MOSES LAKE — The students of the TRIO Upward Bound program and their families gathered May 8 to celebrate another year of preparing students for higher education, and to send off the graduating seniors. 

“The banquet is for the kids and their families to celebrate the year,” said Irina Estes, the program director for Washington State University TRIO Upward Bound. “We honor all the kids’ participation. But our seniors, we worked with them for four years and they get to share where they're going to college and the younger ones get to see the end goal, like, ‘Oh, yeah, I want to be at that point.’” 

The WSU TRIO Upward Bound program serves 63 students at Moses Lake High School and Vanguard Academy, Estes said. The students and families were joined by Vanguard Academy Principal Matt Stevens, Moses Lake High School Assistant Principal Thomas Jay and state Rep. Tom Dent.  

“Tom … took a picture with the kids, and then he gave a word of advice to the seniors, kind of impromptu,” Estes said. “You could just tell the man has a big heart for kids.” 

All the seniors, 14 of them this year, are headed for college, TRIO wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. Eleven of them participated in Running Start, which allows students to attend Big Bend Community College in addition to their high school classes and obtain their associate’s degrees.  

The banquet was outdoors at Zamora Park in Moses Lake, its use donated at no charge by owner Duane Zamora, Estes said. Dinner was catered by Los Cocos at a substantial discount, she said. 

TRIO Upward Bound staff took the opportunity to hand out participation certificates and honor those who had perfect or excellent attendance at TRIO meetings, Estes said. Perfect attendance means exactly that, she explained: those students didn’t miss a single meeting. Students with excellent attendance might have missed one or two, which were excused.  

The four students of the year, one from each class, were announced at the banquet. From the freshman class, the Student of the Year was Ryan Scott. Scott is always engaged, according to the nomination, and is frequently the first to offer help, even in unenjoyable tasks like washing dishes. 

The sophomore Student of the Year was Serenity Maltos, whose leadership, organization and timeliness were an example, according to her nomination. She was also recognized as an outstanding recruiter for the program, having brought in three fellow students and making them feel welcomed. 

Andy Hoang, the junior Student of the Year, is a quiet leader who leads by example, his nominator wrote. He never misses a meeting and makes the most of every opportunity, according to the nomination. 

The senior Student of the Year, chosen unanimously by the staff, was Vanguard Academy student Daniel Heeney.  

“As a senior, he has not missed a single TRIO meeting, has participated in the summer program every year since ninth grade, and has taken on an exceptional role as a peer mentor – helping guide younger TRIO students in a brand-new mentoring program this year with very little guidance,” the staff wrote in Heeney’s nomination. “He regularly volunteers at TRIO events, offers thoughtful and valuable feedback to improve the program, and has been recognized through multiple Student of the Month nominations. In addition, he pursued extra volunteer hours at a local veterinary clinic last summer, reflecting both his strong work ethic and genuine passion for helping others.” 

In addition, Heeney performed the most community service of any senior, according to the nomination, racking up 119.5 hours. 

Heeney was the student speaker, the first time the program had one, Estes said. She provided a written copy of Heeney’s speech to the Columbia Basin Herald. 

“Back in middle school, I remember sitting through a presentation about education after high school,” Heeney said. “The presentation caught my interest because my biggest dream was to become a veterinarian. A lot of the information went completely over my head at the time, but one thing stuck with me: the cost of college. I knew college was expensive, but I did not know how much it actually was. The presenters talked about scholarships and told me they were more achievable than many people think. Honestly, at the time, I didn’t believe them. I thought it would take a miracle for me to earn even one scholarship by the time my senior year came … Today, I’m proud to say that I’ve earned nine scholarships totaling more than $12,000. A huge part of that success is because of TRIO and the people who supported me along the way.” 

    From left: TRIO Upward Bound students of the year Serenity Maltos, Andy Hoang and Daniel Heeney. Not pictured is Ryan Scott.