Monday, October 24 at 10 a.m., DMACC held the ribbon cutting for the new Veterans Lounge in 
Ankeny Campus Building 5. This space is set aside for Veterans who, according to Veterans Services Coordinator Don Enright, might need a little extra help adjusting to civilian life.
“Having a space like a veterans lounge is crucial to the success of some veterans on campus. A space like this gives them the opportunity to be around other veterans. It gives them a space to decompress after they have had a disagreement with a professor on world issues in one of their classes,” Enright said.
Attended by DMACC officials, military service members past and present, and many from the general public it honored veterans and current veteran students at DMACC. “We currently serve over 600 veterans on our six campuses and our five centers and our commitment is deep,” said DMACC President Robert Denson.
“We now have a center that is second to none, and we are very excited about this, Denson said. “When I tour this facility I always stop into the Veterans Center and it’s been open for a few weeks now, and there is always a few veterans in there who will tell me, how important it is for them.” Denson continued and noted how DMACC was the first Iowa College or University to be designated veteran friendly by Homebase Iowa.
Col. Tim Glynn was third to speak at the event and represented the Iowa National Guard as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Personnel. Glynn spoke on behalf of Major General Orr who was involved in creating the HomeBase Iowa program.
“When your son or daughter pursues a military life … you have skin in the game. Raises their hand and goes off to training, they come back with a great many benefits but can’t use them at the four year university they want to go to because they already have six credit hours, they have to find a place to get their first 24 credit hours at DMACC,” said Glynn. “My son came here also for a year before he transferred to ISU, and I’ll tell you he misses this place,” continued Glynn.
According to Enright, whose office is also in Building 5, the Veterans Services are part of HomeBase Iowa and this room is an extension of our services on the DMACC Campus. “HomeBase Iowa has three parts, cities and counties, employers and education which DMACC was the first community college in Iowa to join,” Enright said.
The event ended with a tour of the Veterans Lounge where there was a relaxing atmosphere with couches, computers, a large screen television, workspace and more. The lounge is open to all Veterans 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and is accessible through the offices at the front entrance to Building 5.
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