogordo program will support 500 low-income students who would be first-generation college students.

Marin, the first in his family to achieve a university degree, believes getting a taste of college life at an early age can help persuade students it could be a formula for success and improve their lives overall. Students in the program will visit a college campus - which can sometimes plant a seed about what's possible, he said.

"'Hey, I can go there. Hey, I could be part of that, I want to be part of that.' Or on the alternative it may be something where they're, like, 'I don't know if college is for me,' but at least it's getting the thought and the conversation started," Marin continued.

It is estimated that by 2026, the number of jobs requiring a bachelor's degree will increase by 10%. Marín said students will be able to participate in boot camps that ready them for SAT or ACT college entrance exams. They can also get help with college applications, financial aid and scholarships, he said.


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