Tawney Severson | tsevers6@uwsuper.edu
For the nontraditional student, veteran, and their families, the Veteran and Nontraditional Student Center offers the space for them to come together. Situated at Old Main room 118, “The VNSC is the only center on campus dedicated to supporting our military connected and non-traditional students, because of our unique student base we must do things differently than most student centers and offices,” said Brendan Pillsbury, VNSC coordinator.
VNSC is open to all students on campus. When discussing what all is offered at the VNSC Pillsbury said, “We have a large gathering area with computers, couches, tables, free coffee and snacks, and a reservable quite study room so they can go somewhere familiar to relax, socialize, and study.” A familiar, quite space that offers free coffee and snacks is a place that many students look for on campus.
However, the VNSC offers more than a familiar space. “We provide student parents with a childcare subsidy to help with the cost of Daycare,” said Pillsbury. They also offer an “Emergency Grant to help support our students when times are rough and will assist with purchasing parking passes.”
But the biggest help that the VNSC offers is the help with textbooks. “We help lessen the textbook bill by offering a Textbook library that our students can use to check out needed textbooks free of charge for the entire semester,” said Pillsbury.
The VNSC also helps veterans, their dependents, and spouses with educational benefits that they can use to pay for their tuition.
The VNSC is there to help veterans and students of veterans get started with the education benefits that are right for them. Students will need their Social Security number, bank account direct deposit information, Education and military history, and basic information on the school or training facility you want to attend or now attending.
On campus the VNSC hosts a “Nontraditional Student Orientation nights to give our students a chance to get to know the campus, staff, and resources in a concise 2-hour experience and to help them work through any questions they have about the technology used on campus,” said Pillsbury. They also host time management and budgeting workshops to help students with the challenges of college and life after college.
They are also working with Douglas County to bring back the Veterans Expo “to give veterans across the Twin Ports and those that support them access to resources that they may not know they have.”
The VNSC offers many programs for students that go unused because they do not know that they are out there. “The staff in the VNSC are always happy to meet our students and will gladly go over all of the programs and resources available for our students to take advantage of,” said Pillsbury.
To find out more visit the VNSC in Old Main room 118 or on their webpage.
