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CMVE ready to assist military-related students with everything

Military-related students, we’ve got you covered.

Pose any question about almost anything, and Tidewater Community College’s Center for Military and Veterans Education will provide an answer.

“The buck stops here,” said Shelly Bearden, a VERITAS veterans resource liaison. “I’m not going to send anyone to another office. If something’s not working, if you’re frustrated with a process, if you have any kind of problem, I will make sure it gets solved.”

Bearden refers to herself as an advocate for all of the college’s military-related students. Echoing that are her colleagues Cassandra Harris, lead military academic advisor, and Alesia Wroten, also a VERITAS veterans resource liaison.

With the Navy a part of all of their backgrounds, the administrators don’t just understand the language of the military — they’re fluent in it. They understand acronyms, including myCAA, VMSEP and TA and can explain if you qualify.

They can answer any questions about GI Bill benefits. The email askvetaffairs@tcc.edu was set up specifically to respond to questions related to military-related students looking to use their GI Bill.

Wroten handles workforce programs geared toward military-related students seeking a short-term program that leads to immediate employment. A sampling:  

Wroten works with student vets to ensure they know all their options before selecting a program. “I make sure they know about all the workforce programs they can take advantage of,” she said.

Harris had been on base prior to COVID-19; now she is based at the Virginia Beach Campus with the others. She works primarily with active duty service members, but also assists veterans, spouses and dependents. She provides a range of services, including the evaluation of credit from military experience and prior college/universities attended to ensuring that qualified military-related students receive a domicile exception to pay instate tuition.

Harris also helps military who might not be able to finish the semester due to deployment or temporary assignment. “We can get them pulled out of class and get their tuition fully refunded,” she said.

She’s happy to help military-related students navigate the transfer process and will even advise a student vet on how many hours he or she can handle based on other obligations.

Bearden can assist former military looking to transfer to an Ivy League college as TCC is part of the Warrior-Scholar Project.

The CMVE is also able to direct veterans to a plethora of resources — from assistance to pay for books to filing a disability or unemployment claim.

“We take a holistic approach,” Harris said. “The CMVE is a one-stop shop.”

You don’t have to remember who does what if you’re a military-related student in need of assistance. Email military@tcc.edu for any questions. Virtual service is available daily or via phone; see this link for information.

“I owe my success to TCC”

With no background in health care, Navy veteran Oliver Grant turned to Tidewater Community College in hopes of training for a career. “I knew I wanted to go to school in the medical field and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do,” he said. “From everything I heard, TCC was the best.”

After starting classes in October, Grant already has a credential and is preparing to start a job next week at Beach Eye Care. Grant completed the five classes required for Certified Medical Billing & Coding, among the fastest growing professions in health care. In the evening program, now being offered 100% online, students learn diagnostic and procedural coding necessary for insurance form processing.

Grant, 27, paid nothing, as his GI Bill benefits picked up all costs. Many students are also eligible for FastForward grants that provide financial assistance up to 90% of the total cost of training. In addition to health care, FastForward programs include welding, logistics and transportation, IT and cyber security, and skilled and maritime trades.

Grant picked up the billing and coding material easily, he said, thanks to the patience and thoroughness of the instructors.  “Prior to the program I was in the Navy and before that, I drove trucks,” he said. “I had zero experience in this, and all I heard was how difficult billing and coding was.”

Initially he planned to go to school for radiology but was deterred by the two years necessary for an associate degree. Instead, the billing and coding program allowed him to earn his credential in months, and he was able to balance two jobs with classes.

“We started at the very bottom and slowly they taught us,” he said. “Before long, we were coding ourselves.”

Due to COVID-19, classes shifted online in March.

“I had never used Zoom before, but we didn’t skip a beat,” Grant said. “It was a seamless transition to online.”

Grant aced the credentialing exam and credits the instructors for offering detailed review and test preparation. He is also grateful for their help with resume building. In addition to offering interviewing tips, he learned phrases to make his resume stand out. He wrote a thank you note after his initial interview at Beach Eye Care on advice he learned at TCC.

“When I got the job, my employer told me how much he appreciated that,” Grant said.

