When Jennifer Gridley heard about the new SUNY Reconnect program, she knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she couldn’t pass up. SUNY Reconnect is a new, tuition-free community college program for students between the ages of 25 and 55 who have not yet earned a college degree. It covers the cost of tuition, fees, books, and supplies after all other financial aid is applied.
“I have a part-time job doing home health care, and the lady I worked for sent me a news story about SUNY Reconnect,” she said. “I thought it was perfect for someone like me. I wouldn’t be here if it weren't for SUNY Reconnect. It was the kick in the pants I needed to get back into school.”
Now 33, Jennifer is back at Onondaga Community College with a renewed purpose. She’s majoring in Health Sciences and taking as many nursing-related courses as she can. Her short-term goal is to get into OCC’s Nursing program; her long-term dream is to become a Medical Examiner.
That dream first took shape years ago. “In high school, I took a college forensics course and really liked it,” she recalled. “It interested me greatly. And television got me hooked with Ducky (a character who plays a medical examiner) on NCIS. It really interests me, and it’s something I know can’t be replaced with AI. There will always be technological advances, but you will still need that human perspective. The way I saw it is that people would always be dying to see me!”
Jennifer graduated from Central Square High School in 2010 and enrolled at OCC right away. But she quickly realized she wasn’t ready in the ways she needed to be. “Looking back, I lacked maturity, and I have grown a lot since then.”
Returning to college had been on her mind for years. “It was a matter of having my ducks in a row,” she explains. “Now, I’m married and have kids. I’ve grown more, and I know financially I can’t support my family the way it needs with part-time jobs. I felt I was ready to come back. It took me a decade-and-a-half to realize that, but it’s what I needed to be able to be focused and do well.”
This time, she’s thriving. “My grades now are much higher than when I was here before. My family will be directly impacted by how I do here, and that gives me more of a reason to do better.”
Her 10-year-old son has even turned study time into a family competition. “He gets homework on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are the days I was in person for class (during the fall semester). When I get home, he’s already been home for a couple of hours. We turned it into a race to see who will get homework done first. More often than not, he beats me.”
With SUNY Reconnect clearing the path, Gridley is embracing her second chance at college with determination, humor, and a clear goal: to build a career that can make a difference, and one that will always need a human touch.
