Veterans, job seekers invited to military resource fair in Idaho Falls
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IDAHO FALLS – A federal outreach and student services initiative is hosting a military resource fair for people seeking career and educational opportunities.
TRIO, a national organization funded by the U.S. Department of Education and housed at Idaho State University, is hosting the event. It’s happening on May 16 on the second floor of the Bennion Student Union Building on the Idaho Falls campus. It will go from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Joshua Badger is a recruiter and advisor for TRIO in Idaho Falls. He tells EastIdahonews.com networking opportunities will be available with more than 40 vendors, including the American Red Cross, College of Eastern Idaho and Idaho National Laboratory.
“There will be a variety of resources on education, employment, healthcare, community support (and more),” Badger says.
TRIO in Idaho Falls offers two grants. One of them is an educational grant available to anyone seeking higher educational opportunities. It also has a grant that helps veterans with education and career goals.
While the resource fair is open to anyone, Badger says TRIO began hosting the event last year with veterans in mind.
“We have a lot of veterans out there who don’t know about the resources that are available to them. We wanted to show them (how they can utilize these benefits) and how much the community is ready and willing to show up for them and be there for them,” says Badger.
TRIO, according to the Dept. of Education, was created in the 1960s under President Lyndon B. Johnson as a way to combat the war on poverty. The first program, Upward Bound, was established in 1964. It was the first of three programs that gave the initiative its name. An Upward Bound program for veterans was added in 1972.
Talent Search, the second program, was created in 1965 under the Higher Education Act. Student Support Services, the third program, came along in 1968.
Since then, local versions of TRIO have been established in communities across the country. The Idaho Association of TRIO Professionals reports there are 32 federal TRIO programs distributed among major universities. ISU is one of several universities in the Gem State offering TRIO programs.
ISU was one of the first colleges in the nation to launch the program when it was created, according to the Idaho State Journal. The chapter celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.
Continuous funding was established for Talent Search programs in 1972, serving Skyline, Idaho Falls, and Bonneville High Schools.
Badger started working for the Idaho Falls chapter about three months ago. He says his interest in helping others stems back to childhood. He’s a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serving others was part of his upbringing.
He later served a mission in Africa, where he saw “people with so much less than we do who were so willing to give back,” and that inspired him.
“If they have so little and can share what they have, I want to do that, too,” says Badger.
He attended Brigham Young University-Idaho early on his college career, and helped students navigate their goals. He later got a job in the registrar’s office at ISU as a student services coordinator. At some point, he learned about TRIO and its mission and knew that’s what he wanted to do.
“That’s what I’m all about. I love that, sign me up,” Badger recalls thinking at the time.
For anyone who’s looking for a new career or struggling in their pursuit of an education, Badger says the military resources fair is for you and he encourages people to attend.