Rep. Mariani Honored for Outstanding Contributions to Education, State Legislature
The Council for Opportunity in Education has named Minnesota State Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL–St. Paul) as one of six National TRIO Achievers for 2019. The award is presented to those who attended college with help from the federal TRIO college access and support programs that have been helping low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities succeed in college against all odds for more than 50 years. Rep. Mariani participated in a TRIO Student Support Services program at Macalester College.
“I’m honored to receive this award, and for the opportunity to reflect on my path here, from my time growing up in Chicago, to being the first in my family to attend college, to serving in the Legislature and my professional work to expand education opportunities,” Rep. Mariani said. “TRIO meant many things in my life: a gateway to academic opportunities that otherwise would not be open to me, a framework for how to build practices and shape systems that powerfully aided my journey to unlock my intellectual desires and imagination that had been planted in my earliest years. I’m grateful for COE’s work to create pathways to college for those students who may not recognize their potential and to support them in their journey.”
Outside the legislature, Rep. Mariani is the Executive Director for the Minnesota Educational Equity Partnership, an organization working through an equity lens to transform educational institutions, organizations, and leaders to ensure that students of color and American Indian students achieve full academic and leadership success.
