A notice in his mailbox to join Triton College’s Transforming and Inspiring Undergraduate Men Pursuing Higher Education (TRIUMPH) program proved transformative for Brian “BJ” Miller, Jr. at the River Grove, Illinois school.
The TRIUMPH program – launched in 2014 to increase the retention and success of men of color on Triton’s campus – provided Miller with a community of support from other men of color in addition to personal development experiences while pursuing his associate’s degree in finance.
“If I had any issues or anything, there was somebody there that could talk to you and it also was a safe space as well,” Miller said. “Once you confide in somebody or talk to them about a certain situation, it opens up another door for you because trust is gained and all sorts of things.”
A five-year, $500,000 grant award from the ECMC Foundation this fall will expand TRIUMPH at Triton and allow more young men like Miller who are enrolled at neighboring Chicagoland colleges to participate in their own comprehensive support program. Triton will initially partner with Elgin Community College and Waubonsee Community College, leaders said.
Further, the grant will support increasing program officials’ data capacity to monitor data and scale programs to the other institutions.
“We continue to monitor [students’ outcomes] because it’s not just enough to put the programs in place,” said Dr. Deborah Baness King, dean of academic success and interim dean of student services at Triton. “We have to show that we’re making significant gains as well. We’re not doing our students a service unless we can see the service in the data.”
Dr. Adetokunbo “Earl” Fatoke, Triton’s director of student support initiatives, noted that because the community college space is a “primary point of entry” for men of color in higher education, one of the main goals in creating TRIUMPH was to provide ongoing support and additional resources to create a sense of belonging on campus. This connection is “vital to their success,” he said.
