Talent Search Programs at Morehead State University

09/04/2026

🚨 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 💸 First Gen Fund is awarding $1,000 Fellowships to 50 students! As your TRIO family, we’re proud to continue cheering you on long after high school graduation. If you’re eligible, take a few minutes to explore this opportunity and apply! fellowship.firstgen.org

⏰ 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘: 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲 at 6pm Pacific Time

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦.

ELIGIBILITY CHECKLIST
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✅ 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at an accredited U.S. college or university.
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✅ 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.
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✅ 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮 𝘎𝘗𝘈 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.
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✅ 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱
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✅ 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽
🔹 Eligibility for Pell Grant or other need-based aid
🔹 A personal statement explaining financial hardship (e.g., lack of parental contribution, unexpected expenses)
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fellowship.firstgen.org

📢 50 fellowships. $1,000 each. One application could make a difference!

Awardees will be announced on National First-Generation College Celebration Day — November 8, 2026

09/02/2026

New school year, new ACT dates and deadlines. ✍️

If you plan on taking the ACT this school year, don't miss these official test dates and registration deadlines. ⬇️

The see the full list including late registration deadlines and to register for the ACT, visit: 🔗 https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/test-dates.html

08/27/2026

🐾 𝗪𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗧! 🐾

Today, we celebrated 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘆 at our 5th Annual Pet-a-Pup event on campus at Morehead State University!

Students took a PAW-some break with our four-legged friends and even got to plunder our donation stash to shop for jewelry, snacks, and other goodies!

More than anything, today was about reminding our TRIO students that we are always rooting for them.

As a new semester begins, we hope they left feeling supported, celebrated, and ready for all that's ahead. 🐾✨

08/24/2026

🚨𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗧?! Talent Search is excited to unleash the lineup for our 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗲𝘁-𝗮-𝗣𝘂𝗽 event! 🎉🐕

Come take a paws 🐾 and join us in celebrating International Dog Day this Wednesday! We can guarantee puppy cuddles, wagging tails, and plenty of smiles!

📅 Wednesday, August 26
📍 Allie Young Lawn
⏰ 11 AM–1 PM

08/13/2026

✨ THROWBACK THURSDAY | 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗢 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 ✈️

On March 11, 2026, Interim Director Maria David began her day at sunrise on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

From sunup to sundown, she shared the stories of TRIO students and the impact our programs make not only across the nation, but right here in Eastern Kentucky.

After a long day of walking the halls of Capitol Hill, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗗.𝗖., 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻.

And then…something incredible happened.

As the flight attendant made her way through the cabin, Maria, even with tired eyes, recognized a familiar face who greeted her.

“𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧? 𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝?”

It was Madison Pauley, a former TRIO Talent Search student and East Carter High School graduate from the Class of 2020.
.. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴? 🩵

After spending the day in Washington, D.C., telling stories of TRIO students, Maria found herself on a plane homeward bound in the care of one of those very students; now grown, pursuing her own path, and working as a flight attendant.

Of course, Ms. Maria stayed until the plane was cleared so she could tell Madison just how proud she was to see her doing what she loves.

Sometimes, if we're lucky, life gives us a beautiful reminder that what we do matters.

Madison's success proves that for TRIO scholars, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁. ✈️☁️

08/05/2026

Interim Director Maria Lind David is having a howling good time at the Wolfe County Middle School open house! 🐺📚

06/30/2026

🏆 𝟮𝟴 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘: For most of her career, 𝗔𝗺𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗻 inspired generations of students in Eastern Kentucky classrooms as an elementary teacher with Morgan County Schools, helping young learners believe in themselves and discover what was possible. Over the last three years, she brought that same compassion and encouragement to students in grades 6–12 through our TRIO Talent Search program at Morehead State University, continuing to open doors and change lives for first-generation students.

Amy has always reminded us to look for the ✨ 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 ✨ those small moments of joy, hope, and kindness that brighten even the ordinary days. She didn't just teach that lesson; she lived it.

Thank you, Amy, for being a Light Through the Mountains and for leaving a legacy that will continue to shine in the lives of the hundreds of students you've inspired.

Congratulations on your well-earned retirement! 💙✨

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘯? 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩. 💬

06/18/2026