Summertime and the Living Is...? | | Volume 1 | Edition 5 | 6.11.2025 | |
Welcome to the June 2025 Navigator, Bryan!
🎶 Summertime and the living is… fulfilling!
As we wrap up another incredible academic year of advocacy, access, and achievement, we're thrilled to bring you the final newsletter edition until September 2025! Whether you're leading summer programming, traveling, or enjoying a well-earned pause, we hope this season brings you moments of joy, restoration, and inspiration.
This summer, we're turning up the volume on our mission as it’s the Summer of Advocacy! From Capitol Hill to campus halls, your voice and work have made waves. This issue is a celebration of all we’ve accomplished together and a sneak peek of what’s coming next. Take a moment to soak it in, share it with your team, and give yourself a well-deserved high five. You’ve earned it.
We’ll see you back in your inbox next fall, but until then, keep shining, stay connected, and never stop advocating.
With appreciation and determination,
- Bryan & Linda
| | | | A Presidential Reflection | |
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Dear NEOA Members,
As I reflect on this past year as NEOA President, I am filled with deep gratitude and pride for everything we have accomplished together.
This year reminded us just how powerful our collective voice can be. We had 388 students attend TRIO Day in New Hampshire—celebrating their achievements and connecting in a space full of pride and purpose. In March, over 50 NEOA professionals traveled to Washington, D.C. for the COE’s Policy Seminar, making sure New England was well represented on Capitol Hill. Our annual conference in Rhode Island welcomed more than 200 attendees, and that night, we raised over $4,000 for Fair Share! We may be a small region, but we continue to show that we are mighty in force.
We also celebrated a major professional milestone with 15 talented NEOA leaders graduating from the Arnold Mitchem Leadership Institute this year. I’m especially excited to see some of them already stepping into leadership roles within their state associations and on the NEOA Board. Their growth and commitment to service are a testament to the strength and future of our community.
As a result of your relentless advocacy, our programs are not only gaining visibility—they are commanding attention. TRIO is making headlines, shaping conversations, and influencing policy. Members of Congress are now speaking boldly on our behalf in Senate and House committees and budget hearings—and yes, even the Secretary of Education, put in the “HOT SEAT,” is being compelled to learn about TRIO. That is the undeniable power of your commitment, your stories, and your persistence.
Want to see the momentum for yourself? Head over to the NEOA Press Room and check out just how far your voice has carried us!
But our work is not done. As we move forward, I encourage you to stay engaged with your congressional representatives. Keep sharing your students’ stories and successes. If you are an alum, thank you for the work you do to inform our leaders of your journeys and for staying involved. We all know that Advocacy is not a one-time event—it’s a continuous effort. Your voice truly has the power to shape the future of our programs and must be heard by members of Congress, institutional leaders, and stakeholders repeatedly.
I encourage you to stay active in your state associations and connected with the NEOA Board. You are always invited to attend a meeting. The Fall Navigator will include the dates and locations. We are strongest when we lead together. Whether it’s serving on a committee, attending events, or mentoring a colleague, your involvement matters and helps to empower our entire community.
To the NEOA Board and everyone who gave their time, ideas, and heart this year—thank you. Your leadership and collaboration made this a year of growth, resilience, and impact. Serving as NEOA President has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my professional journey. I have grown as a leader, a listener, and an advocate. I have learned the power of community, the strength in vulnerability, and the importance of showing up—even when the path is not always clear. Thank you for trusting me with this role and for helping me grow along the way.
As I pass the baton to our next President, I do so with hope and excitement for what’s ahead. Next year, we will celebrate NEOA’s 50th anniversary: a milestone that honors our legacy and the generations of advocates who came before us. And with your continued passion and dedication, we will be sure to keep NEOA around to celebrate many more anniversaries to come.
With all my thanks and admiration,
Yara Zoccarato
President, NEOA
| | | | Summer Melt: Let's Talk About It | | |
Summer Melt is a common challenge where students who have been accepted to college don’t complete the final steps to enroll in the fall. This often happens due to confusing paperwork, financial aid hurdles, or a lack of support during the summer months.
