MCC Offers a Range of Support Services and Programs for Students Who are U.S. Military Veterans

MANCHESTER, Conn. (November 7, 2017) – In honor of Veterans Day, Manchester Community College will plant its annual field of U.S. flags — each dedicated to an individual veteran’s service — Thursday, November 9, and the flags will remain on the campus lawn in front of the SBM Charitable Foundation building through Friday, November 10.

In addition, a free lunch will be offered to students who are military veterans in the college’s Veterans OASIS (Operation Academic Support for Incoming Service Members) in the Student Service Center, room L101, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday. These events are planned as a way to help draw attention to the broad range of support programs and services MCC offers students who are military veterans.

One example of these key support programs is the Veteran-II-Veteran Peer Mentorship program (VIIV) — launched in 2015 through a generous donation to the MCC Foundation from Glastonbury-based Monaco Ford. Conceived to assist veterans and service members with their transition to MCC and to foster a connection with faculty, staff and students through a structured peer mentoring system, this program recently received additional funding from Monaco Ford to ensure its ongoing success. VIIV comprises these components to help veteran students succeed at MCC: peer mentoring, academic support and recognition, community engagement and service, and leadership development.

“The VIIV Peer Mentoring program provides another layer of support to those in transition, and allows for one-on-one interaction,” according to Counselor Ta’Shema Odoms, who serves as the college’s veterans counselor and VIIV peer mentor coordinator. “The goal is to connect student veterans to their peers who have been successful in their transition from military to college.”

The two current VIIV mentors are Adan Trujillo, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2005 through 2009; and Jonathan “Nic” Rice, whose service in the U.S. Navy covered 2010 through 2016.

Trujillo

Trujillo, an engineering major, said, “This was my chance to be a better student in a pay-it-forward way. It’s been a really great experience.” He noted that the most difficult part of veterans’ transition back into school is time management and figuring out how to do things for themselves again, with the absence of a strict military schedule.

Rice, an accounting and business administration major, agreed that juggling school and life is the hardest in the transitional phase. “Veterans are so used to being on this set schedule,” he said. “They really need to work at adjusting to a more normalized lifestyle.”

Rice

Both Trujillo and Rice encourage their fellow students who are U.S. military veterans to seek out the college’s programs and services. They are available in the Veterans OASIS to meet with students. Trujillo’s schedule is Wednesdays from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Rice is there Thursdays from 12:45 to 2:15 p.m. For more information on the college’s veteran services, visit www.manchestercc.edu/veterans.

About Veterans OASIS — Created by an act of the state legislature, the Veterans OASIS at MCC is one of a number of spaces around Connecticut dedicated to providing resources to assist students who are military veterans with needs such as supplies, textbooks and course fees. The OASIS also provides services and programs such as tutoring, professional development and readjustment support, as well as the Veteran-II-Veteran Peer Mentorship program.