Pappas Meets with UNH McNair Scholars as Trump Administration Cuts Program

Last Friday Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) held a roundtable discussion with McNair Scholar students at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), staff, and alumni on the Trump administration canceling federal funding for the program and its impact on them. The McNair Scholars Program is a federally-funded TRIO program administered by the U.S. Department of Education striving to prepare talented, highly motivated UNH undergraduates for entrance to postbaccalaureate degree programs in all fields of study.

“For these students, the McNair Scholars program meant a community. Many of them are the first person in their families to attend college, and this program provided them with meaningful support and resources so that they could succeed in school, conduct research that will better our society, and pursue a good career,” said Congressman Pappas. “It’s despicable that the Trump administration canceled this program, and while our efforts to date to restore these promised funds have been unsuccessful, we won’t give up this fight. Helping students of all backgrounds find success in higher education is something I will always support. I was very grateful to meet with these students and hear about their passion to learn and drive to succeed. I know this roadblock won’t stop them.”

“I am the first in my family to attend college. When I first attended UNH, I felt extremely out of place. However, the people I could always count on to help me was TRIO. I was able to transform my confidence because TRIO was the first program that believed in me. They believed in me so much that they pushed me to consider McNair as a junior. Without this program and the support of Mr. Pappas not only would students lose the ability to appreciate education and research, but they would lose the opportunity to network across the country, to grow as researchers, to travel for the first time, to build confidence in securing a bright future for themselves, and to believe in their own capabilities as students beyond the classroom,” said Jayden Cruz, Senior Social Work Student.

Background:

Pappas and the New Hampshire delegation called on the administration to restore Congressionally-approved funding for New Hampshire programs, the Education Alliance for New Hampshire’s Statewide Family Engagement Center grant and TRIO grants for the University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) Talent Search and McNair programs. They also called on the administration to restore funding for New Hampshire’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).