“A different type of family”: CCCC hosts Veterans Day celebration

SANFORD, N.C. — Staff, students, veterans, and community members gathered at the flagpole at the center of CCCC’s Lee Main Campus for a Nov. 11 ceremony that honored veterans and reaffirmed the college’s pledge to them.

“We remain committed to ensuring that our veterans and military-affiliated students find not only educational opportunities, but also a community where they are valued, respected, and supported,” said Dr. Kevin Pearson, CCCC’s Associate Vice President of Student Engagement.

CCCC President Dr. Lisa M. Chapman said the Veterans Day ceremony is, for her, one of the most significant celebrations the college does each year. 

Her husband, she said, is a veteran who comes from a family tradition of military service and her son-in-law is currently on active duty, deployed overseas. 

“When I think about my husband’s family, and I think about my daughter and grandson in the middle of the United States, with dad and husband deployed, I think about the service we always talk about, and the sacrifice we always talk about,” she said. 

The event’s keynote speaker, retired Brigadier General Keith Gallagher, called on employers to track veteran hiring, consider the skills veterans can bring to their organizations, and provide constructive feedback to veteran applicants. 

He also asked veterans to look out for their fellow vets, including looking up former battle buddies online and reaching out. 

“Treat this as a duty and a responsibility in maintaining that once strong bond that was forged by joint experiences,” he said. 

Wednesday’s event was sponsored and organized by CCCC’s Veterans Upward Bound program, which helps veterans from around the region prepare to enroll in higher education with tailored advice and support, including assistance with academic skill development. 

“Here at CCCC, veterans are our students, faculty, staff, colleagues, friends, and neighbors,” said retired Master Sergeant Jamin Etchison, the program’s director. 

The ceremony’s invocation was given by Buyer/Equipment Coordinator Vincent Bryant, a veteran and college employee, and the pledge of allegiance was led by Jazmynn Neal, a veteran and Veterans Upward Bound alumna who is studying Business Administration at the college. 

Speaking after the ceremony, Neal said she was honored to participate. She is among the more than 400 military-affiliated students enrolled at CCCC this fall, a number that surpassed last fall’s record. 

Neal said, coming from a small community with fewer veterans around to talk to, she appreciates being at a college with more. She said she runs into them sometimes in her classes and many times in the college’s Military Affiliated Resource Center lounge, which is part of the Veterans Affairs Office. 

“I love being at the college: I’ve met a lot of new people, a lot of understanding people, especially with the vet program,” she said. “I feel like it’s a different type of home, a different type of family that brings you in with open arms.”