When Daylen Tamarez arrived at Onondaga Community College for the Sankofa Pre-College Summer Program, he had one thought - he wanted to go home. Tamarez lives in Washington Heights in New York City and will enter 11th grade this fall. Spending a month on a college campus was a new experience. "I wanted to leave the first week because I had never been away from home,” Daylen said.
But he was convinced to stay, and it turned out to be a decision that changed his experience and possibly his perspective on what he is capable of doing. “I started to do well and adapted to it.”
A month later, Tamarez was among the students celebrating their accomplishments at a graduation ceremony for participants in OCC’s Sankofa Pre-College Summer Program and Pre-College Semiconductor Summer Program. The month-long programs gave high school students an opportunity to experience college life, explore academic and career pathways, develop new skills, and build relationships with other students, faculty and staff.
For Tamarez, one of the most important lessons was one he could carry with him long after the summer ended. “I learned a lot about studying. I noticed I’m much smarter when I put in more work and effort.”
That realization was exactly the kind of growth the programs were designed to encourage. OCC President Dr. Warren Hilton told the students that their time on campus could have an impact far beyond the month they spent on campus. “We wanted to give you an experience this summer that would help elevate your journey. Maybe it will help you to study better, to understand a particular discipline better, or maybe to prove to people in your neighborhood or your school you could do this.” He encouraged the students to recognize what they had accomplished, and to share that experience with others. “Celebrate yourselves, tell people about this experience you had, and encourage your friends to be here next summer,” Dr. Hilton said.
For Kyle Morkel, a student at Chittenango High School who will also enter 11th grade this fall, the Pre-College Semiconductor Summer Program offered a different kind of discovery. He said he appreciated the opportunity to spend time on a college campus, take part in engaging classes, and interact with fellow students. “I really enjoyed it here. The classes were fun. I got to hang out with people who were part of my school and from outside my school.”
The experience also helped him see the connection between his education and a career in the semiconductor industry. One of his teachers introduced him to a pathway that could lead from OCC to a career with Micron. A visit to Rochester Institute of Technology helped make the science behind that pathway even more tangible. “When we visited RIT and they talked about the semiconductor and what happens through nanofabrication, I understood it.”
That connection between what students learn in a classroom and where that knowledge can take them is one of the most valuable outcomes of a pre-college experience. At the graduation ceremony, keynote speaker Karinda Shanes '98, Regional Director for the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, reminded the students that the education they pursue will become something they carry with them throughout their lives. “Education opens doors for you, and it’s something that’s yours that no one can ever take from you. What you are all doing is a step towards that!"
The ceremony also recognized the faculty and staff whose work helped make the summer programs possible.
