Vets gain funds

Veterans are being given an opportunity to receive $10,000 starting for the 2008-09 school year, thanks to an endowment given anonymously to the Veterans' Affairs Office. A total of $100,000 was given to the Veterans' Affairs office and a $10,000 scholarship will be given to an eligible student for the next 10 years.

The Veterans' Affairs scholarship is available for veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In addition, veterans most have at least six units and a minimum 2.5 grade point average. To apply, veterans turn in an application, their DD 214, discharge papers and answer an essay question. The package then needs to be turned in to the scholarship office, in Building I at the LAC or the V.A. Office at the PCC, AA-124.

"We have a very large population of veterans here at LBCC, larger than a lot of City Colleges in the area," said Danielle Panto, V.A. certifying official.

The scholarship is one opportunity that veterans can take advantage of through the V.A. Office and the numbers show that the need exists. According to a fact sheet put together by the Fund for Veterans' Education, 90 percent of enlisted soldiers don't have a college degree.

The average four-year cost for in-state at a public college is $65,000 and total educational benefit for veterans who have four years of active duty is $39,000.

"A lot of vets, they come and see us and they get so overwhelmed that in some cases, if they don't find the help they need, they end up going back into the military," said Blavia Logos, psychology major at Cal State Long Beach.

Logos works in the Federal Work Study program through V.A. and said the transition from soldier to citizen has been difficult for him.

Even if a veteran doesn't qualify for the scholarship, applying for finical aid early opens some other opportunities. Extended Opportunity Programs and Services will offer a $275 book grant.

Frank Menjivar, V.A. certifying official and financial aid supervisor at the PCC, and Panto have met with David Leonard of the Salvation Army Liberty Program in Los Angeles to see what other options may be available for veterans.

All applications for the scholarship must be accepted no later than Thursday, June 12 at 5 p.m.

The selection process follows the college scholarship committee criteria of academic achievement, need and the DD 214. Recipients are contacted by mail in August and expected to take part in a reception where they are named.