(Butler, PA) Student-veterans at Butler County Community College “are given a certain level of respect immediately from all the faculty and staff,” said a former gunner on Army vehicles who transported fuel, water and other supplies from a base in Jalalabad to soldiers in outposts in the mountains of Afghanistan.
“And appreciation for our service,” added a former Navy airman apprentice, hospital corpsman and religious program specialist.
“At the beginning of every semester, I go up to my teachers on the first day and I give them my drill schedule,” an Army reservist said. “And they always thank me for my service. Most seem to have someone in their family who has been in (the military) and they love the military.”
Steven Cram, of Kane; Heidi Sanders, of Hermitage; and Dominic McClure, of Butler; are among 62 student-veterans enrolled this spring at BC3, which has been designated as a Military Friendly School by Viqtory for a seventh time since 2013.
Viqtory is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business in Moon Township that assesses educational institutions nationwide.
“Of all the accolades we have received over the years, this continues to be one that I am very proud of …”
“Able to register way earlier”
In being named a Military Friendly School for 2022-2023, BC3 exceeded benchmark standards in one-year retention rates and in job placement rates of 50 percent or higher, and in loan-default rates of 20 percent or lower for all students, or for student-veterans alone.
“Veterans are such an important group of individuals in our society in general,” said Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of BC3. “And of course, that would work its way to BC3.
“Of all the accolades we have received over the years, this continues to be one that I am very proud of, and the appropriate special attention that we give to these incredibly important members of society and of BC3.”
The college also schedules former BC3 student-veterans to guide orientations for new BC3 student-veterans, provides a lounge specifically designated for student-veterans, reserves a study room for student-veterans during finals week and offers priority registration to student-veterans, enabling them to reserve seats in courses two weeks in advance of other students.
“Early registration is a wonderful aspect that is offered to student-veterans at BC3.”
“I was able to register way earlier for my classes,” said Cram, a former Army specialist who is permanently disabled as a result of injuries suffered during an IED explosion in Afghanistan that was followed by a firefight.
Cram, 33, a native of New Hampshire, served four years.
The married father of children ages 9 and 7 is taking nine credits at BC3 this spring and 10 credits this summer toward an associate degree in general studies.
“Early registration,” he said, “is a wonderful aspect that is offered to student-veterans at BC3.”
“I want to help veterans”
The BC3 Education Foundation also administers scholarships designated for BC3 student-veterans.
Viqtory in 2021 also named BC3 as a Military Friendly Spouse School.
Stella Smith is BC3’s veterans coordinator and associate director of financial aid. Dr. Case Willoughby is the college’s vice president for student affairs and enrollment management.
“Personally, it’s important for BC3 to be military friendly. I come from a military family,” said Smith, whose father and brother served in the Army. “I want to help veterans and I want veterans to feel comfortable coming to BC3 and to provide them with the resources they need to succeed in college.”
Smith and Willoughby are also coordinators of BC3’s Green Zone.
The college’s Green Zone, comprised of more than 20 administrators and faculty members who have received specialized training, educates other faculty and staff about the military experience, challenges student-veterans attending BC3 face when transitioning from military service to civilian life and to college, and resources and basic resource referral techniques.
“BC3,” Willoughby said, “cares about all its students. Caring about students doesn’t mean you care about all of them by doing the same things. Our student-veterans have had experiences, and sometimes traumas, which are different, and we need to honor and respect them by doing our best to provide the services they need.”
“BC3 tends to go out of its way to help students, whether it’s a veteran or another student.”
Added Sanders: “BC3 tends to go out of its way to help students, whether it’s a veteran or another student.”
Sanders, 47, a native of Florida, served more than eight years in the Navy and is among the nearly 44 percent of female student-veterans at BC3 this spring.
The former Navy seaman served in Europe and intends to graduate this summer with an associate degree in health care science from BC3 @ LindenPointe in Mercer County. Sanders attended a state university in eastern Ohio, then transferred to BC3.
“I like BC3 because of the positivity of the staff,” Sanders said. “Some of the professors teach at other institutions of higher education as well as at BC3. So we are getting the same quality of education as students at four-year institutions.”
“I am in charge of five or six guys”
BC3’s student-veterans this spring represent the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps or Navy, or are active or former reservists or members of the National Guard.
Forty percent are enrolled full-time. Three in four are under age 40.
They attend classes at BC3’s main campus, or at its additional locations of BC3 @ Armstrong in Armstrong County; BC3 @ Brockway in Jefferson County; BC3 @ Cranberry in Butler County; BC3 @ Lawrence Crossing in Lawrence County; and BC3 @ LindenPointe; and through remote or online formats.
McClure, 24, a native of Erie, has served nearly six years in the Army Reserve. The specialist attends classes on BC3’s main campus and expects to earn an associate degree in criminology in August toward his goal of becoming a state trooper.
At the end of his first class each semester, he says he introduces himself to his instructor.
“Just to be friendly,” he said. “I tell them I’m in the military. I am in charge of five or six guys. If I walk out during class, it’s because one of them needs me. They’re a high-priority for me.”
His BC3 instructors understand his commitment, he said.
“So I feel welcomed with that.”
Cheryl Macon, a BC3 business professor, plans to continue this spring her nearly 15-year-long effort to collect written messages of appreciation on greeting cards from BC3 students, faculty and staff to be sent to residents of the VA Butler Healthcare’s Sgt. Joseph George Kusick Community Living Center.
BC3’s Lifelong Learning division plans to offer twice this fall a free “Veteran Suicide: Suicide Prevention is Everyone’s Business.” The college has offered the class seven times as of this spring.
Scholarships available to BC3 student-veterans include the Butler County American Legion Post 117 Scholarship, the Butler County American Legion Post 778 “Veterans Helping Veterans” Scholarship, the Butler American Legion Riders Veterans Incentive Scholarship Post 117, the Butler French and Belgian Club Scholarship, the Spc. Ross A. McGinnis “Pay a Good Deed Forward” Scholarship and the Butler County American Legion Auxiliary Post 117 Scholarship.
