For Zoie Porter, finding her way to Onondaga Community College started with a little help from the people she trusted most. “My high school social workers gave me a few pointers, recommended colleges, told me about their own paths, told me what to do and what not to do,” Porter said.
That advice led Porter to OCC, where she began studying Human Services in fall 2025. It didn’t take long for her to discover that college offered more than an education. "It was a leap into being independent, and I enjoyed it right away. I got my driver's license in August, and school started later that month. I enjoyed being able to run on my own time.”
Porter quickly became involved on campus. She is co-chair of Unity Day, an annual event that brings students together to celebrate community and inclusion. After helping with the event last spring, she is looking forward to doing it again this semester when Unity Day is held Wednesday, Sept. 30. The experience made a lasting impression on her. “It was nice to see how many people were interested in being a community. I feel like we've strayed away from getting to know each other face-to-face, talking to each other. It's more getting to know each other on the phone.”
Unity Day gave her the opportunity to do exactly that. “During Unity Day I was having extensive conversations with everyone. What else was cool about Unity Day is that it incorporates everyone's interests - everyone feels like they have a place here.”
That sense of belonging is one reason Porter has become an enthusiastic advocate for community college. She remembers how fellow students would talk about community college when she was in high school, but says her experience at OCC has changed her perspective. “There's a stigma in high school about community college,” she said. “Once I finally talked to my social workers at Liverpool High School, they told me, ‘You never know something until you try it.’”
Now, she says, she sees OCC very differently. “I think this school offers so much. It's so inclusive, and there are so many resources. The Learning Center (the free tutoring facility in the Gordon Student Center), I've been at the library multiple times when people have helped me with my research paper - there are so many resources, and you can't let a stigma ruin your chances.”
Porter is already thinking about what comes next. After OCC, she plans to transfer to a SUNY school and continue her education, with the goal of earning a Master of Social Work. In the meantime, she is learning another important lesson: how to balance college with work and the rest of life. Porter works as a restaurant server while attending OCC full time. To make sure her academics get the attention they deserve, she made a deliberate change to her work schedule. “I took two days out of my schedule last year - Tuesdays and Thursdays - and took those days off work. Those were the days I was heavily dedicated to doing school work.”
Her advice to other students is straightforward. “If you have a schedule that doesn't work for you, you need to change your availability at work because school comes first.” For Porter, that commitment is part of a larger lesson she learned from the people who helped her take the first step: You never know what is possible until you give yourself the opportunity to try.
