Minerva S. Muñoz, the director of TRIO Student Support Services (TRIO SSS) at CEHD, has received the President’s Award for Outstanding Service by the University. The prestigious annual award recognizes those individuals who provide exceptional service to the University, its schools, colleges, departments, and service units.
TRIO SSS is a federal grant program designed to support students who are first generation college students, are low income, have disabilities, or are non-native English speakers as they pursue education at the University of Minnesota. Muñoz has been a part of the TRIO community at the University since 2000, when she was hired as an office assistant for TRIO SSS. In 2002, she started working for the TRIO Upward Bound (UB) program, a college access program for TRIO youth, in a variety of roles and finding her passion for serving Minneapolis youth as they prepared for their own college-going journey. During this time, she earned a BA in sociology from the College of Liberal Arts. She left TRIO UB for a brief period to serve as assistant director for the Bridge to Academic Excellence program in the Office of Equity and Diversity from 2008-10. Muñoz then earned a master of public policy degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs with an emphasis in collective action and policy change. She returned to TRIO UB in 2010 as the program director and became director of TRIO SSS in 2016.
She most recently secured funding for TRIO SSS through 2026, and the program will move from a two-
year into a four-year-plus service model. Her work on the University’s Multicultural Student Success
Committee helped to develop and implement the Gopher Equity Project, and her leadership in this area
shaped the implementation of it within CEHD’s First Year Experience program.
Muñoz is a champion and advocate for students and addressing the systemic and institutional barriers
that students face, said one of the recommendation letters received by the award committee. The letter
went on to say, “Minerva brings forth the inequities and disparities that exist for students who come
from marginalized backgrounds. She disrupts the unexamined narratives we perpetuate in our policies,
practices, and programs by shining a light on the differential impact or barriers that exist. Minerva is not
afraid to challenge the process and push the University to be a better, more equitable place.”
Even during the tumultuous times when the pandemic was taking hold, Muñoz never lost her student-
centered focus, said another letter. “Once the pandemic hit, Minerva quickly pivoted the TRIO SSS
team’s advising approach to address immediate concerns of the students, knowing that low-income
students would be hit the hardest by the impact of COVID-19. She and her team called each and every
one of their students to assess needs and offer support and resources. She walks the walk through her
strong leadership and commitment every single day.”
The letter ends with a quote from one of Muñoz’ colleagues: “We all look for everyday heroes to look up
to but what we all yearn for are relationships with those people who I call the extraordinary ordinary.
Those that are ceaseless in their dedication and commitment, and they are the person who makes us
reach a little higher—this is Minerva.
