Veterans Coordinator Joins the MCC Team
MCC this week brought aboard a coordinator for its Veterans Resource Center, Richard T. Reppucci of Burlington. Reppucci was introduced on Wednesday to members of the college’s Veterans Advisory Board. Reppucci is being paid through a three-year grant the college received from the Ray and Grace Ciccolo Family Foundation to support the college’s new Veterans Resource Center. The Center, which opened on campus last semester, provides information about college resources, as well as outside support services, to military personnel and their eligible family members enrolled at Middlesex.
Reppucci is a Vietnam veteran, and worked from 1987 to 2008 with the Veterans Administration in Boston, both as a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist and as Employment Coordinator. He will be staffing the Resource Center in a part-time capacity.
“By attending college, veterans can successfully transition from military service to civilian life,” said Pamela Flaherty, Dean of Students at Middlesex. “However, veterans may encounter some uniquely challenging barriers along the way. MCC’s Veterans Resource Center can help break down those barriers.” As an example, Flaherty cited an MCC student whose National Guard unit was deployed overseas on very short notice the week before final exams. He called the Veterans Resource Center and the college was able to notify his instructors and make special arrangements for him to take his final exams off-site.
MCC’s Veterans Resource Center helps Middlesex students access college services such as career and transfer counseling, disability-support services, and financial-aid information. Working closely with Bedford’s Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital and MCC’s Career Place in Woburn, the Center also refers veterans to outside services for assistance with health care, the GI Bill, career services and mental-health resources.
The Resource Center also provides a place on campus for veterans to gather and interact with each other. In addition, it will offer alternative therapies, such as meditation, acupuncture, massage and yoga, according to MCC Nursing Professor Marie Ryder, who has worked extensively with Bedford’s VA Hospital in addressing veterans’ health issues. Alternative therapies, especially acupuncture, have been clinically proven to help individuals who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Ryder explained.
“We’re not only helping our veterans succeed at college, we’re also working with them to prevent diabetes and cardiac issues from developing,” said Ryder.