“Getting a job is a huge relief. I’m excited to start work in a field I went to school for. I owe my success to TCC.”

Interested in one of TCC’s short-term workforce programs? For information, email wfdinfo@tcc.edu or call (757) 822-1234.

TCC earns Military Friendly distinction again

Tidewater Community College has earned a 2020-21 Military Friendly® Schools designation.

In rankings released Tuesday, compiled by Military Friendly, TCC earned a bronze designation. Military-related students make up about one-third of TCC’s enrollment.

The designation recognizes colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.
 
“TCC is totally committed to our military and veteran community,” said Corey McCray, interim executive vice president for Academic and Student Affairs. “Our service members are at the top of our minds as we make decisions about the best way to serve our students and community in their pursuit of personal and professional goals.”

TCC received high marks in academic policies and compliance; admission and orientation; and culture and commitment.

The college assists military-related students at its Center for Military & Veterans Education offices located on all four campuses, local Navy bases and the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek/Fort Story.

Among TCC’s resources for military-related students:

  • Assistance with the GI Bill®, Tuition Assistance, MyCAA for active-duty spouses, or Virginia-specific tuition waivers and credit for military experience.
  • Solar Ready Vets connects skilled veterans to the solar energy industry. TCC offers training on its Chesapeake Campus.
  • The Warrior-Scholar Project recently partnered with TCC to offer immersive college preparatory programs to prepare transitioning service members for the challenges of college.
  • A Veteran Education Resource Initiative for Transition, Advising, and Success (VERITAS) Initiative representative works with students to provide support from admission to graduation.

Viqtory Media, originator of the family of Military Friendly employment, entrepreneurship and education resources for veterans and their families, published the 2020-21 Military Friendly Schools and Employers ratings at militaryfriendly.com.

Companies and schools must have successfully completed a 2020-21 Military Friendly survey to be considered for the awards program. The methodology for the ranking and the names of awardees are published online at militaryfriendly.com. 

TCC has also been repeatedly recognized by Military Times as a Best for Vets school.

Military Times ranks TCC best two-year school for vets in Virginia

Tidewater Community College was named the top two-year school in the Commonwealth by Military Times in its Best for Vets: Colleges 2020 rankings.

Best for Vets ranked TCC seventh overall among two-year institutions in the United States and No. 1 in Virginia.

“TCC is honored to be chosen again as a Best for Vets college,” said Batanya Gipson, interim director of TCC’s Center for Military and Veterans Education (CMVE). “Through our CMVE, we continue to work each day to serve the needs of our military-related students. In addition to providing excellent student support services, we work closely with military supportive business, industry and organizations to achieve our mission of facilitating educational and employability success. 

Military-focused offerings include:

  • A partnership between Virginia Natural Gas and TCC for a workforce development initiative that trains veterans and transitioning military to fill the growing need for skilled workers in the natural gas industry. The week-long program, offered at the Virginia Beach Campus, began in 2017.
  • The Machining Skills Certification, a SkillBridge-approved program that trains military-related students in computer numeric controlled (CNC) machinery from setup to operation. CNC machinists are in demand throughout Hampton Roads and the nation. Military-related students may also use their GI Bill benefits to pay for this program. Contact Chris Blow, project coordinator, at cblow@tcc.edu for information.

Military-related students make up about one-third of TCC’s enrollment. The statistics used for the Bets for Vets survey do not account for dependents.

The rankings are based on the results of Military Times’ annual survey — a comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement — as well as a detailed review of public data collected by federal agencies. The survey asks colleges and universities to document a wide array of services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to students with military ties, and to describe many aspects of veteran culture on a campus.

TCC donor’s scholarship plants seeds for student success

Sarah “Tata” White Kellam was 33 when she started selling plants from her greenhouse in a vacant lot on Virginia Beach’s Shore Drive. Her company, Mr. Greenjeans, blossomed into an interior plantscaping business company, selling, servicing and renting plants throughout Hampton Roads.

As her business evolved, Kellam also tended to the growth of her employees. She provided financial support for night school tuition “to help more women move forward in their college educations.”

It was the first of many contributions she would make to give back and help support women in business.

