Spouse: CCC tailored to military

The population of students with a connection to the military at Clovis Community College is a minority group which may be why such students say they feel special.

Kayla Blair, 24, is married to a staff sgt.-select and the couple have lived in Clovis for three years. She has been attending the college for most of that time, working toward a degree in radiology.

Blair said she feels like the school is tailored to the military.

“I feel like I’m being reached out to because we’re being thrown around so much,” she said.

Blair said the school does a variety of things that make her feel special, ranging from the small, like having photos of military students on their website, to the big, like having several scholarships available, and easy to find, for the military.

“I like that they are very aware of my connection to the military,” she said. “It makes me feel special. Because my husband is serving, he is putting himself out there and putting his family second for his country, that makes me feel like we should be honored.”

Blair, who was previously active duty military, said the college’s on-campus daycare also helps make her life easier.

CCC was designated a “military friendly school” by G.I. Jobs magazine last year, according to Dean of Student Services Michele Schmidt.

Schmidt said the school does everything it can to help military students, whether dependents or active duty, get acclimated to attending the school.

She said one of the big things the school does is has a full-time education services coordinator on base.

“They are basically a one-stop shop for the military out there,” Schmidt said. “They help apply, register, test. Everything.”

Schmidt said CCC also has a national testing center at the base education office.

“We work with the education office to determine which classes to offer on base,” Schmidt said. “We offer classes in eight-week segments. It works well for them as well as online classes.”

Schmidt said military students are most concerned with transferability, accreditation and affordability and the college offers all three.