The needs of veterans at the Whidbey Island Campus of Skagit Valley College will be the topic of a special panel at the community college from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 1.
“We’re trying to determine what are the needs of veterans and what can we do to better serve those in college,” said Carol Funk, a counselor with Student Support Services at the SVC Whidbey Island Campus. “We’re trying to create a veteran-friendly campus.”
The panel will include several experts: Peter Schmidt, project director of the Veterans Training Support Center, Center for Learning Connections at Edmonds Community College; Timm Lovitt, Traumatic Brain Injury field coordinator for Vet Corporation; Rosa Lundborg, manager of Veteran Services and Disability Resources at the University of Washington Bothell; and Chris McRae, president of Student Veterans Association, UW Bothell.
Funk said one of the challenges dealing with students who are also veterans is that they don’t like to come and talk with her, so part of the focus of the panel will be hearing about ways they can break down the communication barrier.
“Vets like to talk to other vets,” Funk said. “They don’t usually come and talk to me because they don’t like to share like that.”
Helping veterans make the transition from the military to a college campus is challenging, according to Funk.
“There is a tremendous amount of difference in perspective in college versus the military,” she said. “It’s a whole different style of thinking. We want to figure out how we can make that style work for veterans in college.”
The presentation is free and open to community members, college faculty, staff and students, as well as veterans or anyone currently in the military thinking about going to college. Those veterans and military personnel who don’t plan on going to college may also contribute.
Funk said having veterans actively involved in the discussion will help, because they will be advocating for themselves.
“There is life after being in the military,” said Funk. “It is an adjustment. But there are people who can assist in that adjustment and make it a positive experience.”
