(Photo by: Jasmine Mills)

Are you or a loved one a veteran or in the military? Did you know that JCCC has a Veteran and Military Student Resource Center?

Well, lucky for you, they just made a move that will hopefully make the resource center more accessible for students who need it.

Program Director of the Veteran & Military Student Services Kena Zumalt explains that the new office now faces the student center.

“And so for anyone–respective students, community members, anyone who’s trying to find the veterans center–they can come up that student center elevator with the cavalier on it. Go left, go left and they’ll see us,” Zumalt said.

Zumalt explains that the move was pretty comprehensive and that it took a few years for them to find a new space. They moved in on March 16 and are still trying to get everything set up in their new space.

“[The college] identified a space and then, about this time last year, we started working with the architects. Our colleagues from facilities were a big part of getting the center mapped out and everything with the architect. This fall, once all of that was determined, they came in here and just demoed it. So it was a big redo, but they moved very quickly on it.”

Now, what does the Veteran and Military Student Resource Center do exactly? According to Zumalt, it is a one-stop shop for veteran and military-connected students.

“What I mean by that is that they’re gonna get help with their GI Bill [and] military tuition assistance funding. We help people get enrolled. We help new students,” Zumalt clarified. “So we do a lot of student service, both with new students and prospective students.”

Additionally, they have three partners, who are all now in the same space thanks to the move. The first partner is the Vet Success on Campus Program.

“This is a VA program that puts a VA employee here on campus to help students with benefit counseling, career counseling and [is] also a case manager for the veterans’ readiness and employment program,” Zumalt said.

The second is a person from the Kansas Office of Veterans Services.

“This role is to assist with filing claims with the VA, and a lot of times that’s for compensation, or pension or disability. Some people come in because their spouse has passed away and they’re wanting to get, you know, paperwork or a burial marker or [apply] for spousal support.”

The third and final partner is a therapist from the Vet Center who is now able to be on campus four days a week because of the move.

“That’s a huge, huge win for us to have those three major services in addition to our awesome veteran services team, which is made up of three full-time people, a part-time person, and then we have five veteran services student ambassadors, which are student employees,” Zumalt said.

Erick Friel is a student ambassador who supports veteran students and their dependents by helping them navigate campus resources and access their Veterans Affairs benefits.

“I also serve as a peer advisor for veteran education, where I provide guidance and support to fellow student veterans. In addition, I hold the position of Vice President of Operations for the Student Veterans of America chapter and act as a liaison to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, helping strengthen connections between the campus and the broader veteran community,” Friel said.

Friel explains that as a veteran and student himself, as well as a JCCC employee, he enjoys being able to connect all aspects of the experience.

“Being able to bridge relationships between veteran students, campus staff and available resources gives me a strong sense of purpose and accomplishment that I likely wouldn’t find in another role on campus. JCCC goes above and beyond in supporting the veteran community, and I’m proud to play a part in that effort.”

Zumalt says that she hopes students have a better experience using the resource center as a result of the move and is excited to have a nicer space with more room.

“When we have families come in with their spouse or they’ll bring in their kids with them, we’ve got more space for the kids to sit there with the [veterans or their] spouses. So it’s just a better, bigger space.”

Friel stated that the old space began to feel cramped with the increasing number of students who were using the Veteran and Military Student Resource Center, and is excited to have the opportunity to continue growing.

“The new space is significantly larger, with designated areas for specific tasks and for engaging with students who need assistance,” Friel said. “We are looking forward to the impact this will have on our productivity and our ability to provide a more efficient, welcoming experience for the students we serve.”

By bringing in their partners, Zumalt says student veterans will be able to become more aware of all the resources available to them.

“There’s so many resources and so much going on. So we’re hoping that by being together, we will give the state, veterans and their dependents–we serve the whole family–a better experience at JCCC,” Zumalt explained. “Ultimately, we hope that we will grow our enrollment because it’s going to provide a better experience for those students and their families.”