HCC
Veterans Services Receives $25,000 Gift from Hamill Foundation
HOUSTON, TX (July 15, 2010) – The Hamill Foundation
donated $25,000 in support of Houston Community College Veterans
Services. This is the first gift HCC has received dedicated to helping
veteran students that will fill gaps in financial support, introduce
important techniques for coping with transition, recruit more veterans
to HCC and increase opportunities for veteran job placement after their
graduation.
There are currently more than 2,000 students from the
veteran community enrolled at HCC. These include veterans and their
spouses, spouses of active duty military personnel and dependents of
these veterans and servicemen and women. HCC provides them with academic
preparation and career training at campuses close to their homes. HCC’s
Student Services division processes veterans’ benefits, guides them
through the process of converting their military service to
college-level credits and puts them on the path to an educational
program that can secure their future career. These students,
nevertheless, have needs beyond traditional financial aid and academic
advising.
The HCC Veteran Affairs department sites four key
areas in which veteran student require additional assistance. There is a
need for emergency funds to allow veterans to purchase books and
instructional materials for their courses. Veterans often need
supplemental support services in the area of advising, counseling and
administrative support. HCC will host a first-of-its-kind job fair that
focuses on connecting HCC’s students to employers interested in their
skills. Recognizing the value of veterans’ training and experience,
employers within Houston’s energy industry, electrical service
industry and throughout the corporate community have begun to target the
returning veteran population as an excellent potential workforce and
many of these employers are unaware of HCC’s large veteran population.
Lastly, this year, the HCC Veteran Affairs department will pilot a
dedicated Veteran Services center on site at HCC’s Northwest College.
This center will be run in partnership with the Vet Center, the Worklife
Institute, and Family Services.
“I am so excited about the good news for our veteran
students. We are on the move for helping our students to achieve their
educational career goals,” said Dr. Sabrina Y. Lewis, Interim
Director, Veteran Affairs/Online Student Services.
“This gift makes it possible for HCC to fulfill its
mission to be truly relevant to the needs of this community. In
particular, it advances the efforts of HCC to meet the educational needs
of the more than 2,000 students from the veteran community enrolled at
the College,” added Dr. Mary S. Spangler, HCC Chancellor.
The gift will help HCC expand its range of veteran
services to ease the transition to civilian life for these dedicated
servicemen and women.
About HCC
HCC is one of the country’s largest
singularly-accredited, open-admission, community colleges offering
associate degrees, certificates, workforce training and lifelong
learning opportunities for 70,000 students each semester. HCC is
composed of six colleges that serve the greater Houston area’s diverse
communities by preparing individuals to live and work in today’s
increasingly international and technological society. To learn more go
to hccs.edu.
