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>> Welcome to the Salt Lake Community College
Veterans Center.
Opened in April 2008,
the College's Veterans Center is the epicenter for more
than 1,300 student Veterans.
The center is located in the lower level
of the student center on the college's main campus,
the Taylorsville Redwood campus.
The Veterans Center provide a safe space for our students
to relax, visit, and study that is removed
from the chaos of college life.
It is a haven where veterans can decompress and engage
with other veterans with similar experiences and goals
as they attend college.
Administrative offices and services are located
in the Veterans Center.
>> Upon entering the center you'll see the veterans' study
area prominently displayed and always lit are the flags
from the five branches of the service.
Respect for each branch of service is recognized
by our students because the flags are hung in proper order
and are always illuminated.
A large world map is situated across from the flags
and we've invited veterans to tell us where you have served.
This provides an opportunity for veterans
to identify their branch of service
and where they have served around the world.
This not only honors their individual service
but it provides a visual to highlight where all branches
of military have served.
>> Often as military members transition from military
to civilian life, they may feel lost and alone
without meaningful connections to others.
Additionally, college life can seem chaotic and uncomfortable.
>> The support that the Salt Lake Community College Veterans
Center offers to our veterans here on campus is invaluable.
To me, there is no price you can put on it.
There's no price to take, you know,
somebody who served our country --
I get a little emotional sometimes --
but I see some of these guys that really hurt, you know?
And to have something there for them.
They know that somebody's there to help them
at every step and it's difficult.
Like, you know, I've heard other people say, you know, go along
and some of these guys have big responsibilities.
You know, I know some of these guys
that were blown up 3 and 4 times.
You know, they've had a lot of turmoil in their life
and you see some of them who will just go and be
like oh you know I'm done with school.
And not because they came to the school
because they get frustrated with the bureaucracy of it.
And I -- like I said I've been two different schools.
And here at Salt Lake it seems much easier for the veterans
when you can just tell them, you know, just calm down.
Let's go to the veterans office.
Let's, you know, figure it out.
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>> When I started school, I was almost homeless.
I was trying to get on my feet again.
Having the Veterans Center with the improvements
that have been made over the last 3 or 4 years has helped me
in ways that I -- it's hard for me to put into words
because I struggled with classes.
I started school again when I was 39 years old.
I had to do math all over from scratch.
And I've worked hard and it's taken me awhile
but I'm currently working
on an engineering degree whereas before I was --
I had to start from scratch.
>> Ten veteran work study students have been hired to work
in the Salt Lake Community College office.
All of the students are veterans.
Some are already discharged while others are still serving
in the Reserves or Guard.
>> Being on both sides of this, having other veterans help me
and me helping other veterans it's a sense of I'm frustrated.
I need an answer and a civilian sometimes just does not
get that.
So to have a veteran explain
to another veteran, they've been there.
They've done that.
We've all had the same frustrations dealing
with school, dealing with payments,
dealing with paperwork.
>> They assist with identifying additional college services
available to veterans like the Disability Resource Center.
The veteran's office houses the three active
certifying officials.
Candice is our full-time employee and lead SCO.
Vanessa is also a Staff Sergeant in the Army National Guard
and Wayne is a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy Reserves.
Workload is divided between the three for verifying
and completing claims for all chapters of benefits
that have been previously reviewed
by the work study students.
At least, one SCO is available
in the veteran's center throughout business hours.
>> In October 2010, SLCC was the 8th school to be selected
to host the pilot Vet Success
on Campus Program sponsored the U.S. Department
of Veterans Affairs.
>> Too often, the schools are more interested
in processing paperwork than they are dealing with the issues
of veterans and if you've got a veteran who's struggling,
get them help either with a state office, with a federal VA
or the mental health folks and so it's a teamwork approach.
You know, the more colleges or universities that do these kinds
of things, it's another touch point for us.
And if you've got a student veterans center on the campus,
it's a one stop location for him.
And of course, my hope is is that not only can they get help
from an education standpoint
but maybe they could also get information
on veteran's benefits.
>> You almost have to be a veteran to understand the value
of a veteran's exclusive office.
Although there are a lot of facilities and agencies
on campus that are anxious to help students,
there are very few, if any, that truly understand the mindset
and the things that veterans worry about and dwell on.
>> If I call them and say a vet's got a problem,
they take care of it, you know.
If I say, you know, somebody says I need this.
You know not getting something, you know, I need tutoring help.
I'm like you know what you go, you know,
to the veteran's center and they're going
to get you the help that you need, you know.
If you're having trouble, you know maybe
with your house payments, they're going to try
to get you the help you need.
You know the school, they're going to try
to get you the help they need.
It's very nice because actually I was at a different school
that didn't have a vet's center on campus
and I had no idea what they could offer me at all.
I just, you know it was always just a 1-800 number
that you called and I thought that was it.
>> So to have a place that they can go and they can talk
to people about why am I being treated this way,
I was in charge of life and death not many weeks ago.
Now I'm treated like a, you know, somebody who has
to take remedial reading.
That's a hard transition for these folks to make.
And to have a facility like yours
that can bring an understanding to the rest of the faculty
on campus as well as provide information to these veterans
that we understand where you came
from with what you have given
but please be a little considerate of the rest
of the population and the faculty
who don't fully appreciate what you've done.
>> Our full-time VA counselor, Mike Foster,
assists all veterans in making the most
of their educational opportunities
by providing on-campus educational counseling
and VA support.
Darlene Head, Manager
of the college's Veterans Services office,
has nearly 30 years of experience at the college
and has worked in veterans services since October 2005.
She has created partnerships with outside agencies
to provide services to our veterans on campus.
The Outreach Service Office provides private space
for service providers to work with and assist our students
and arranges for various organizations to meet
with the veterans in the center.
By bringing providers to the campus,
we are able to provide more assistance to veterans.
Regular service providers include Veterans Upward Bound
and Department of Workforce Services, vet rep,
vet center counselors,
and veterans' rehabilitation counselors visit
with their clients on campus.
>> Having organizations like Veterans Upward Bound,
as an example, available to you as a veteran, being able to work
with people that kind
of understand you're not quite the same as other students
and that you face other -- you face challenges that, perhaps,
other people may not face.
Having those people be there and be understanding
and help you have somebody there just for you
so you can get tutoring and assistance in any subject
for English or math, for me it was math.
It was -- I got As instead of Cs or Ds.
So I'm extremely thankful for that organization alone.
>> The Salt Lake Community College Veterans Center is a
busy office performing many functions for many groups.
Our main focus is serving the needs
of our veterans attending the college
and processing their claims quickly.
We are also concerned about the well being
of our students knowing that if they experience problems they
may be inclined to drop out of school.
We let them know how much we truly care
about them and their well being.
>> I feel having a veterans center here
at the college is great.
It gives the veterans a sense of pride that they're noticed.
That they're being rewarded for something that they did.
I've been to schools that don't have a veterans center
and it doesn't matter if you're a veteran
or not, you're just there.
You're a student.
You're just another number.
Here at SLCC it's very one on one oriented.
Everybody knows we're down here.
Every veteran that comes to school here, knows we're here
and they have an ally.
>> Thank you for joining us and sharing our veterans center.
We hope seeing what we have created gives you some good
ideas for the veterans and the range
of services at your institutions.
>> I can't tell you how thankful I am because it means more
than you could ever imagine.
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