Every Tuesday, from my home, I travel to the Statehouse in Augusta with AARP Maine as an advocate and volunteer for the 50-plus community.

A favorite part of the day is at the Hall of Flags, where different groups set up tables and tell us about the programs they work on for the people of Maine. Recently, it was TRIO, a federally funded group of programs that I was not familiar with. As I went from one table to the next — learning how they serve veterans, rural students, students from disadvantaged backgrounds, first-generation college students, from middle school on — my heart kept sinking and my anxiety increased.

Just a few days earlier, Linda McMahon was confirmed as the secretary for the Department of Education, and pledged, along with President Trump, to eliminate the agency. These programs were totally dependent on federal funds for their existence. That evening, I read of the plan to eliminate 1,300 jobs, one-third of the agency.

What will our federal representatives say to the people in Maine served by TRIO programs like Upward Bound, Talent Search and Student Support Services? Will this 60-year agency, which has changed lives in untold ways, survive the next four years? Will the most vulnerable students in our nation — the poorest, the most rural, the most disadvantaged — ever get support and help from our government again?

Jessica Linzer Simpson
Cape Elizabeth