About three years ago, the Veterans Resource Center opened on the Clover Park Technical College campus.

"A lot of good comes out of this office," commented Army veteran Shawn Durnen, the center's lead navigator, as we sat on a comfortable sofa in a large, well-lit and information-rich room in a converted warehouse.

"We keep our ear to the ground and get transitioning soldiers, veterans, Guard and Reserve personnel and civilians what they need."

Keep that ear where it is.

In fact, a lot of good has been coming out of CPTC for almost 75 years.

In 1941, as World War II kicked into high gear for America, a program called War Production Training began in several shop buildings at Clover Park High School.

The training taught more than 500 students the nuts and bolts of maintaining automobile and aircraft engines, both important to the war effort.

From this humble beginnings emerged a training emerged the Clover Park Vocational-Technical Institute.

By 1954, the CPVTI and its programs moved into a vacant warehouse, not dissimilar from the one in which the Veterans Resource Center is located today.

The college now has two campuses: a Lakewood campus and a South Hill Campus near Thun Field, home of the college's aviation program.

"We are a robust institution, and we offer a large variety of resources," Durnen continued.

"A veteran or transition soldier can find information on housing, food, education, benefits - everything from A to Z."

In helping servicemembers start new careers, CPTC offers 40 programs in aerospace, advanced manufacturing, health sciences, human services, business, hospitality, science, technology, engineering, transportation and numerous trades.

"One of the nice things about how we work with transitioning servicemembers and veterans of all branches is that we are ‘hands on,'" explained Army veteran Jeff Turner, as we stood in the large computer lab.

"Many of our faculty members in this department are veterans as well."

A Computer Networking and Information Systems Security (CNISS) faculty member and Army veteran, Turner puts the rubber on the road as far as ensuring veterans achieve their potential.

"One of the nice things about working with vets in here is they are mission focused, they prioritize and they get to work."

Speaking of priorities, a shirt and a neatly tied tie sometimes helps an applicant obtain that first job.

"We use those for the mock interviews we conduct; we want the students to experience an interview before they actually face a real one for a job," he said, when I asked about a hangerful of ties hanging on a coat rack.

This kind of attitude makes Brian Harrel happy.

"I got out of the Army in 2012 and have been taking classes here for the past two years," he said.

"My goal is to be a network administrator, and with the training I am receiving here, I think any servicemember will be well served."

For more information about the Veterans Resource Center, located in Building 22, Room 121 on the CPTC campus, call 253.589.5966 or visit veteran.navigator@cptc.edu.