OTC Veterans Program Now Serves 15 Counties

A program that helps veterans get a college degree has expanded thanks to a federal grant.

The report below by Sydney Moran, Ozarks First:

Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) received a $1.4 million grant for its Veterans Upward Bound program. The program started back in 2017 at OTC. But, OTC only had enough funds to serve Greene County veterans.

“We learned very quickly there was a lot of need and that there were actually veterans coming in from other counties who were seeking services that we just had not anticipated,” Director Michelle Ciesielski said. “Our goal, we would like to, you know, double the amount of people we helped in the past years.”

Ciesielski said OTC serves any veteran that walks through the door looking for help. If someone is looking to get a college degree, they first have to apply.

“From there we’ll contact them or they can come in person and meet with us and talk about the program and then we do an intake where we kind of assess their goals because it’s all about what they want to do,” Ciesielski said.

Veterans Upward Bound is free to veterans. So far, the program has helped a total of 325 veterans. Veterans can also get tutoring, accommodations for testing, and help with travel while in the program.

More on the story can be read on the Ozarks First Website.