“There’s a saying I love: ‘You don’t know ’til you know,’” Kellam said, “I want to help people who want to know. You need education to get anywhere; that’s what I know!”

In 2017, she established the Sarah “Tata” White Kellam Scholarship at Tidewater Community College to support business and entrepreneurship students with a financial need who have demonstrated academic excellence and a commitment to education.

“I chose TCC because of the older demographic it served,” she said. “I wanted to support an older student, someone who was serious in their studies – who had some direction and interest in business. I was a little older when I started my business, and I wanted to help another woman with dreams.”

This year’s recipient, Dawn Johns, is just that.

A Navy veteran with 10 years of service, Johns was eligible for GI Bill benefits she was hoping to save for her more expensive Old Dominion University coursework.

“I learned about scholarships from Professor Angela Slaughter in my Business 100 class,” said the mother of two. “We were finishing early, so Professor Slaughter started walking us through the scholarship options. I went ahead and applied for 10 scholarships just sitting there in class.”

Johns searched for all the awards she was eligible to receive. “Some of them don’t even require an essay – you’re just completing the form,” she said.

To her surprise, she won several, including the scholarship established by Kellam.

“I take so much pride in being the recipient of a scholarship,” Johns said. “I know the process is competitive. Being selected made me feel honored, and I’ve pushed that much harder to make sure I keep my grades up. Every semester since I received this award, I have been a 4.0 student.”

Johns also credits the award for relieving a lot of financial stress and freeing up more time for her family and academics.

While at the college, her daughter attends TCC’s Child Development Center on the Portsmouth Campus, operated by YWCA South Hampton Roads, tuition her award helps to subsidize. She also applies her scholarship toward textbooks and a meal plan.

Graduating with her Associate of Science in Business Administration in May, Johns has already been accepted to Old Dominion and plans to complete a bachelor’s degree program in accounting. She will secure a second TCC degree, an Associate of Science in General Studies with a Specialization in Professional Communication, this summer.

She aims to open her own non-profit financial planning service to promote financial literacy and give back to neighborhoods like the one she grew up in.

Johns already offers this financial advice for others at TCC: “I’ve been showing all my friends TCC’s scholarship website and teaching them how to apply. These awards have been an important lesson learned. I want to share these opportunities with as many people as possible.”

As Kellam would say – “You don’t know ‘til you know!”

For more information about available scholarships at TCC, visit www.tcc.edu/scholarships. To learn more about establishing a scholarship at TCC, contact the TCC Educational Foundation at foundation@tcc.edu or 757-822-1080.

Navy veteran on the road to success with cyber security degree

When Navy veteran Shawn Goodwin retires from his 9-to-5 job in 13 years, he and wife Karen plan to hit the open road in their RV to see small-town America. “We want to travel all over the U.S. and see landmarks, beaches, mountains, streams and everything but the big cities,” he said.

Thanks to earning his associate degree from Tidewater Community College in December, he’ll have the income to support his travels. His Associate of Science in Information Systems Technology with a concentration in Cyber Security will enable him to do cybersecurity work while he’s on the go.

“I see myself working sporadically during the day as required, to keep an income stream with enough to fund our adventures,” he said.

A self-described computer nerd, Goodwin, 42, was a Senior Chief electronics technician when he retired from the Navy. He served 20 years and completed tours around the globe and a stint in Antarctica supporting the National Science Foundation.

“That was my favorite tour!” he said. “I provided tech support for the portable and high-frequency radios used to communicate around the continent.”

After the military, Goodwin found work as an information technology program manager for Navy contractors. He enrolled at TCC because of the quality of the cyber security program with its designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency.

“TCC fit my work schedule,” he said. “The flexibility of the classes and the adult learners in class with me at night made it an excellent experience.”

Goodwin meshed well with his cyber professors, particularly Rob Guess, director of cyber security, who he calls a super nerd. “I’m about his age, and I just get him. He’s extremely smart and knows his stuff.”

Using his GI Bill, Goodman earned his TCC degree debt-free.

The father of three children, Goodwin is encouraging his youngest to enroll at TCC. “I see kids struggling with classes and I encourage them to keep their minds on their studies.”

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