As national and local budget discussions continue, a University of Guam alumnus speaks out regarding the real impacts of proposed federal funding cuts that threatens to hinder access to higher education.

President Trump wants to eliminate the TRIO programs, which support thousands of low-income and first-generation college students, like Loreto Paulino Jr.

He recently advocated on Capitol Hill alongside other representatives from UOG, underscoring the importance of the continued funding of these vital programs.

"The way that we were advocating for them was we were essentially telling them who we were before TRiO and who we are after," Paulino explained. "And the after really gives these senators and representatives of Congress a perspective of what those programs can do."

TRiO provided Paulino with the necessary foundation to succeed in college, leading him to study climate change in Alaska and later become a research fellow at Boston University. He is now an incoming PhD student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, focusing on oceanography.

Paulino is able to continue his academic journey thanks to the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), a highly competitive and prestigious program that offers three years of financial assistance.

He is one of three awardees from Guam, along with fellow UOG alumni Mary Heather B Jingco and Eries Jay D Moreno.

"The GRFP is something that a lot of students look forward to and hope to acquire because for some it’s the only way they will be able to pursue their academic journey," Paulino stated.

However, the proposed budget cuts extend beyond TRiO, with President Trump also seeking to significantly reduce the NSF's budget. This has already resulted in a decrease in the number of GRFP awards this year, from the usual 2000 to just 1000.

To give an idea how competitive the program is, he said each year an average 13,000 individuals in the US apply to this fellowship, but only ten percent get in. But this year, the tight window narrowed to seven percent. It has the scientific community talking and getting vocal about the fast moving changes.

"To me that’s sad because we’re losing really capable scientists and the only reason that we’re losing them is through this (lack of) funding," Paulino expressed. "They were not given the funding that they needed to pursue science."

Looking ahead, Paulino hopes that other Pacific Islanders will continue to have the same opportunities and access to higher education. He aims to one day return to Guam and contribute to improving ocean science education.

“In my PHD, I want to work with UOG faculty to start doing this preliminary work to set the foundation for having an oceanography major available in Guam. What I plan to do is work with University of Guam TRiO and hopefully go to local high schools and kind of like survey the current state of ocean science,” Paulino said.