College of Lake County opens new veterans lounge

The College of Lake County has opened a veterans lounge at the Grayslake Campus, offering military veterans - along with their family, friends and supporters - a space to socialize, study and learn about community resources.

Currently located in Room C181, the lounge is equipped with chairs, a conference table, whiteboard and a large, flat-screen monitor.

"This setup is a work in progress," said Joe Bochantin, CLC veterans student services coordinator. "In the coming months, we will be seeking input from our student veterans to determine what kinds of furniture, art and other features they would like to have in their lounge.

"My hope is that it will be a place where veterans, service members and their families will come together to relax, support each other and live out the motto 'Veterans Helping Veterans.' The lounge also will be a place where veterans can access information about the college and community resources designed to help them adjust to the academic environment."

The lounge, located in a room with picture windows overlooking a grass courtyard, will probably move to a larger location on the Grayslake Campus in the fall, Bochantin added.

Regardless of size, the new facility is a welcome addition for veterans, including Stephen Joseph, who has served in the U.S. Navy and has earned CLC degrees in both digital media and design and hospitality and culinary management.

"Veterans have a special camaraderie, and a lounge will help it grow at CLC," he said.

After working several years as a chef, Joseph now is pursuing bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from Northeastern Illinois University. His new career goal is to counsel veterans with emotional issues ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to suicidal thoughts.

"Each day, 20 veterans commit suicide," he said, noting recent studies by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "With degrees in social work, I'll have more to offer fellow veterans, and I can do my part to reduce or eliminate that suicide rate."

The new lounge is the latest in good news for veterans at CLC. In January, the college was named, for the 10th consecutive year, a Military Friendly Gold School by Victory Media, a Pittsburgh-based publisher of G.I. Jobs magazine.

Last November, the college unveiled at the Grayslake Campus new artwork in a plaza named "CLC Salute to Veterans." It consists of a 14-foot sculpture depicting a dove and stars to celebrate peacemaking efforts. The second piece portrays a crouching soldier gazing at embedded plaques identifying the five branches of the U.S. military.

For more information on veterans services at CLC, visit www.clcillinois.edu/multiculturalstudentcenter and click the "Veteran Student Services" link.

For more information about the College of Lake County, visit www.clcillinois.edu.

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