North Campus To Open New Veterans & Military Service Center
Miami Dade College is opening its fourth Veterans & Military Service Center at the school this fall at North Campus.
The facility will serve as a one-stop shop for enrollment, registration, career coaching and financial aid to the more than 300 veterans and military personnel at North Campus, the largest such cohort at the College.
Wolfson, West and Kendall campuses also have Veterans & Military Service centers. Wolfson Campus opened its site this past November.
“It’s a space to be able to come and feel safe and feel welcomed,” said Danay Montes de Oca, the director of the department of veteran & military services at MDC, who has also served in the U.S. Army Reserve for nearly 30 years.
The room’s layout is built for collaboration. It features colorful couch-style seating, rectangular boardroom tables and a comfy armchair space.
It was previously part of the Multidisciplinary Academic Learning Lounge (MALLs) program at MDC that started in 2016 to provide students a collaborative space to encourage them to stay on campus.
Visitors can use the facility to study, unwind between classes, get assistance with registering for classes or set up an appointment with a student success coach who is on-site.
The idea of opening a Veterans & Military Service Center at North Campus was initiated by Gunshawn Durnham—the president of the Student Veterans of America chapter at MDC—after he struggled to access resources that assist veterans to assimilate into civilian life during his first year at MDC.
Durnham, who served in the Army for two years as a combat engineer, was also frustrated with seeing his peers travel to other campuses to visit veterans centers. He is proud to see the North Campus Veterans & Military Service Center come to fruition.
“It means that the real work begins now because the center is a stepping stone,” said Durnham, who is studying computer information systems. “It’s a representation of all the work that everyone has put into and also a place for future generations.”
The Veterans & Military Service Center at North Campus is located at 11380 N.W. 27 Ave. in Room 1164. It’s open Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. To reach someone at the center, call (305) 237-2841.
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