Gregory ‘Mitch’ Mitchell

Associate in Arts

Gregory ‘Mitch’ Mitchell enlisted in the United States Army after graduating from high school. He was stationed in Tacoma at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (formerly Fort Lewis) and spent much of his career as a combat engineer. He served two tours in Iraq and spent time in Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, and South America. In between his tours he also began working on a criminal justice degree. After suffering several injuries, the 13-year veteran was medically discharged in 2014. Interested in finishing his degree Mitch enrolled at YVC. However, he quickly learned that due to the nature of his injuries, he would be unable to serve in law enforcement. Mitch decided to change his major and focus his efforts on counseling veterans. “There is a serious lack of counselors for my generation of veterans. Most are from the Vietnam War, and their experiences don’t match the needs of today’s veterans,” he stated. “I want to help individuals get past the trauma and nightmares. Most of the guys we see today are young and don’t want to admit that they are broken. I’d like to help them,” he continued. Mitch is currently working for the Yakima County Veterans Program. He will graduate in August and begin taking classes at Central Washington University in the fall.