Resources

Olympic College is a public two-year community college that educates more than 13,000 students a year. Founded in 1946, the college has three campuses in Bremerton, Poulsbo, and Shelton and serves a population of 280,000 residents living in Kitsap and Mason Counties. Olympic College Military & Veterans Programs’ mission is to serve Veterans, Active Duty, and their dependents in their educational goals every step of the way. Assisting in Outreach, Enrollment, Transitions, Navigating and processing VA (Veteran Affairs) and DoD (Department of Defense) Benefits, and advising to meet their specific needs.  Military & Veterans Programs (MVP) Support Center provides a centralized location for Active Duty, Veterans, and their dependents to obtain assistance with their education benefits, receive tutoring, have computer and printer access and the ability to work closely with military success coaches, support specialist, Vet Corps and VA certifying officials. The MVP Benefits Office provides a wide number of services, with a focus on students who are accessing benefits from the Department of VA, Department of Defense-Education, and Washington State.

MVP is also a partner PAVE campus. PAVE is a peer support program that connects incoming student veterans with student veterans already on campus to help them navigate college life, identify challenges they face, refer them to appropriate resources on or off-campus, and provide ongoing support. Through peer support from other student veterans on campus, PAVE builds on the camaraderie veterans' experience in the military to create a sense of community and connectedness that contributes to academic and personal success.

The Veteran and Military Resource Center (VMRC) at UW Tacoma serves as a resource for students providing support and referrals throughout campus and our community. The VMRC is also responsible for developing and offering campus programming that benefits our military-connected students. The VMRC comprises two staff: the Veteran and Military Services Staff and the Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship (VIBE) Staff.

The Veteran and Military Services Staff is here to help military veterans and their dependents access their VA educational benefits and Washington state tuition waivers. Our benefits advisors can provide you with general benefit information as well as certify your educational services.

Wellness, Arts, and the Military (WAM) is part of the ArtsWA Community of Care Initiative. WAM supports the growth of artists and arts organizations who have arts and wellness programs for military connected communities. WAM began in 2017 as a Community Connections Project supported by the NEA Creative Forces Military Healing Arts Network. Through summits, convenings, and key partnerships, the WAM program has grown to include arts programming grants, training, funding, and outreach.

Welcome!

We are here to support your transition into higher learning by:

• Providing a peer connection for veterans new to higher education.

• Helping the college to meet the needs of student veterans.

• Providing veterans with connections to federal, state or local veterans resources.

Heather Gebhardt, PhD, ABPP is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 15 years experience working with the veteran, active duty, and military family communities. She completed her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of California, San Diego/San Diego State University, and completed both her internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Seattle Division of the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System. Since that time, she has worked in both VA and veteran/military-serving non-profit settings.

Her experience and connection with the military is not only professional, but personal as well. She is the proud spouse of an Air Force Veteran, who retired after a 20-year military career in 2021.  

Dr. Gebhardt is Board Certified in Behavioral & Cognitive Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and specializes in working with adults who are facing a variety of military-related concerns including anxiety, depression, PTSD, anger, or other post-trauma reactions. The treatment approaches she utilizes are evidence-based, meaning they have been found to be effective based on scientific research. 

For more information on Dr. Gebhardt and her approach to therapy, please visit her website!

Centralia College is an approved institution for the education and training of veterans, reservists and the children and spouses of deceased or 100% "total and permanently" (with no further exams pending) disabled veterans.

Services Available:

• Assistance with the college application and registration process
• Assistance throughout the education benefit application process
• Notification of enrollment and enrollment changes to the VA
• Help in interpreting, explaining and implementing VA policies and college regulations