For TRIO and GEAR UP students, who are often first-generation college-goers or come from low-income backgrounds, this risk is even higher. That’s why these programs play a vital role in helping students overcome summer melt by providing ongoing guidance, reminders, and resources during the critical summer period.
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Strategies to Avoid Summer Melt: Provided by Arielle Derival and the GEARUP Team at BU!
Tips for Advisors
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Personalized Text or Email Nudges: Reminders help students complete key tasks like submitting financial aid forms or registering for orientation.
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Create a Summer Task Checklist: Create a college-specific checklist (e.g., FAFSA verification, orientation registration). Provide both printed and digital versions. Include due dates and contact info for support. These can also be added on social media.
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Summer Jobs and Programming Promotion: Go into classrooms starting in April and share resources with students. Email and text these resources to students and families as well.
They also created a sample checklist of what students can do in June, July, August, & ongoing that they have graciously shared with our NEOA Community: Linked Here.
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The U.S. Department of Education has not released grant award notifications (GANs) for many TRIO programs, jeopardizing your ability to recruit, plan, and deliver critical services to students across the country. This delay is unacceptable and threatens the continuity of life-changing programs for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students. Contact your Members of Congress here today.
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TRIO’s Coordinated Summer 2025 Advocacy Blueprint is LIVE!
The TRIO Community is mobilizing to protect vital funding in response to the President’s FY26 budget proposal, which threatens to eliminate support for TRIO programs. To ensure our voices are heard, a comprehensive Advocacy Blueprint has been released, providing everything you need to amplify the impact of TRIO this summer.
Inside the Blueprint, you’ll find:
- A calendar of key advocacy milestones
- Clear guidance on advocacy vs. lobbying
- Targeting strategies for outreach to Members of Congress
- Contact lists and social media tools
- Sample letters for students, alumni, parents, and advocates
Whether you’re sharing your TRIO story or organizing a campus campaign, your voice matters now more than ever. Explore the full resource here, and let’s stand united to protect educational opportunity!
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Public inspection versions of the Federal Register notices announcing the reopening of the 2025 GEAR UP competition are now available.
The formal notice is expected in tomorrow's Federal Register, but you can review the inspection versions today using the following links: State Grant and Partnership Grant.
Only applicants who submitted a 2025 application prior to the February deadline are eligible to resubmit.
As anticipated, three competitive priorities have been removed: Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success; Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs; and Moderate Evidence. Text and documentation related to these should be removed from your resubmission.
State applicants should still address the retained competitive priority for having a successful State GEAR UP grant prior to August 14, 2008.
There appear to be no substantive changes to the selection criteria, with the exception of a correction to the "need for project" criterion for State applicants, which likely clarifies a typo in the previous notice.
Of particular concern are new conditions introduced around non-competing continuation awards. The revised language states that continuation funding will be contingent on whether the Secretary deems the project's continuation to be in the best interest of the Federal Government.
| | NEOA Launching Pilot Mentor Program | | Summer of Impact: Music to Keep You Going | | | | |
As we keep the momentum going for NEOA’s Summer of Advocacy, we’re turning up the volume literally! Help us curate the ultimate YouTube Music playlist that captures the spirit, strength, and unity of our community.
Whether it’s your go-to empowerment anthem, a chill summer jam, or a throwback that gets you fired up to advocate for educational equity, we want to hear it.
Submit your song here!
Let’s make this a playlist that moves us, body and soul, through the rest of summer and beyond!
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Have questions, comments, concerns, or ideas for the newsletter? Is there something you'd love to see featured? We want to hear from YOU! Feel free to reach out and share your input. Interested in joining the Public Relations Committee for the 2025-2026 Board Year? We would love to have you!
NEOA Public Relations Co-Chair Bryan - blandgren@suffolk.edu
NEOA Public Relations Co-Chair Linda - shilcorm88@gmail.com
See You In Fall 2025!
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