BCC Dedicates New Plaque To Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
 Patrick Bucier and Annie Gerrity revealed the plaque on Thursday. |
He was at a dinner at Berkshire Community College President Ellen Kennedy's house when he met local artist Annie Gerrity.
The two got talking and Gerrity understood exactly what Bucier meant.
That night she designed a plaque in honor of those veterans. On Thursday, tearing up, Gerrity got to reveal the plaque she created and donated to the college to hang in the Susan B. Anthony Lounge.
"It is just my way to say thank you," she said.
Bucier was one of the first to join the Student Veterans Alliance, which was formed in 2010.
SVA staff assistant John Herrera said the organization was formed to help those coming back re-integrate into civilian life. He remembers when he returned and the difficulties that he had.
"Essentially, you are a nobody," he said.
The experiences of a veteran differ greatly from the typical college student. With the establishment of the SVA and the opening of a veterans lounge last year, veterans now have a way to gather together and talk about the things the rest of the student body wouldn't understand.
The SVA helped Bucier. He said when he returned from war he had so much post-traumatic stress that he wouldn't have been able to speak at a ceremony like Thursday's. But the Student Veterans Alliance has really helped him, he said.
Thursday's plaque dedication is "another step toward making Berkshire Community College a military-friendly school," according to Herrera.
Kennedy said the college has always been a military-friendly school and the plaque continues to show that BCC values what the soldiers bring not only to classroom and campus but what they have done overseas and will do in the future.
"Today is about everything you went through when you were away from home," Kennedy said.
Tags: BCC, plaques, recognition event, veterans,
