Edmonds Community College program provides support for veterans

Published 1:30 am Saturday, January 28, 2017

LYNNWOOD — A cluster of rooms in Lynnwood Hall has the feel of a small military command.

It’s a place on the Edmonds Community College campus where Air Force veterans can crack jokes about the Navy’s bad coffee.

Burial flags, a photo of a soldier carrying a buddy and old combat boots tell stories from years of service.

The Veterans Resource Center opened in 2012. It is where student veterans can go for guidance, support and friendship.

Steven Pennington, a member of the Edmonds Community College Foundation, was a chief master sergeant in the Air Force. He served in the U.S., Thailand, Vietnam and Okinawa.

After he finished his active-duty stint, he decided to go to school. Pennington was one of the first students at Edmonds Community College, which opened in 1967. He also was one of its first students to drop out.

“When you leave the military, you lose connections,” said Chris Szarek, director of the Veterans Resource Center. “All of a sudden you have to figure out how to be a civilian.”

When someone enlists in the military, they’re sent to boot camp. They’re taught how to eat, dress, shoot and introduce themselves.

Pennington didn’t have someone to help him navigate a college setting.

“I persevered,” he said.

He re-enrolled at Edmonds Community College and went on to finish his degree at Central Washington University. When he joined the community college’s foundation, he realized the challenges he struggled with still existed for current student veterans.

“I was shocked,” Pennington said. “In 40 years, nothing had changed.”

He helped the foundation champion a $1 million campaign for the Veterans Resource Center. They reached the goal in December 2015. Since then, those funds have gone toward providing services to the more than 230 student veterans on campus.

The center hosts orientations every quarter during registration. Students are walked through the process of enrolling for classes and filling out benefits paperwork through Veterans Affairs.

The money also funded counseling, disability and veteran family support services. Emergency funds have been set aside for students. They can use these funds to pay for unexpected expenses, as well as to cover living expenses during gaps in their veteran benefits over school breaks.

Szarek’s goal is to kick the stones out of students’ paths.

A table outside the center’s lounge holds hefty binders full of potential job opportunities. An organization called Fallen Brothers of Seattle brings in crates of meat and nonperishable foods for students to take home.

The center also plans to work with the college’s material engineering department to develop equipment that could help disabled veterans fly fish. They hope to make a device that can assist someone who does not have an arm.

“Fly fishing also is good for people who have invisible wounds like PTSD,” Szarek said.

For many, the center is simply a place to find like-minded people.

Three student veterans were going to school while raising daughters by themselves. They met through the center and ended up moving in together. The trio takes turns looking after the girls so that they can attend classes.

“As a veteran student, it’s different coming on campus,” Pennington said. “You’ve grown up, matured some.”

Caitlin Tompkins: 425-339-3192; ctompkins@heraldnet.com.