Shoreline Community College is officially “veterans friendly”

 

 Mike Gregoire, state VA Director John Lee and SCC President Lee Lambert after signing an agreement designating Shoreline as a veterans friendly campus.

Shoreline Community College became an official veterans friendly campus on March 4, 2010 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

“As a veteran and an Army brat, I understand the difficulty of transitioning from the team-oriented structure of the military to the less structured environment of college,” SCC President Lee Lambert told the audience before the signing. “I couldn’t be prouder of this college and the efforts to make our veterans feel welcome.”

The signing took place at the college’s second Annual Veterans Roundtable. Signing the agreement were SCC President Lee Lambert, state Veterans Affairs Director John Lee and Mike Gregoire, husband of Gov. Chris Gregoire and an advocate for veterans.

“I’m very pleased to see a campus so dedicated to veterans and veterans’ issues,” Gregoire said. A Vietnam veteran, Gregoire said he was fortunate to have an older brother who’d also served there for someone to talk to about the experience.

Also a Vietnam veteran, VA Director Lee noted that the commitment of Shoreline Community College is indicative of the huge shift in public support from the Vietnam era. “I was there in 1968-69,” Lee said, adding that the reception for many returning Vietnam veterans was not supportive. “Now, whether you support the conflict or not, no one is making disparaging remarks about the men and women who are serving.”

Lee said the agreement’s designation represents more than being just friendly to veterans. “The U.S. has the best veteran’s benefits in the world,” Lee said. “They are also the most complicated.” To help navigate those benefits, Shoreline Community College has a designated adviser, a Certifying Official, necessary for military transcript and record review as well as advising on various GI Bill benefits.

The agreement makes Shoreline a member of Partners for Veteran Supportive Campuses. As a partner campus, Shoreline will work to:

• Increase awareness of veteran’s programs on- and off-campus
• Provide staff members with a core set of veteran cultural competencies
• Implement best practices and policies designed to foster social support, acceptance, a welcoming environment and a setting that meaningfully acknowledges the contributions of veterans
• Encourage veterans to use GI Bill benefits
• Help veterans succeed in higher education and training
• Ensure staff and veterans have access to services through local, state and federal partners

“We want veterans to know that we are here to help them in any way,” said Kim Thompson, Director of Special Services at Shoreline Community College.