Germanna awarded Military Friendly School honor

STAFFORD — G.I. Jobs, a magazine for military personnel making the transition to civilian life, has named Germanna Community College to its 2012 Military Friendly School list, which honors the top 20 percent of American colleges doing the most to embrace active military service members and veterans as students.

Nearly 300 Germanna students took advantage of G.I. Bill benefits this summer, according to Dianne Frausto, GCC’s Veterans Affairs representative, including some military dependents. The number is not available yet for the fall semester.

“Many of the military personnel stationed at Quantico Marine Corps Base, Fort A.P. Hill and the Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center and their families live in our area,” said Germanna President David A. Sam. “ Many more commute to the Pentagon and Fort Belvoir.  Some have chosen to make the area their home after retiring from the military.

“Now many from our area who have served selflessly and valiantly in Iraq and Afghanistan are returning home,” Sam said. “We owe it to all those who have served to ease their transition back to civilian life, make them feel welcome and appreciated, and to prepare them for good jobs. The G.I. Jobs recognition is one way of paying them back for helping to keep us safe.”

The criteria set by the magazine include efforts to recruit and retain active military and veteran students and success in recruiting and retaining military and veteran students.

Germanna has a Veterans Affairs office, a Veterans Club and a counselor whose duties include assisting veterans. GCC also works closely with Wounded Warrior, a peer support organization that provides support to veterans as they make the adjustment to civilian life.

The 2012 list of Military Friendly Schools — 1,518 of them — was selected from more than 8,000 schools nationwide. G.I. Jobs magazine is published by Victory Media, a veteran-owned business headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Military personnel and veterans seeking information about Germanna should contact Frausto at (540) 891-3023 or dfrausto@germanna.edu.

— Press release