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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 2010)
Pa^e 8 JJortlanh OOhscruvr luly 28. 2010 C areer EDUCATION S /T R O N ENLIST IN THE ARMY AND ■ ’! i i 'I M I l-U l< I 1 ’ s * ’ Enlistment Bonuses up to: $40,000 for 6 years : in ■ ■ Ä> Sxi ♦ X- 530,000 for 4 years $20,000 for 2 years Up to $65,000 to repay qualifying student loans Up to $4,500 per year in tuition assistance while serving up iu 4>u l . / U U IU I C U U b d tlU II W illi H l« UH D ill Ot H i i i i y U O II« g « r U llU . Ron Kincaid helps recently returned soldiers access their educational benefits during regular office hours at each Portland Community College campus, including Cascade in north Portland. High school seniors in the Future Soldier Program can receive up to $1 per month while still In school with the Deferred Enlistment Bonus. More than 150 career fields to choose from. Vet Helps with Tuition Benefits Rose City Army Center Goal is college U.S.ARMY ARMY STRONG. « <a/20V s returning soldiers P » d ta .ty .ih e U f* e d S t a t u AMny Ail nghts (M e iv e d h U1 . *» «. SL» VUBTu - l® l SU C C eSS f o r _ j I am Sharing my culture ‘What sets OSU apart is the learning opportunities I have outside of the classroom. I teach a Bollywood dance class on campus, and I’m happy I can bring something from my culture to people who are really interested.” Iam P o w e re d b y O ra n g e Neha Neelwarne I Student College of Business Mysore, India Oregon State U N IV E R S IT Y oregonstate.edu • I With 3,000 members of the Oregon National Guard’s infan try combat team recently returned from Iraq and eligible for college tuition under the G.I. Bill, there is pressure to provide quality edu cational and benefits services. This spring, Portland Commu nity College welcomed Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ Ron Kincaid, who is holding regu lar office hours at each PCC cam pus, to do just that. Kincaid, a combat vet in the first Gulf War, is spending the first and third Wednesday o f ev ery month at the Rock Creek Campus from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and at Sylvania Campus from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday o f every month. At the Cascade Campus in north Portland, he is available the second Thursday of the month from 8 a.m. to noon and at the Southeast Center on the third Thursday, also from 8 a.m. to noon. The work is part of Veterans’ Affairs reaching out to local col leges to help guide veterans as they enter college. As part of this outreach, Kincaid also holds of fice hours at Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia Gorge, and Tillamook Bay community college as well as Portland State University and Or egon Health & Science Univer- sity. Though he has a home office at PSU, Kincaid carries a mobile office a laptop with WiFi and a phone to the 10 campuses. He advises veterans on benefits for education, disability compensa tion and pensions, health care benefits, home loans and more. He also can assist vets in appeal ing claims that the VA has denied. “Vets (in college) are so busy, and many have families, so they put o ff exploring b en efits,” Kincaid said. He has worked with the Or egon Department of Veterans’ Affairs for 14 yeqrs and his cur rent position resulted from a 2009 state initiative to place state vet eran services officers on Oregon’s college campuses to assist re turning combat veterans and ac tive duty personnel. Kincaid know s w hat they are going through as he attended PCC in the 1980s and earned an associate’s degree in construction beforejoin- ing the U.S. Navy. “When I came back (from the Middle East) I didn’t know I had benefits other than education and home loans,” Kincaid said. “Deal ing with benefits while trying to succeed in college is one of the biggest challenges facing veter ans today. The VA is trying to make it as easy as possible for the veterans really pulling out all the stops to help them.” To make an appointment with Ron Kincaid, call 503-559-3247, e-mail kincair@odva.state.or.us or visit the PCC Veterans' Ser vices O ffice Web site: w w w .pcc.edu/vets.
