- Tallahassee Community College received a Collegiate Purple Star Campus recognition from the Florida Department of Education.
- The college's veteran support programs include a study space, tutoring, need-based counseling, job placement and more.
- Watch now to hear from several veterans on how TCC has helped them transition to college life.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Life on base is much different to life on campus.
I'm Alberto Camargo, your College Town neighborhood reporter.
Here at the Veterans Success Center at Tallahassee Community College, one of several resources catered to veterans which has earned TCC a special designation as a school dedicated to those who served.
I'm looking beyond the label to find out how these resources help current veteran students at TCC.
Transitioning from military life, where everything has order, to a new lifestyle like being a college student, can scare even the bravest of Americans.
"I was terrified of school. 10 years out of school, I didn't know what to expect."
At Tallahassee Community College, military veterans like Ryan Carden can find just about all the support they could want to make that transition smoother.
From the Veterans Student Center study space, tutoring, need-based counseling and help in finding a job.
"You come in, you get to meet other vets. It's very welcoming. It eases your anxiety a lot because you're not alone."
It's why the college was designated a Collegiate Purple Star Campus by the Florida Department of Education.
That means the college shows a commitment to supporting military families.
"I miss the clowns, not the circus. I miss the Marines, not the Marine Corps."
Michael Floyd says part of the reason he left the Corps was to spend more time with his daughter.
They live an hour from Tallahassee, yet Michael chooses to commute to TCC.
"This is a great experience, and it's tremendously helpful for those getting out of the military, transitioning to college, who are lost because they don't know what to do."
"We're all serving our country in a different way. Some people did it overseas, some people with a gun in their hand, some people are doing it with a pen and a pencil."
Evan Francis served in the Air Force.
He says says a mixer is being planned in April between the veteran students groups at both Florida A&M and Florida State, which each have their own dedicated veterans support programs.
"As veterans, that's all we want. We want that camaraderie, and we seek it wherever we go."
TCC is only one of three Collegiate Purple Star school in Florida, joining Santa Fe College in Gainesville and Gulf Coast State College in Panama City.
In College Town, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
