When Dr. Reginald T. Braggs visited Onondaga Community College students interning at Micron this summer, he was impressed with what he learned. "What I found is that not only are our students flourishing, their supervisors are thrilled with the level of competency our students have on the job and their potential for future growth and employment."
Dr. Braggs is OCC's Director of Central New York Partnerships. Earlier this month, he traveled to Manassas, Virginia, where 6 OCC students are in the middle of a 12-week-long internship at Micron's chip fabrication facility. He was joined in his meeting with students by Ron Martin, Micron's Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition. "Meeting with them was really good for us," said student intern Alec Del Gigante. "There was a lot of 'what should I do? How should I think about this?' Together, they alleviated a lot of concerns."
Del Gigante has a fascinating personal story, the type that is often found on the OCC campus. He's a 49-year-old student who had earned a bachelor's degree - and spent more than two decades working for Midstate Spring in Syracuse when he heard Micron Technology would be building a chip-making plant in Onondaga County. "It lit a fire inside of me. I decided to go back to school while continuing to work at Midstate."
He chose the Engineering Science degree program and enrolled in the spring of 2024. He took classes year-round while continuing to work. When he was offered a summer internship at Micron, his employer gave him the green light to attend. At Micron, he's working 12-hour shifts as an Equipment Maintenance Technician. "It's going great. The work is very hands-on, and I like what I'm doing. It's definitely outside my comfort zone. You have to do that to grow."
He's also enjoying the camaraderie amongst fellow students. "We keep in touch with each other and encourage each other. The OCC students here are super engaged. It's pretty impressive to me because I wasn't like that when I was that age. They're very career-minded and have an idea where they want to go."
The other thing which has stood out to Del Gigante is the relationship between OCC and Micron. "When we showed up here, they knew who we were. They knew our school. The connection between OCC and Micron is very evident."
Del Gigante is joined in Manassas by six other OCC students; Jackson Clark, Jacob Southworth, Logan Peplinski, Malcolm Jackson, Nick Hay, and Paris Holloman. Another OCC student, Justin Kuneman, is interning at Micron in Boise, Idaho this summer.
The Micron workforce in Boise includes more than a half-dozen employees who completed internships there in the summer of 2024 and graduated within the last year. They were among the first to complete the Micron-related Electromechanical Technology degree. OCC began accepting students in the new program in the fall of 2023. Since then, the curriculum has expanded into area high schools where more than 400 students took related coursework and earned college credits during the 2024-2025 academic year.
As those numbers continue to grow, OCC is putting the finishing touches on the Micron Cleanroom Simulation Lab. It will open on campus this fall, along with new training centers for Welding, HVAC, CNC Machining, and Diesel/Heavy Equipment Repair.
Del Gigante will return to campus this fall and continue working at Midstate Spring. He's on track to graduate in May 2026 and is excited about what lies ahead. "Micron is coming, and it's going to be monumental for our community. I want to be ready to take advantage of opportunities that come our way."
