When news of the new SUNY Reconnect program started coming out a year ago, Ty Worrell decided this was his chance to earn a college degree. He figured the hardest part would be the college application process, so family members helped him out. "I said, 'You get me into class, I know I can do the work.' My ex-wife and middle daughter are the reason why I'm here. They filled out the application to get me into school."
SUNY Reconnect is a new, tuition-free community college program for students between the ages of 25 and 55 who have not yet earned a college degree. It covers the cost of tuition, fees, books, and supplies after all other financial aid is applied.
For Worrell, now 54, the program represented more than free tuition. It was a second chance. “Let me reach back and fix something I did wrong many, many years ago - not applying myself in school, dropping out. I had a bad taste in my mouth. This was like God saying, ‘I’m giving you a path. You don’t have to pay. You’re not working. What excuse do you have?’”
Born in Brooklyn to a family that immigrated to the United States from Trinidad, Worrell dropped out of high school in New York City and eventually earned his GED. He briefly attempted college years ago, but life and work took priority. Over the years, he built a career rooted in public service and management, including 11 years with the NYPD, and more than a decade with First Student transportation services.
Still, the idea of college never fully went away.
When SUNY Reconnect launched and Worrell heard about the program, along with the planned arrival of Micron in Central New York, he decided to take a leap. He enrolled at Onondaga Community College for the fall 2025 semester, choosing the Cybersecurity degree program. “I’m getting older. I’ve been in public service my whole life,” he said. “Once I got a taste of remote work during COVID, I said, ‘If I could learn cybersecurity… Micron is coming in a few years. Maybe I could work remotely, or I could work comfortably somewhere.’”
Returning to the classroom after so many years wasn’t easy. Worrell said he worried about fitting in and keeping up, particularly with the role technology now plays in education. “It was a little scary,” he said. “I didn’t know if I would fit in or be able to catch up to the way everyone learns now. I had to learn at a college level with technology.”
He responded the only way he knew how: by working harder. In his first semester, Worrell earned a 3.75 GPA, made the honor roll, and was invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. One of his toughest courses, he said, was Statistics. “I buckled down. I went to the Learning Center, and I got it right. I got a B+.” Worrell credits much of that success to the support he received from tutor Jourdan Lord. “He had patience,” Worrell said. “He could teach you a way that was more comfortable for you to learn how to do a problem. He followed up with you after you took your test quickly. He was mature beyond his years. He was amazing.”
Despite his outstanding academic performance, Worrell expected more. “I was upset with myself. I thought I could have done better. When I think about how I didn’t have a chance to go to college when I was younger - I was poor - I love this opportunity. I’m putting everything I have into this.”
Due to his career of public service, Worrell earned 18 credits for prior learning, putting him on track to graduate in fall 2026. He said he often imagines what that day will feel like. “I almost dream every day of walking across this stage saying, ‘I did it. I did it, hopefully with honors.’”
That milestone, he added, won’t belong to him alone. Worrell says his return to college has already had a ripple effect on the people around him. “I can’t tell you how many people I know who know I’m doing this, and it’s motivating them to go further with their education too. I told my kids, who have all earned college degrees, to work toward their next degrees.”
Worrell is a father of three, and encouraging his children has always been important to him. “I pushed them. I told them I never went to college, and I’m living through you. They’ve made me so proud. And now they’re telling me they are proud of me.”
