BCCC awarded $1.19 million federal grant to open TRIO Educational Opportunity Center | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    WASHINGTON, N.C.     Beaufort County Community College has been awarded a five-year, $1.19 million federal grant to become a TRIO Educational Opportunity Center, giving adults in Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington counties a free place to get help with college admissions, financial aid, and career planning.

    The center will serve as a regional hub for higher education opportunities, helping low-income, first-generation, and adult learners find the path that fits them. Participants will be guided toward community colleges, universities, technical schools, vocational certificate programs, and high school equivalency programs, wherever best fit their needs. While the work is not recruitment for BCCC, the college will be one of many options presented to prospective students. The grant will allow the college to hire three new positions to staff the center, which will serve 850 participants each year.

    "Many adults in our region want to continue their education but do not know where to start, or assume it is out of reach," said Dr. David Loope, BCCC president. "This center will meet people where they are and help them find the right next step, whether that leads to our campus or somewhere else."

    The need is substantial. The college's grant application, citing U.S. Census Bureau data, shows poverty rates above the 12.6% statewide rate in all four counties and nearly 6,000 adults without a high school diploma or equivalent. Data from myFutureNC's 2026 county profiles show that between 32.1% and 43.5% of adults ages 25 to 44 earn a family-sustaining wage, compared with 57.8% statewide. In Beaufort and Washington counties, more than one in five adults in that age group have some college but no degree, compared with 11.1% statewide, and 51.3% and 48.5% of 2023 high school graduates, respectively, enrolled in college within a year, compared with 59.7% statewide.

    "Too many adults in our four counties have the drive to continue their education but get stopped by a form they do not understand or a process no one has walked them through," said Dr. LaTonya Nixon, BCCC vice president of student services, who will oversee the program. "Our staff will sit down with each person, work out what they need, and stay with them until they reach the next step."


    Participants will receive step-by-step help with admissions applications, fee waivers, campus visits, and placement and entrance exam preparation. Financial aid support includes help with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), scholarship searches, workshops on budgeting and credit, and guidance for restoring aid eligibility after a student loan default.

    Career and academic counseling includes interest assessments, course selection advice, and transfer planning. Adults who left high school before graduating can get referrals toward a GED or HiSET program. Workshops will cover resume building, interviewing, and study skills.

    Participants generally must be 19 or older, be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or eligible noncitizens, and want to enter or continue a postsecondary education program or complete a high school equivalency program.

• Attila Nemecz
• Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator
• Beaufort County Community College
• 5337 U.S. Highway 264 East
• Washington, N.C. 27889
• Ph: 252-940-6387
• Cell: 252-940-8672
• attila.nemecz@beaufortccc.edu