Twenty-two junior and senior students from the Western Upper Peninsula attended the 2020 Student Leadership Summit at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa on February 21-23, 2020. The annual summit was hosted by the Michigan College Access Programs & Personnel (MI-CAPP). Students who attended were enrolled in either TRIO Talent Search or TRIO Upward Bound with a proven record of leadership.

At the conference, students heard from keynote speakers Grace Adofoli and Jake Putala. Adolfoli, who is a TRIO alumnus from Wisconsin, now works for the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA, and challenged the students to take on the characteristics and habits of leaders. Putala, a Baraga native, told of his experience in public service at a young age, and challenged students not to be hindered by fear of failure. On Saturday, students were able to choose four workshops to attend (out of twenty options), participated in a service project for the Father Fred Foundation, attended a panel discussion, and the MI-CAPP Endowment Scholarship Banquet.

On Sunday morning, MI-CAPP recognized five outstanding TRIO leaders from the Western UP. Caitlyn Bloomberg, Katie Griffin, Austin LaBonte and Mindy McKinnon received Student Leadership Awards. Briar Sordahl received an award in gratitude for her service at the conference as a Student Ambassador.

TRIO Talent Search participants included: Kori Anderson (Ewen Trout Creek), Harley Bell (Wakefield-Marenisco), Caitlyn Bloomburg (Forest Park), Ethan Brunell (AD Johnston), Eddie Carrothers (Ewen Trout Creek), Weston Christiansen (Ontonagon), Vivianne Collins (Jeffers), Lily Coponen (Jeffers), Kylee Damgard (Wakefield-Marenisco), Cadance Johnson (Dollar Bay), Isabel Jones (Forest Park), Jamie Kapelka (Wakefield-Marenisco), Corrin Kelly (Wakefield-Marenisco), Mindy McKinnon (Forest Park), Aliina Nordine (Ewen Trout Creek), Lily Reinke (Forest Park), Briar Sordahl (Wakefield-Marenisco), and Emma Wakeham (Jeffers).

TRIO Upward Bound participants included: Noah Aleo (L’Anse), Trevor Borke (Hancock), Katie Griffin (Lake Linden), Willow Harris (Dollar Bay), Austin Labonte (Lake Linden), and Natalie Monette (Lake Linden).

TRIO Pre-College Programs, consisting of TRIO Talent Search & TRIO Upward Bound, are 100% grant funded by the US Department of Education and proudly hosted by Finlandia University. For more information about our programs, events, and areas served, visit keweenawtrio.org.