Becca Seargent has so many interests, her biggest challenge is selecting just one course of study. “I had a hard time deciding what to choose. I have a wide range of passions. I have a lot of interest in construction, auto, social media, graphic design. It's hard to narrow in on one I want to do.”
Fortunately, Seargent discovered that at Onondaga Community College, she didn't necessarily have to. A 2024 graduate of East Syracuse Minoa High School, Seargent spent a semester at a four-year college before coming to OCC in spring 2025. She eventually found her fit in Social Media & Digital Communications, a program that brings together several of the things she enjoys. “It's a mix of business and planning and the arts - like graphic design - the creative side. I thought it was a good mix.”
And she's made the most of that mix. Seargent is active in OCC's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society, where she is in her second semester as Vice President of Public Relations. She initially joined PTK after meeting friends in her Honors classes and soon found herself taking on a leadership role. “It's been a great experience. I've learned a lot about working as a team. We do an Honors in Action project, and it includes how to do research, how to put it together, and execute.”
She also found herself drawn into a very different corner of campus: OCC's Lazer Garage Auto Club. Seargent served as the club's president during the spring semester, helping organize the group and creating the logo featured on the blue sweatshirt she's holding in the photo accompanying this story. Her connection to the club is perhaps less surprising than it sounds. Her father, Jon Seargent, leads OCC's Automotive Technology program. “I would come by and say hi to him from time to time, and eventually I met students in his program. They needed someone to help them organize and get the club together, and I had experience with how the club process works.”
Seargent may not consider herself an automotive expert, but she's hardly a stranger to the garage. “I know more than the average person, but not enough to hold a conversation with a car person,” she says with a laugh. “I can do basic maintenance like oil changes, tire changes, and things like that.” She also took OCC's Introduction to Automotive course, which she says taught her a great deal.
And when it came time to create a new look for Lazer Garage, Seargent was able to bring another of her interests into the project: graphic design. “It was a group effort,” she says of designing the logo. “There was a lot of back and forth so we could get it the way we wanted it to be.”
That combination of interests is becoming increasingly important as Seargent thinks about what comes next. She will complete her Social Media & Digital Communications degree in May 2027. During the summer, she worked as a lifeguard for an early learning program, which is in the process of revamping its social media presence. Seargent hopes to put her OCC education to work there after graduation, managing the organization's social media. But don't expect her educational journey to end there.
A year or two after earning her degree, Seargent plans to return to OCC to pursue an associate degree in Architectural Design. It's another way to explore an interest that has been difficult to fit into a single career path. “I think I've packed a lot into my time here and I'm glad I have. It's really brought in my experiences and my outlook on my life.”
There has been one important lesson along the way: It isn't possible to do everything at once. Year-round, Seargent works as a restaurant server. For a while, she was trying to balance full-time work, full-time college and her responsibilities with Phi Theta Kappa. “It’s taken me a long time to realize I can’t work full time, be a full-time student, and be in the Honor Society,” she says. “There’s just not enough time in the day.”
It took two years to reach that realization. Now, she says, she's ready to make a change. “I'm finally there. Now I'm prepared to work part-time and really focus on my education.”
