National TRIO Day
The 8th Annual Kujichagulia Ujima
Student Empowerment Conference
"New Beginnings: Empowerment to Overcome and Succeed"
Has been cancelled.
The History of the Kujichagulia Ujima Student Empowerment Conference
According to Thomas Wolanin, a Senior Associate at the Institute for Higher Education
Policy and Adjunct Professor of Education Policy and Political Science at George Washington University, the documented history of TRIO tells us that National TRIO Day came about as the Senate of the United States declared that the Nation needed to focus its attention to the “needs of disadvantaged young people and adults aspiring to improve their lives, to the investment necessary if they are to become contributing citizens of this country, and to the talent which will be wasted if that investment is not made.” Therefore, in support of this commitment, the Office of EXCELlence Upward Bound Program at The University of Toledo has established the Kujichagulia Ujima Student Empowerment Conference for all TRIO Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math-Science & Talent Search students regardless of race, ethnic background or economic circumstance. The annual conference has included past keynote speakers and friends of TRIO such as:
1999 -- Stanley Joplin, Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Toledo; Parris Coleman, II, Associate attorney with Fuller & Henry, L.L.P. in Toledo, Ohio;
2000 -- Dr. Naim Akbar, Author, lecturer & psychology professor at Florida State University; Aeisha Kinney, Communications major at the University of Toledo; & William Middlebrooks, CEO of Reality Entertainment Group, Studio City, CA
2001 -- Lesra Martin, Crown Attorney in British Columbia; Dr. Blandine Walls, Ordained Minister of Higher Ground Assemblies, Pastor & Foundress of Good News Bible Chapel and Director of Good News Bible Training Center in Toledo, Ohio; Derrick Seaver, Ohio’s youngest State Representative at the age of 18 on Election Day 2000; & Viola Gray, Director of A.C.E.S.S.S. Programs at Governors State University & past MAEOPP President & Secretary.
2002 – Victor Woods, Author and Earl Cardwell, II, Attorney and Co-author of A Breed Apart and Successfully Achieving Your Vision Volumes I & II are the founders of the A Breed Apart Program; Dwayne Bryant, Motivational Speaker and Founder of Inner Visions; Kendall Lee, Motivational Speaker and Educational Consultant for the Ohio Department of Education; & Dr. Denise Lloyd McDowell, Dean of Enrollment Management & Registrar at Kansas City Kansas Community College & immediate past-President of MAEOPP.
2003 – Dwayne Bryant, sought after for his uncanny ability to capture the attention of his audience, 
Founder of Inner Visions, often called the ‘Michael Jordan of Motivational Speaking’; Russell Simmons, the master visionary who has long shaped the cutting-edge of hip-hop; Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe, Vice President for Student Affairs, The University of Toledo; Jeffrey Johnson, Director of Youth, College & Young Adults, National NAACP; & Dr. Karen Patterson-Stewart, one of the original “Upward Bounders,” college professor and author of Seven Blessings of a Pink Slip.
2004 – Dr. Todd Hall, founder of Shabach Deliverance Church in Orlando, FL and Dove Inner City Ministries which focuses on the needs, pressures and concerns of youth; Jamal Harrison Bryant, founder of Empowerment Temple and has appeared on BET, CNN, CSPAN, Politically Incorrect and participated in two of Tavis Smiley’s Town Hall meetings on “The State of Black America.”
2005 – Shaynne Witherspoon, author of The Truth Will Set You Free by Author House Publishing and Interim Associate Director of GEAR-UP, Office of EXCELlence, The University of Toledo; Nasser Jones of NKJ Motivational Programs, Jenkintown, PA; Dwayne Bryant of Inner Vision International, Inc., Chicago, IL.
Additionally, the conference offers a variety of workshops that help Upward Bound students gain a higher sense of consciousness and motivation that will aid in their transition from high school to college while striving for the ultimate goal: GRADUATION!
The Office of EXCELlence Upward Bound staff decided on Kujichagulia and Ujima because they are extraordinarily powerful words that come from the African Swahili language. Additionally, Kujichagulia and Ujima are two of the seven principles of the Nguzo Saba developed by Dr. Maulana Karenga to unify a mass of people toward one purpose.
Kujichagulia means “self-determination,” the spirit in which we hope participants gain empowerment to define, name and create their purpose to the fullest. Ujima means “collective work and responsibility,” the spirit in which we hope participants gain empowerment to collectively build and maintain a sense of community for self and others.
So, as we honor National TRIO Day, let us remember that we are strong TRIO students and regardless of our barriers, we have the opportunity to define, create and examine ourselves by empowering our mind, spirit and future.
NOTE: The history was adapted from a speech Thomas Wolanin made at the Council's Board of Directors' Annual Meeting in December 1996.