Your Resource For Current Military News
Volume 2 / Issue 4 – April 2016
B i g g e r a n d B r i g h t e r T h i n g s t o C o m e !
M a k i n g H e a d l i n e s f r o m B r i g h t w o o d
The Brightwood campus in El Paso,
formally Kaplan College, is making
their debut today with a ribbon cutting
and open house for the induction of
their new name. Brightwood El Paso
was established 31 years ago and
initially opened as a career center.
Since joining Education Corporation
of America in October of last year, the
campus now houses associate’s
degree programs in areas such as
allied health, business and
information technology, just to name a
few.
Today, students got a chance to tour
the facility and meet instructors and
staff. Among those present for the big
day were Sandra Carrillo, Director of
Admissions, and Dawn Mitchell,
Campus President.
Celebrations will continue on, June 24,
2016, when the campus will host their
first Brightwood graduation ceremony at
the El Paso Convention Center. Prior
and present military service members of
all branches will be among the
graduating Brightwood students. In
honor of their service and dedication to
their country, their diligence to duty, and
collegiate success, the following
students will be receiving honorary red,
white and blue service cords at the
commencement ceremonies:
Andres Avila
Kendall J Charles
Victoria Murdock
Congratulations to these military
Brightwood graduates for a job well
done, and welcome to the Brightwood
family, El Paso!
I n T h i s I s s u e
Bigger and Brighter……………….......... 1
Current Events ...…...………2
Awareness Around the World …….2
Scholarship Success……….3
Join the Initiative ...…………………..3

Spring is officially underway, and with the
new season comes new events. Here’s
what is happening for the month of April.
1st
-
6th
- VC/ECO Spring Term begins.
6th
-12th
- VC/ECO Drop/Add period
17th
- Disabled Vets Virtual Career Fair
@1pm-3pm CST.
18th
-NECB Patriot’s Day
Last Day to file your taxes!
18th
-22nd
- GAA Finals Week
22nd
- NECB Undergrad Spring Term 2
ends
22nd
- Earth Day
23rd
- GAA Spring Graduation
23rd
-Passover
25th
-NECB undergraduate Summer 1 Starts
27th
-
Don’t forget to eat, sleep and exercise
regularly. Combat stress with healthy living
habits.
A w a r e n e s s A r o u n d t h e w o r l d
G e t t i n g i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e c a u s e
April is Autism Awareness Month. More
than a century ago, The Autisim Society
was created in a national support capacity
to give each person with ASD their best
opportunity to achieve the highest possible
quality of life. The Society is celebrating 51
years of support in their efforts to promote
autism awarness, inclusion and self-
determination for everyone. This year they
are setting goals to surpassing awareness
and move to encouragement. This means
encouraging collaboration and new
partnerships around the world to become a
part of a united front towards bringing
acceptance and appreciation to this cause.
If you know someone who has an Autism,
or would like to become involved, this is a
perfect opportunity to join the movement,
and become a partner with ASD. Want to
know more? Visit http://www.autism-
society.org/get-involved/national-autism-
awareness-month/
Sexual Assault Awarness and
Prevention Month
Sexual violence, including child abuse, is
happening worldwide, and it does not
discriminate by race, age, gender or
culture. Every 107 seconds, another
person is sexually assaulted in America.
There are 293,000 victims of sexual
assault annually, and 68% of them are not
reported to police. According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services’ Child Bureau, 58,105 cases of
child sexual abuse were reported in 2013
alone. April has been deemed National
Sexual Assault Awareness month by the
The National Sexual Violence Resource
Center, in hopes of bringing recognition to
this worldwide epidemic that needs
recognition. The National Child Traumatic
Stress Network (NCTSN) has created the
2016 Sexual Assault Awarness Month
(SAAM) campaign. The SAAM campaign
is focused on healthy sexuality and young
adults and teens. Sexual violence and
assault happen everyday but, there is
hope and life in the aftermath. Educate
yourself and loved ones to seek help if
they’ve experienced such trauma. For
more information and resources visit
www.nstsn.org
C u r r e n t E v e n t s
What’s happening on and off campus

Education Corporation of America 3660 Grandview Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35243 Tel 205.552.1217 Kenyatta.Grays@ecacolleges.com
F i n d S u p p o r t : J o i n t h e I n i t i a t i v e
T h e S V A V e t C e n t e r G r a n t : P a r t n e r i n g t o
c r e a t e a b e t t e r v e t e r a n s t u d e n t e x p e r i e n c e
Military veterans who began using military education benefits between 2002 and
2010 make up 52 percent of program students who obtained a degree earned by
2013. Nonveteran students were more likely to take the full six years to obtain a
degree or certification. Of the veterans, 16.5 percent are woman and 46 percent
have children. A third of them are single parents who never married, and 80 percent
are older than 25, with the common age being 25-30. (according to the National
Conference of State Legislatures). This has been on the rise since the 2009, when
the Post 9/11 government-issued education benefits went into effect and more and
more Iraq/Afghanistan service members returned home, ending their tour of duty.
Military veterans began to flood colleges and universities at an influx of about
900,000. But unlike traditional students coming out of high school, these were
experienced and war-time military members facing their own set of challenges.
Obstacles ranged from lack of comaraderie and faculty support, to adjusting more
“do it yourself” structured training methods. Recognizing the many possible issues
that veterans face during their enrollment in college, SVA has partnered with VA vet
centers to form the SVA Vet Center Initiative. So far, they’ve built and improved
veteran support centers on 61 campus, impacting 30,000. The vet centers are a
place where vets can socialize, study and connect with other veteran students. The
success of the initiative has encouraged the continued support of The Home Depot
Foundation, who has offered a total of $400,000 to 50 deserving SVA chapters. If
your campus has or wants an SVA chapter but lacks the resources to create one,
they can apply for the Vet Center Grant to gain a vet center. The deadline to apply is
April 22,2016.. Apply at: http://studentveterans.org/index.php/programs/vetcenter-
initiative?layout=edit&id=440
S c h o l a r s h i p S u c c e s s
Paying Your Education Forward
Scholarship America Dream Award:
Between $5000 and $15,000 is
awarded annually, growing by $1000
each year until graduation. Deadline:
October 2016
Students must have completed a full
year of post-secondary education by
June 2017 and be working to obtain
an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.
Student must have a minimum
cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
and demonstrate fiscal need.
Apply:
http://scholarshipamerica.org/dream_
criteria.php or Phone: 507-931-1682
Imagine America’s Military Award
Award: $1000 Deadline: June 30
Established in 2004 by Imagine
America Foundation, this award is
available to active duty, reservist,
honorably discharged or retired
veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces
for attendance at a career college.
The applicant must be participating
in college, and not have previously
received of any other Imagine
America Foundation Award
Scholarship. He or she also must
have financial need. Apply:
http://www.imagine-
america.org/grantsformilitary/applica
tionprocess
Park Foundation Scholarship
Award: $2000 Deadline: June 1, 2016
Award recipients must be either a
single female or male, head-of-
household student with dependents
OR a Vietnam veteran who no longer
has access to educational benefits. A
GPA of 3.0 or higher is required, and
student must be a custodial parent
who can demonstrate financial need.
To Apply:
http://www.parkfoundation.org/apply
ing.html
If there is something in particular that you would like to
see in the newsletter please feel to contact me. My
information is at the bottom of the newsletter. I would
love your feedback.
KG