Alamo Colleges - Northwest Vista College (NVC) recently broke ground on its new Veterans Center, for which Vaughn Construction will serve as the construction manager-at-risk. The first building on campus dedicated to serving veterans, this new facility will help accommodate NVC’s growing veteran student population.
Alamo Colleges District and NVC leaders gathered alongside prominent members of the community and key business partners to celebrate the groundbreaking milestone. Among the attendees was Alamo Colleges District Board Chairman Roberto Zárate, who applauded the new facility as a key step towards filling gaps in local support for veterans. “The capability—the capacity—to serve our veterans is very limited throughout the state. Thank God that in San Antonio and Bexar County, a military city, we’re really amping that up and being able to do something incredible for our veterans,” Zárate said.
The military and veteran community have been integral to NVC since its inception in 1995, and NVC leaders were eager for the chance to create a space dedicated to supporting their veteran students. According to NVC’s interim president Debi Gaitan, it was Sen. José Menéndez’s support that made the Veterans Center possible. “I had learned that when [Sen. Menéndez] tours campuses, he finds where there are gaps that need to be closed, and the Victory Center was an example of that. I invited [him] and asked, ‘Would you come visit our campus?’” Debi continued, “We did not have the money for the Veterans Center, and we want you to know that it came through the hard work and dedication that our Senator had for us, and Alamo, and Bexar County, that our veterans would have what they need and deserve.”
Sen. Menéndez expressed his continued support for the project, and he explained, “What I loved about the [center] was that it wasn’t just academic counsel. It was where [veterans] could get help with their disability forms, it was where they could get help with just life issues, mental health, counselling.” He continued, “Every veteran that shows up on any Alamo Colleges campus, it is my hope and dream that they feel welcome, that they feel they have a home, that they feel they can find a pathway to a better future for them and their family.”
The Veterans Center will serve NVC’s veteran students for years to come, and Vaughn is proud to support the Alamo Colleges District and Northwest Vista College on this project. We look forward to sharing more information as this project progresses.