More than 75 people attended a ribbon cutting commemorating the official opening of the Southeast Community College Veterans Connect Center (www.southeast.edu) Friday morning. The newly renovated space is located in Room U3 on the lower level of the Lincoln Campus at 8800 O St. It includes soft seating, a large conference table, Microsoft Surface tablets, desks, chairs, a refrigerator, and a flat-screen television. Dr. Paul Illich, SCC president, thanked everyone involved in helping create the space and for securing a $10,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation.
Charles Brewer, associate director of financial aid; John Mamaril, administrative assistant in SCC-Lincoln’s Registration and Records Office and an advisor to veteran students; and Lauren Rinne, Veterans Administration assistant representative, were largely responsible for organizing the event, which was attended by numerous SCC employees who have military service and others.
Recognized as an institutional best practice by the Student Veterans of America (SVA; studentveterans.org) and other prominent leaders in the veteran education space, including the American Council on Education, resource centers have been shown to directly contribute to student veterans’ successful academic outcomes. In response to substantial demands for this resource, and as part of SVA’s continued advocacy of both peer- and campus-based support, SVA partnered with The Home Depot Foundation to launch the Vet Center Initiative grant program in 2014.
Southeast Community College (www.southeast.edu) is one of 50 colleges and universities across the nation, and the only school in Nebraska, to receive a 2015 Vet Center Initiative Grant from The Home Depot Foundation. SCC’s Computer Aided Design Drafting program assisted with the design of the space.