ESCC hosts first ‘Coffee with Veterans’
Enterprise State Community College’s Multipurpose Room was host to veterans, family members, and ESCC faculty and staff for the school’s first-ever “Coffee with Veterans” event Wednesday morning.
According to ESCC President Matt Rodgers, the event was organized as part of a public outreach effort to better serve veterans and their families in the Wiregrass community.
“A lot of the time we get caught up in certain days of celebration, but to me, our veterans and their families are to be celebrated every day, and we certainly want to do that here at Enterprise State Community College,” Rodgers said in his opening comments for the event. “Today is the first day of its kind, and we want to make this a monthly program to reach out as part of our community outreach programs to the veterans and the people in our community. There are so many programs and benefits that are available for our veterans and their families, and it’s our job to communicate what those are. We have a great program here; we’re growing the program, and I can’t think of a better place to do it than right here at the doorstep of Fort Rucker.”
Veterans Affairs/Student Financial Aid Coordinator Stephen Adcock took the podium after Rodgers and detailed the various programs available to veterans and dependents, including the Chapter 33 Post 9/11 program, the Chapter 1606 GI Bill for the selected reserves, the Chapter 35 Dependents Education Assistance Program, and the Alabama GI Dependents Scholarship program. Adcock also discussed ESCC’s status as a military friendly institution.
“It is our privilege and our honor to be able to serve (veterans), and serve them at a high level, and to hold ourselves to a high standard. Because of that standard, we’ve been able to be declared a military friendly institution for the past five years, and that’s an honor — that’s something we like to hang our hat on,” Adcock said. “We also have agreed to the VA Principles of Excellence program, and those things mean that the standard we abide by to earn that designation creates better opportunities and outcomes for veterans. By setting that standard and promoting that standard and following that standard, it provides positive reinforcement for American organizations, and that’s good for veterans, the college, and America as well. By abiding by the VA Principles of Excellence standard, it means that we provide educational plans for all military and veteran education beneficiaries, we provide accommodations for service members and reservists who are absent due to their service requirements, and we ensure that you always have access to appropriate advising services. We hold ourselves to a high standard when it comes to serving you and serving your families.”
Adcock closed his presentation by talking about what’s next for veterans at ESCC.
“The Enterprise State Weevil Warriors is a new student organization to debut in spring, and we’ll have the first meeting in January,” Adcock said. “It’s a place for veteran students to connect with each other. In the spring, we’ll also have the Veterans Resource Center, which will be located in the Student Center in Weevil Commons, and it’ll be a place for students to gather and fellowship.”
For more information on veterans programs, contact ESCC at 334-347-2623.