How OCC Helped Matt Jones '14 Find His Purpose

Matt Jones '14 is living his best life. At age 36, he's serving as Director of Communications for New York State Assemblymember Pamela Hunter, and is in the early stages of running for a seat on the Onondaga County Legislature. He's 100% sure he wouldn't be where he is today without Onondaga Community College. 

"OCC is everything to me. As someone who literally had no one to lean on in how to go to school, OCC was everything. They reduced the barriers for someone like me who had no pedigree in higher education. They made it easy and affordable to go to college, and every time it felt like it was getting to be too much, they would point me toward someone who would help make it manageable. And when I came back to OCC at age 24 and finished my degree, it opened every other door after that. OCC was hope when I really needed it and didn't find it anywhere else."

Jones graduated from Liverpool High School in 2007 and came to OCC immediately afterward. As the first person in his extended family to attend college, he felt overwhelmed from day one. “I had no idea what I was doing,” he said. “OCC was telling me, ‘Do this, do that,’ and it was going in one ear and out the other. It was my fault.”

Working full-time while going to school only added to the pressure. After two years, his advisor encouraged him to stay one more semester and complete his degree. “I thought I knew better,” he recalled. Instead, he transferred to SUNY Oswego, convinced he would work harder and catch up. The opposite happened. He worked even more hours, eventually managing a restaurant, and fell further behind. Eventually, he dropped out.

“After a couple of years of being a college dropout, I realized this wasn’t for me,” he said. “Luckily, OCC picked me up where I left off.”

Returning to OCC at age 24 changed everything. He completed his Humanities & Social Sciences degree in 2014, went back to SUNY Oswego to finish his bachelor’s in Political Science, and later earned his master’s degree in middle grades Social Studies teaching from Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. He taught for five years in Durham, NC, shaping young learners the way his favorite professors once shaped him.

Two OCC professors in particular made a lasting impression.

“Nina Tamrowski was phenomenal. I took every class she taught just so I could be in her classroom and learn as much from her as possible,” he said.

He also remembers his math professor, Candy Dance, with tremendous gratitude. “She taught a course designed for students like me who had no business being in a math class. She reached us where we were. Whether it was seeing the Fibonacci Sequence in nature, or how casinos use math to get one over on you, everything she did was accessible and fun. I learned things without realizing it. Candy Dance made me want to become a teacher.”

Politics piqued Jones’s interest early. At just 16, he volunteered—unofficially, because he was underage—for former Congressman Dan Maffei’s 2006 campaign. Two years later, at 18, he ran for Clay Town Council. “I lost badly,” he said with a laugh, “but I think I was the youngest person to run that year in the state. It was a great experience, and I stuck with it ever since.”

No matter where he lived, he volunteered to help candidates who shared his passion for public service. His first official political job came as a constituent liaison for New York State Assemblymember Bill Magnarelli. While he later moved south to pursue his teaching degree, he returned to New York each summer and volunteered with Assemblymember Pam Hunter. When he moved home permanently, her office helped him transfer his teaching license, and he eventually joined her staff.

“Pam’s been awesome to work for,” he said. “I tell people all the time that working for her is like taking a master class in public service. Everything she does comes back to: ‘What are we doing for the people in our community? Who is this helping? And if it’s hurting someone, how can we stop it?’ What I admire most is how she stays above the fray. She has a strong moral compass, and it’s been ingrained in me that this is how public service works.”

Jones currently serves not only as Hunter’s Director of Communications, but also as a member of the Liverpool School Board. “It's an opportunity for me to give back to the teachers and community that raised me. I truly enjoy the opportunity to do so.”

Now, Jones is beginning a run for the Onondaga County Legislature. He's driven by the same values that brought him to public service in the first place. “I believe there's always an opportunity to do great things if you're doing it for the right reason,” he said. “If you really want to look out for your neighbors and your community, there’s always a spot for you.”

Through it all, he credits OCC with giving him the stability and support that changed the course of his life. “OCC was everything to me—the first time and the second time, especially the second time,” he said. “It was a lifeline, and it made everything else possible. Had OCC not accepted me back, I would not be living up to what I thought was any sort of potential I had.”