I am required to have a virtual rolodex of facts and figures about MCC spinning in my head, enabling me to respond sensibly to almost any question I could be asked about the college by anyone—whether in aisles of Wegmans, the halls of Albany, the studios of WXXI, or row 25 of a plane flying from St. Louis. When I first arrived a bit over three years ago, one of these facts was that MCC served over 500 veterans—the largest population in Western New York. Today, that number is heading north of 1,000: a dramatic increase over a fairly short timeline. But, that rapid growth has not impacted the quality of services MCC provides our veterans; then as now, we are recognized as a “Military Friendly” college--the only community college in our region to attain this honor.
What does it mean to be “Military Friendly”? Why is MCC deserving of this recognition? Sunday, I received an email from one of our student veterans that explained it perfectly:
“First and foremost I would like to say thank you, as your institution has faculty that have gone above and beyond in their line of work to help students/veterans like myself and I believe they are in need of recognition. On September 11th, 2012 I received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs stating … that I was overpaid throughout the past 2 years and I was in debt for $7,500.28. As you may understand I was in utter shock and stress, I asked myself how could this be possible? …
I showed up at the Veteran counselors office … within minutes I was called upon to meet with Lori to assess my letter and find a possible solution to my problem. ... Lori then called Nick from Student Accounts … they concluded that I was underpaid throughout my years at Monroe Community College, therefore concluding this ordeal with the Department of Veteran Affairs owing me money for their mistake. …
I understand that many of the things your faculty does to help us, the students, goes unrecognized but I felt the need to make it a big deal, because it was a big deal for me. Thank you for having such great people in your faculty that are willing to go above and beyond to help the students and veterans of Monroe Community College.”
I couldn’t agree more.
The work you do to help our student veterans is a “big deal,” a very big deal. It makes the difference to those who have made incredible sacrifices, who have left homes and families and disrupted lives to serve. I could sub the names “Lori” and “Nick” above with dozens and dozens of others: with the names of our faculty mentors, our counselors, our wonderful welcome desk crew. You help them return home and move forward to new futures, new careers, new chances.
Thank you for caring, for extending a hand, and—as our student writes—for being “great!”
You are welcome to share your stories and thoughts on the blog.
Anne Kress
President's Office
09/19/2012 |