Redlands grant to extend Veterans Upward Bound
Summary
EL RENO The U.S. Department of Education has renewed a grant totaling $1.44 million for Redlands Community Colleges Veterans Upward Bound program.The federally funded program is designed to assist first-generation and/or low-income veterans in the development of required skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education. It provides counseling, mentoring, tutoring and academic instruction in core subject areas. The VUB staff is also able to assist with school comparison and selection, academic skills development, academic program research, financial aid assistance, admissions assistance, transcript requests, financial literacy and test preparation.Additionally, the VUB staff will assist veterans in securing support services from other locally available resources such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration and Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.Leading Veterans Upward Bound is one of the most rewarding jobs I could imagine doing, providing veterans in our service area with essential educational resources, including academic tutoring, counseling and guidance in the areas of academic programs, admission and financial benefits, said Reynolds. I will never turn away supporting a veterans dreams, and my team will continue bending over backwards to do so as long as we can.Local goals for the grant are to continue building relationships with civic groups and organizations, with a focus on serving a minimum of 125 low-income, first-generation veterans each fiscal year of the five-year grant.Our staff has done a remarkable job of administering the program and serving numerous veterans, said Redlands President Jack Bryant.The Redlands Veterans Upward Bound is headquartered at the main campus in El Reno but has satellite offices at the Oklahoma Works American Job Centers in Oklahoma City and Lawton, and the Harry S. Truman Education Center at Fort Sill.