fbpx

Tester Dedicates FVCC’s New Veterans’ Center

After concluding his statewide veterans tour, U.S. Senator cuts ribbon on college’s new veteran support facility

By Tristan Scott

In an ongoing show of support for improving the nation’s beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester helped dedicate Flathead Valley Community College’s new Veterans’ Center, an on-campus facility aimed at accommodating veterans in an academic setting.

Located in the Learning Resource Center, the Veterans’ Center opened last fall to assist FVCC student veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as their families, in an on-campus environment. The 560-square-foot facility serves as the central location for veterans to access resources and assistance regarding their VA benefits, college-related issues and civilian matters. It also serves as a place where veterans can study, take breaks and bond and network with fellow veterans.

The college also opened the center to accommodate the large, and growing, influx of veterans returning from combat. With the post-9/11 GI bill in effect, it is expected that the number of veterans enrolling in college will increase. Northwest Montana already has the highest concentration of veterans returning from war.

“These on-campus veterans centers are critically important, not only because they give our veterans a chance to get an education, but that is also where some of the best therapeutic conversations take place,” Tester said in an interview with the Beacon prior to the Oct. 8 dedication ceremony, which also featured student veterans and college Veterans’ Affairs Specialist Sherry Taylor. “I applaud [FVCC President] Jane Karas and the work she’s done, and I just think it is outstanding and a key component because it marries education and a health care components.”

Flathead native Eric Hill spent 10 years in the Marine Corps and never harbored any college ambitions. After returning to the Flathead Valley in 2011, he decided on higher education, and said the FVCC Veterans’ Center was a key selling point, providing a safe haven in which to interact with fellow vets and overcome the generational and experiential gap he noticed distancing him from other incoming students.

Theresa Williamson, a Navy veteran and FVCC student, also said the camaraderie among vets was critical to facilitating a safe and effective learning environment.

“It has increased the support I receive in my academic career exponentially, and I am so grateful,” she said, adding that “lively discussions” are sometimes generated between veterans of different service branches.

“This helps ease the transition back into civilian life for our soldiers,” Tester said. “To be able to have an area where they can be alone to study or visit with people who served like they have, it’s just critically important when it comes to higher education.

Tester’s remarks came on the heels of his statewide veterans tour, which he began in June after scandal rocked the Department of Veterans Affairs nationally, revealing data manipulation and mismanagement at the department’s health care facility in Phoenix. As a member of the Senate’s VA committee, Tester played a leading role in crafting Congress’ $16 billion VA reform bill, signed by President Barack Obama in August.

While Tester said it’s too early to call the reform bill a success, he praised the two-year extension of “Project Arch,” which helps veterans get health care at private hospitals that are closer to their homes.

The senator also said Congress had expanded student loan forgiveness for doctors choosing to work in the VA system from $60,000 to $120,000.

About 2.5 million men and women have been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, according to the Department of Defense.

There are currently 107 students using VA benefits at FVCC.

At FVCC, there are also advisors on hand to offer counseling and help to the veterans until they graduate.