The Fresno City College Veterans Resource Center (VRC) is more than a service on campus for student veterans to learn about educational benefits and the Veteran Student Education Plan. It creates a supportive space to help veterans seek services while they navigate a post-service life.
The VRC provides services for veterans to get help with any school related issues. They have counselors set up Veteran Student Education Plans (VSEP), which are the classes veterans need to take specifically in comparison to a typical education plan. Veterans can schedule in-person, Zoom, or over-the-phone meetings with VSEP specific counselors.
Many staff members are veterans who came back to school post-service, including Kevin Robbins, a student worker at the center who graduated from FCC in 2022 and is enrolled at Grand Canyon University to get his master’s degree in counseling.
“We give them suggestions, because we’ve been through it,” Robbins said.
Eric Perez, the CEO of Raul Perez Memorial Golf Tournament, has organized a golf tournament every year since 2021. Every year the tournament partners with an organization to raise money for a cause that his late father, a marine veteran who fought in the Vietnam war, would have found beneficial. His father, Raul Perez, ran track at FCC and it was considered one of the best times of his life according to Eric. In June of 2025, they raised $5,000 which was donated to the VRC.
“The Veterans Resource Center is a big support for these service members, to know that we thank you for your service, but we also want you to continue to succeed in life. They still have goals to achieve,” Eric said.
LeNas Vangay, the interim director of the VRC, said that the Raul Perez Memorial Golf Tournament donated the money along with a custom canopy and two custom table cloths with the VRC logo on them.
“The donation money goes into a foundation account called ‘The Veterans Peace Memorial Foundation Account,’” Vangay said. “The money is reserved for events related to veterans, for instance the [Veterans Day] ceremony. It all goes towards veteran students, nothing else.”
The VRC works closely with students to physically show them the steps to take. Rather than telling someone where the tutorial center is, they will walk students to the location according to Robbins.
“We want to see everybody succeed and more on,” Robbins said. “Failure is not in our vocabulary.”
But more than just wanting to see people succeed, the center is a place where people meet and form bonds. According to Robbins, the center has couches and free coffee to allow the veterans to unwind from a stressful school environment. They even have holiday movie nights during Halloween and Christmas.
“If it wasn’t for me coming here and being able to come here in between classes, before and after, and just be able to relax and get help, I don’t think I would have stayed, to be honest,” Robbins said.
The VRC has academic counselors, personal counselors and career counselors available. According to Vangay, all the services provided in the center have shown a higher retention rate and follow through on completed academic goals for their students.
Eric said that it is important to invest in student veterans because not everyone has support systems once they enter school. It’s not always easy to succeed outside of the military, and many people get out and don’t know what to do.
”He [Eric Perez’s father] didn’t have the support to continue his education,” Eric said. “Nobody can ever take that [education] away from you.”
The center has both regulars and people that come in and out based on when appointments are needed. When finals season comes around, they offer breakfast and lunch, because this time can be stressful and they need to “feed their brains,” according to Robbins.
“I have one gentleman come in every morning for coffee, because we offer free coffee, ” Robbins said. “He always thanks me for the coffee, and I say there is ‘No problem.’”
The transition from military life and civilian life can be taxing for many veterans. People often come back very different from who they originally were, Eric said. This transition can be even harder when you come back to school after years of being out of it and lack a support system.
“In the military we are like a family, we take care of each other, and that’s what helps here, we’re like a family, we take care of each other,” Robbins said.
Eric said the center has opened their arms to the Perez family. They wanted to contribute the money raised from the 2025 tournament to show that people care about veterans.
“We chose the Veterans Resource Center because they tend to be forgotten,” Eric said.
FCC has one of the biggest veteran populations at any community college from Stockton down to Bakersfield, according to Vangay. Vangay said one goal of the center is to establish better relationships with community partners that could help make the student veteran population more visible.
The VRC has one certifying official whose job is to process the educational benefits. The VRC would benefit from having other certifying officials that could help accommodate for the large veteran population, according to Vangay.
Any golfers interested in getting involved with the tournament and supporting local organizations can reach out via the Raul Perez Memorial Instagram, said Eric. They have yet to pick an organization for next year, but it’s planned.
According to Vangay, the VRC is planning to continue to collaborate with other groups. The next organization is the Disabled student program on the FCC campus. They plan to create a bigger computer lab and quiet/study room for the students to share.
“Once that happens, it creates a whole open space for us to maybe put more staff in there,” Vangay said.
VRC puts on different events including memorial service, which workers will volunteer at without any obligation. Robbins highlighted the importance of showing support for all veterans.
“Once you’re a veteran you’re always a veteran,” Robbins said.
