For Lilly Rogers, running two laps around the Onondaga Community College campus was about much more than completing a 5K. It was about remembering someone, honoring lives lost to suicide, and helping others understand something she knows firsthand: mental health struggles are real, and no one should have to face them alone.
Rogers, a 2024 graduate of Baldwinsville High School, helped organize a mental health run held October 3 in memory of Ty Freyer, a former OCC lacrosse player who committed suicide. The two-lap distance carried special significance: Fryer's lacrosse jersey number was 2. “With Ty's struggle and his unfortunate passing and friends I have lost due to suicide, this felt personal. It was emotional in a good way. It honored Ty and made everyone aware that mental health is real because not everyone is aware of that.”
The event brought together a cause close to Rogers' heart and a community where she has found something equally important: a place to belong. Today, she is studying Childhood Education at OCC, participating in the Honors Program, serving as vice president of service for the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and is a member of a select group of Meg O'Connell Scholars. She's in a great place academically and personally, and has come a long way from where she was just two years ago.
Rogers initially enrolled at a college in Pennsylvania after graduating from Baldwinsville High School in 2024. About a month into the experience, mental health challenges forced her to step away. After receiving treatment, she took the remainder of the academic year to focus on herself. When she was ready to return to school, OCC became an option. It was one her parents had encouraged her to consider previously, but one she had largely dismissed due to the opinions of others.
“OCC wasn't on my radar in high school. There was a stigma about community college. I didn't think I could consider it because of what everyone around me was saying.” She had heard the familiar message that college was supposed to mean leaving home, moving away, and experiencing something entirely new. Eventually, she reached a different conclusion: Her education and her future were too important to be dictated by other people's expectations. “I had to come to the point in my own journey that other people's opinions don't matter.”
When Rogers arrived at OCC in fall 2025, she discovered that the assumptions she had carried about community college didn't match reality. “I realized everything that was here - it's a good school and I've fallen in love with it. I was able to find myself here. I became more extroverted and saw my personality grow here.”
Her involvement in Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) is one example. Inducted into the honor society in spring 2026, Rogers quickly found a home in the organization's campus suite, and a way to put her commitment to service into action. Through PTK, the Honors Program, and her work as a Meg O'Connell Scholar, Rogers has embraced the opportunities available to her while preparing for a future in education. She expects to graduate from OCC in May 2027 and plans to transfer to SUNY Oswego to continue studying Childhood Education.
Just as important, attending OCC has allowed her to stay connected to the people and experiences that matter to her. She's living at home while remaining involved in her younger sister's life during her senior year of high school. It's something important to both of them that would have been missed had she stayed away at college. Those benefits are part of what makes the community college experience so valuable. “You're getting a really good education close to home, it's a financially smart decision, you make a lot of friends, and get the whole campus experience."
Rogers knows that some students may still view community college through the same lens she once did. Her advice is to look beyond the stigma and consider what will actually help them succeed. “Going to a community college was one of the smartest decisions I've made. While others may have said it wasn't, those are the same people who say now they wish they would have done it.”
