Onondaga Community College has been a central figure in the life of Steve Schill '78 and three generations of his family. His mother, Peg Schill, worked at OCC for 33 years. Steve earned an Electrical Engineering degree here in 1978. His wife Kathleen graduated with a Business Administration degree in 1981 and a Nursing degree in 2003. His mother-in-law earned her Accounting degree here. Steve and Kathleen's daughter Susan and son Robert both attended OCC. And Steve's brother graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. It's clear Steve Schill and his family learned what an amazing value OCC was and kept coming back for more. "It's a great place to start. I think it's even more important now than when I was going to OCC. I don't think kids are as prepared for college now as they were. Starting out at OCC as opposed to going to a four-year college that's costing $50 thousand dollars a year without having support structure at home is a lot more difficult now than when I was a kid. OCC is a great place to get your feet wet."
One year after graduating from OCC, Schill was hired to work at Inficon and never left. Inficon is a leading provider of innovative instrumentation, critical sensor technologies, and advanced process software that enhances productivity and quality in sophisticated industrial vacuum processes. Today Schill is Inficon's Senior Director of Global Sales Projects.
During his 42 years there Schill has maintained close ties to OCC. He served on the OCC Foundation Board from 2008 to 2014, he's been a part of the College's Perkins grant committee which connects employers needs with what is being taught in related degree programs on campus. He's also a mentor in the P-TECH program at the Syracuse Institute for Technology where students will eventually come to OCC for either Electrical Technology or Mechanical Technology.
Schill returned to campus recently when he was the featured speaker at a meeting of OCC's chapter of the American Association for Women in Community Colleges. While he was here he also joined us for a conversation on our podcast, "Chatting About College." You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link. You can also find it at places like iTunes, Spotify or wherever you download fine podcasts from by searching "Chatting About College." Enjoy the podcast!
