LARAMIE, Wyo. — When it comes to gear heads, WyoTech Laramie Campus Director Caleb Perriton said military veterans are highly sought after in the automotive industry.
“Student veterans have always been a fabric of our campus,” Perriton said. “We’re dealing with an industry that has a large skills gap, so for many of our veterans, it’s a natural place in education for them to master a trade and get into a career path.”
Because several military jobs focus on mechanical skills, most veterans come to the school with a basic skill set that can be fine-tuned to the student’s desires.
While many post-secondary schools in Wyoming lack a staff dedicated to helping veterans, Perriton said WyoTech not only has a team dedicated solely to recruiting veterans from across the nation, but once the veterans arrive on campus, there are several programs focused on providing them with an education tailored to their needs.
“We do a full student orientation, which the veterans will be part of,” WyoTech Director of Student Success Kyle Morris said. “Then, the veterans will break out to a different session for just the student veterans.”
From the get-go, student veterans receive a special orientation to acquaint them with the veteran-focused programs, services and groups WyoTech offers as well as introducing the students to veteran organizations around Laramie such as Project Healing Waters, Morris said.
“We have four separate counsellors and specialists that have office hours on campus, so that students don’t have to drive to Cheyenne or drive across town for Telehealth (a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs mobile heath care service),” Morris said.
