Spring 2020 Newsletter
Remote Services
During mid-March, the VRC moved all services including Counseling to remote capacities. Students are able to make appointments and meet with counselors via telephone and Zoom. In addition, our staff can be reached via email for questions regarding certifications, paperwork and benefits. Our partnership with US Vets which provides wellness (mental health) counseling is also available online. The Student Veteran Association continued club meetings weekly via Zoom with guest speakers. We also created an online community for the VRC on Canvas which offers 24/7 online tutoring. SMC will remain remote until the end of Fall 2020.
VRC Move
In early March, the VRC packed up and embarked on our big move. We successfully moved into our new location in the Cayton Center. The new center is outfitted with brand new furniture and appliances. We are looking forward to returning to campus to show off our new space in 2021!
Meal Project
COVID-19 has shut down retailers and restaurants where some of the students work and dine, which means many more Corsairs have the potential to go hungry in the coming weeks. Santa Monica College Foundation Meal Project is the result of another partnership with Everytable where students can choose from a variety of chef-prepared meals that are delivered fresh weekly to their home. Donate 5 meals for a Veteran student for $25.
Top 10 Military Friendly School
Santa Monica College (SMC) has earned a Top 10 2020-2021 Military Friendly® School designation. Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,000 colleges and universities across the nation participated in the 2020-2021 survey with 695 earning the designation. SMC is among the top 10 in the “large community colleges” category. This is the highest “special award” in each category, as colleges and universities may earn a Top 10, Gold, Silver, or Bronze Special Award on top of their Military Friendly® School designation.
Class of 2020
The Veterans Resource Center will host a virtual graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 17 from 6pm-7pm (PST) to honor our graduates and transfer students. A keynote address will be provided by student veteran Jeff Montero, a 40-year-old vet who is 9 years sober and overcame incredible odds to get accepted to Ivy league Columbia University. Montero has three associate degrees: social and behavioral science, general science, and arts and humanities. Family, friends, faculty, staff and community members will be invited to join. The event is supported by our $200,000 grant from the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to help increase the number of student veterans who successfully make progress each year toward their educational and career goals.
RSVP HERE