Trio Student Support Services put on a karaoke night for students on Oct. 23.

Trio SSS is a federally funded support system for students of low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities. At ACU, Trio SSS is divided into two separate sections. The first section is SSS, which is federally funded, and students must qualify for it through an application. The second section is the SGA side of Trio SSS, which is open to everyone and is a chance for people to build a community.

This event was open to everyone and was an opportunity for students to take a break from school, relax and have fun, said Josette Villanueva, the president of Trio SSS.

“Our hope was just that students would come to this event and just forget about the stresses of classes,” said Villanueva, a junior kinesiology major from Devine. “Our hope was that students were able to come up see themselves and kind of leave all of that behind because we want it. We wanted them to enjoy themselves.”

The karaoke night consisted of pizza and soft drinks, and almost everyone performed at least once, said Juan Mendoza, the vice president of Trio SSS.

Trio SSS has also held a variety of other successful events this semester, including a tailgate kickoff where students could get to know each other and the Trio SSS officers for the year. There have also been multiple professional workshops where students could work on preparing for grad school, learn time management skills and gain other academic skills to prepare them for success.

“We are just kind of there to help everyone, like build community and make sure that they’re succeeding in college,” said Mendoza, a senior biology major from Midland.

For those interested in learning more about the events open to everyone, students are encouraged to look at the Trio SSS Instagram which regularly posts updates on the different events being held.