Green Zone Training

In 2017, Tarrant County College began offering Green Zone Training to faculty and staff. The training focuses on military cultural awareness and how best to serve veteran and military-connected (V/MC) students. It has the objective of student academic success and a sense of belonging to a learning community where the perspectives and experiences of those students are valued. It showcases best practices to support V/MC students and how to apply the best practices in courses.

According to Bill Alexander, veterans counselor at TCC Northwest, “The training communicates who veteran and military-connected students are, why they served, their strengths and challenges and resources for assisting V/MC students.”

TCC Southeast veterans counselor Christina McDonald said the training has evolved through the years to ensure content is aligned with relevant and current research.

Green Zone training is offered once per semester and is delivered by TCC veterans counselors. Additionally, the training is offered virtually to reach a greater number of participants across the District. The counselors offer a truncated version for Connections Week to introduce the training.

“We strongly encourage all faculty/staff and administrators to take advantage of this timely and unique professional development in support of diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Alexander.

Alyssa Guglielmi-White, lead academic advisor at TCC Southeast, took the training virtually fall 2020.

It was a great experience and eye-opening to learn about the transition our veteran students have to make when starting college.

Alyssa Guglielmi-White
Lead Academic Advisor, TCC Southeast

Guglielmi-White gained an appreciation for “the processes and rules our students have to follow to ensure they are compliant with VA benefits,” she said.

“As an advisor, I am sometimes one of the first interactions these students have with TCC. I have applied these skills when meeting these students for the first time and identifying them,” she said. “The connection can be as simple as walking with them to the Veterans Resource Center to make sure they are comfortable. It also is useful in identifying when a military-connected student may need additional resources or counseling and quickly finding a way to meet that need.”

To ease the transition to civilian life for veteran students, Green Zone Training recommends remembering each student is unique in their experiences, communicating effectively and providing information about various services and resources available as seems appropriate.

Guglielmi-White heartily recommends taking Green Zone Training. “Taking the time to gain additional skills to work with our diverse student body is always time well used,” she said. “This is a valuable training and is impactful for our military-connected students.”

Contact the Veterans Resource Centers to learn more about Green Zone Training.