KPC hosts VA and Alliance Member/Student match up

KPC hosts VA and Alliance Member/Student match up

The Kenai Peninsula College (KPC) Kenai River Campus has been host to several beneficial community gatherings recently. First was a visit from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs director Susan Yeager to explain new policies for veterans and discuss needs with local vets, “We’ve been enjoying the opportunity that these town hall type meetings provide. We are committed quarterly to go to all the sites where there are VA’s all the way from Fairbanks to Juneau and the benefits are two ways as it benefits the VA staff to hear firsthand from our customer the vet is experiencing with the VA and we hope to help the vet learn how to better navigate the VA system and its bureaucracy for healthcare, benefits and memorial affairs. We bring staff that can do one on one problem resolution with veterans. Our attitude these days now is to serve the customer, we’re here for the veterans and that is our mission,” said Yeager in an interview with the Dispatch. 40 some veterans turned out at the Kenai River Campus to do just that and Yeager encouraged vets that have had bad experiences in the past with the VA to give another try.

Friday, March 20th then KPC hosted the 2nd Member/Student match up presented by the Kenai Chapter of the Support Industry Alliance. The day included a luncheon with members and students and a tour of the Process Technology facilities at KPC. “We often find that our student population is inversely proportionate to the jobs available. When jobs are harder to find more often students decide to go back to school for additional skills. So with the slight down turn due to the price in oil we are expecting to see more students coming through our program,” explained Assistant Professor, Process Tech. Jeff Laube. According to the Process Tech program coordinator Sandie Gilliland who addressed the members and students the hire ratio for grads is still very high, “We see fewer large companies offering internships and actively recruiting students, but we now are seeing smaller companies and more of them coming to the campus. It ends up evening out and the hire ratio for our students who want to go to work is still very high following graduation,” he said. Gilliland attributed the selection of the Process Tech faculty and staff for the continued high ratings of KPC’s program. Gilliland also helps companies start and develop internships programs for Process Tech. and Instrumentation students.

KPC hosts VA and Alliance Member/Student match up
KPC hosts VA and Alliance Member/Student match up
KPC hosts VA and Alliance Member/Student match up

More in News

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, a Soldotna Republican who co-chairs the House Education Committee, speaks in favor overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
By 1 vote, lawmakers sustain Dunleavy veto of education bill

The bipartisan bill included $680 increase to per-student funding

The Sterling Highway crosses the Kenai River near the Russian River Campground on March 15, 2020, near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Russian River Campground closed for construction

The campground is expected to reopen on June 2

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Fish and Game announces series of closures and restrictions for king salmon fisheries

Cook Inlet king salmon stocks are experiencing a prolonged period of poor productivity, the department said

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Most Read