Delayna Griffin holding her award
The Arkansas Association of Student Assistance Programs (AASAP), the state association for federal TRIO programs, named Delayna Griffin as the 2017 Arkansas TRIO Achiever.
Griffin was honored at the TRIO Achiever Banquet held October 1, 2017 at the Four Points by Sheraton Little Rock Midtown where she received a plaque in recognition of her successes and spoke on the key role Upward Bound played in her journey. She is an alumna of Upward Bound.
A native of Morrilton, Griffin joined Upward Bound as a 9th-grade student and persisted through her high school graduation, completing the Bridge Program during the summer as a college freshman. In 2011, just three years later, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in African-American Studies.
After her time at UCA, she went on to complete her Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration at Texas Southern University in 2016. She currently serves as an assistant district attorney in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office in Dallas, Texas.
Griffin receiving her award from Michelle Ciesielski, AASAP President
Delayna with her nominator, Michelle Hardin, Director of Upward Bound at UCA
Griffin was recognized for her academic and career achievements as well as her perseverance through challenges as a low-income, first-generation college student (TRIO’s target demographic). In her application essay to the program, she penned as a 14-year-old girl, “My goals are to graduate school with a good GPA, to go to a four-year university on a full-paid scholarship and my dream is to become a lawyer.”
She credits Upward Bound at UCA for having a profound impact on her life and accomplishments.
Griffin said, “As a young girl, I wanted no limits for my life and the goals I could accomplish as an adult. With a strong foundation, support group and motivation, I would be able to make those goals come true. Perhaps the most influential support group would be that of the Upward Bound TRIO Program. This program cultivated me and gave me the tools and resources I needed to succeed.”
