Wadhams Veterans Center

The center is almost always busy and many students drop by regularly, and the busiest time seems to be around noon. Sara Faraj | Washtenaw Voice

Lilly Kujawski
Editor

The Wadhams Veterans Center on campus offers student veterans at WCC a place to access resources, find support and connect with each other.

The central role of the center, which is located on the second floor of the Student Center, is to help students access and utilize the resources and benefits available to them, according to Jan Militello, the Veterans Center student advisor.

“We provide assistance for students using their GI Bill, once they have elected what kind of benefits they want to use,” said Militello. The GI Bill is the benefit package available to eligible veterans and servicemembers that provides funds for education. GI Bill receipients may opt to transfer some or all of these benefits to a spouse or dependent child.

Matthew Burtell, a 22-year-old computer science major and student veteran at WCC, said a lot of complications can arise when using the GI Bill, so the Veterans Center is an asset in helping students navigate those challenges and get the best out of their benefits.

“The staff at the student Veterans Center really make it easy for us,” said Burtell. “They’re dedicated to supporting the student veterans.”

Part of Militello’s job is to ensure students are in the right programs and classes at WCC, based on their benefit package and career interests. She also aids in transferring student military transcripts over to the college and applying their previously earned credits.

Varun Chethan, a 24-year-old WCC student interested in neuroscience, said the counselors at the center “go above and beyond” to build a personal peer-to-mentor relationship with the student veterans on campus.

“They take one look at your coursework and they remember your path, they remember your goals,” Chethan said. “They really try hard to understand your goals.”

The role of counselors in the center is essentially the same as that of other academic advisors at the college, but their services are specifically geared towards student veterans.

“We’re different than normal students, so it’s important to have someone that understands and nurtures those needs and promotes those pathways to success,” said Chethan, who returned from his service in the Marine Corps in August.

Another important asset to student veterans at WCC are the services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor by representatives Brittany Tyrrell and Melissa Spaulding, who are available on campus once a week to assist students, Militello said. The Veterans Center can also refer students in need of urgent medical care, mental or physical, to the VA or to personal counseling at WCC.

The Veterans Center is a way for student veterans to connect with each other. The center creates a judgment-free space of support for students adjusting to a school setting, Militello said.

“We try to make this a pretty welcoming environment,” Militello said. “It is a really nice place for students.”

Burtell, who joined the Navy right after graduating high school and spent a majority of his service stationed in Japan, is currently a first-year student at WCC, and the center cultivated a sense of community for him when he returned from his deployment.

“You develop this deep comradery with your shipmates, and that’s a unique experience,” Burtell said. “And the Veterans Center, it provides a semblance of the same feeling.”

Both Burtell and Chethan are also involved in the WCC chapter of the nonprofit organization Student Veterans of America. Burtell is president of the group and said the SVA strives to perform acts of community service on a regular basis; in the fall semester, they organized a warm clothing drive. Currently, the group is volunteering with Food Gatherer’s.

In the center, there is a lounge area and computers for students to use. Militello said the center is almost always busy and many students drop by regularly.

She also said that the Veterans Center is open for any veterans at WCC, not just those receiving GI Bill benefits. She encouraged student veterans to stop into the center and let a staff member know of any service, resource or assistance they may need.

Burtell recommended any student veterans not yet involved with the Veterans Center to “stop in and say hello.”

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