Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2023)
4 NEWS Veterans connect at VET center CCC RANKED 6TH AMONG TWO-YEAR SCHOOLS FOR VETS Paulk Pauli. STORY BY CALLIE VALENTE CO-NEWS EDITOR Within the Veterans Education and Training Center (VET) on the Oregon City Clackamas Community College campus, veterans are able to find a community and help with different things. Some of the many benefits include VA educational benefit enrollment, certification, assistance, helping veterans understand their benefits, financial support and more. It may be part of the reason Clackamas Community College was ranked 6th “Best for Vets” two-year school in 2019, according to Military Times. - “The main thing the center is for is to help people use their benefits to be able to go to college,” said Ally Brake, a student and veteran who works in the VET. “It also helps them in their educational journey and supports them, whether it’s how to use your benefits, (or) extra resources for free printing in the computer lab. We are also a great support network.” The VET hosts the Student Veterans of America Club and Honor .Society, which can be a great way for veterans to get involved. “Every Thursday we do pizza and then we started a veterans club,” Brake said. “So we have an actual club with events happening. Ju st walk into the vet center and let it be known or send an email to anyone in the vet center and we can direct them from there.” Community is an incredible outlet for veterans who may be learning how to use their benefits and transition to school from service for the first time. “When I first entered the VET, I was in the midst of retiring, from the military after 21 years,” said Mac The Clackamas Print---- —. McLaren, a first time college student and retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. “Being able to connect with other veterans who have already been down this road, being able to discuss the differences in some of the benefits from their first hand perspectives, is a great help for me. It can be very confusing and overwhelming, almost so much that I believe it discourages a lot of veterans from even utilizing them. “The Resource Center in itself isn’t necessarily the provider of these resources, but i f $ definitely a great start to connect those veterans who are unaware of resources that may be available ta them or that they may qualify for,” McLaren said. While veterans who use the center seem to be in agreement that it’s helpful, there are a number of veterans who are unaware of its existence. “I am not too familiar with all the services provided,” said Alexander Peters, a new student and veteran, who declined to share details about his service. “But anytime I’ve needed help they’ve been reliable and competent. I think Veterans Affair Coordinator RB Green (an Army veteran) is an amazing person for that office.” McLaren also said it can be “very confusing and overwhelming, almost so much that I believe it discourages a lot of veterans from even utilizing them.” Veterans expressed tremendous gratitude for Green and his assistance in the center. “Ifs a great asset to have available, but like most things in life, ifs only useful if ifs getting used,” McLaren said. “With the help Ally and a few other members of the Student Veteran Association, (they) are working to reinvigorate the center as well as do their best to bring awareness to the 200-plus student veterans who may . -— — ----- -th eclackam asp rin t.com — — Veterans Affair Coordinator RB Green sitting in his office. Photo by Grant Pauli.' be eligible for some of the resources that are available.” A veteran student support group will meet in AC2- 176, Wednesdays from 2-3 p.m., starting Feb. 15. • “To assist our veterans and their family members in gaining access to valuable VA educational (and other) benefits while providing all types of transition assistance” is the mission statement of the Veterans Resource Center. The more who know about the center and all it offers, the more who can benefit from it. The Veterans Education and Training Center (VET) on the Oregon City Clackamas Community College campus is in the Wacheno Welcome Center, Room 170. February 2023
