Sunrise in Bakersfield on August 24, 2015

This morning after a long walk and a beautiful sunrise, I settled down in the backyard to do some work.  And there was an email from Paul Beckworth welcoming our student veterans.  Some of the information that Paul provides in this email might be useful to you as you start your first day of classes tomorrow or if you are helping students through the variety of services we provide.  I did attend the SDCC breakout session on Opening Day with Armando Trujillo on understanding our student veterans.  It was very informative and very well done.

Let’s hear from Paul Beckworth, History faculty and now the Associate Dean for Student Success and Development.

The three Associate Deans: Paul Beckworth, Michele Bresso, Corny Rodriguez

From: Paul Beckworth [mailto:pbeckwor@bakersfieldcollege.edu]
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2014 7:57 AM
Subject: Welcome to Bakersfield College

Hello BC Student-Veterans,

Welcome to the Fall 2014 semester!  My name is Paul Beckworth and I am the Associate Dean of Student Success, as well as the advisor of the Veterans Club.

Please be advised that we have a Veterans Lounge on campus, adjacent to the cafeteria.  It is open from 7:30-5:30 M-TH and 8-12 on Fridays.  It is a place for student-veterans and accompanied family members who are also students, to hang out, do work, have snacks and drink some coffee. It is a great place to meet up with other veterans who have probably been through some of the same things you have.

Bakersfield College is committed to our veterans and as such we have just hired a veterans educational advisor.  When her training is complete she will be stationed in the lounge, getting your student educational plans together, working in tandem with the VA certifying official on campus, the academic counseling department, and myself.

We have a great Veterans Club on campus, led by club president Wesley Barrientos.  We will be meeting every other week, dates to be announced.

We have plenty of great services on campus to help you succeed.  There is a writing center, tutoring center, math lab, disable students services, and more.  I will send out more information later but we want you to know that the tools are here for your success.   Do not let yourself get overwhelmed.  Many of you have been out of school for years.  Ask questions, come to the lounge, talk to your teachers.  If you get anxiety due to PTSD or TBI, let your teachers know.  Veterans Services are here for you.

Please keep in mind that over 250,000 student-veterans across the nation are going to college this fall.  This means that there may be a back log of GI Bill benefits for a bit.  Be patient, and please be courteous with our staff.  If you have an issue, please come to the lounge or feel free to email me at pbeckwor@bakersfieldcollege.edu or our club president at wesley.leon-barrientos2007@email.bakersfieldcollege.edu .

Our college president, Dr. Sonya Christian, is honored to have you here, and on her behalf I say, “Welcome home and welcome to Bakersfield College!”

Paul Beckworth

Associate Dean of Student Success

Tagged: Bakersfield College, Paul Beckworth, students, veterans