Jennifer Holder has spent much of her adult life trying different career options while balancing the demands that come with raising a family. She's finally found everything she's looking for at Onondaga Community College. "I love it here. There's a lot of support for students. Teachers and…
Major: Nursing
High School: Cicero-North Syracuse, class of 1995
Jessica Montena found her second career while helping take care of a family member. Montena had spent 5 years teaching English at Cortland High School when she decided to home school their daughter. During the home…
Covid changed Jessica Plue's college plans but she has no complaints. Thanks to her hard work and positive attitude, she made the most of the situation and is more than happy with where she is today. "OCC was a great experience and very different with everything that went on. I enjoyed…
When Joe Doyle was growing up he watched his mother battle lung cancer and the extraordinary care she received from health care professionals. It made a lasting impact on him. "I was always thankful for the oncology team, the radiation therapists, and the radiologists who saved my mom's life.…
Joe Logiudice wants anyone considering college later in life to know they can do it, and Onondaga Community College is the place to do it. "It's not too late. It's never too late. No matter what obstacles you think may be in the way, there's always a way. Everyone I've experienced here has…
Johnny Tinker grew up on Tinkerbell Farms in Homer, the oldest of 16 children, who helped manage 80 to 100 cows along with goats and horses. "If you would have asked me in my younger life if I could ever see all this for myself, I would have said 'I'm going to be a farm boy for the rest of my…
When Jonathan Yard was 18 years old, he swore he wouldn't wind up with a desk job one day. At age 25, after serving our country in the United States Navy, he's ready for a controlled environment. "I always saw both my parents come home from their office jobs. I said, 'I would never want to sit…
Josh Barr is amazed by what he is achieving. He's a 40-year-old single father, a recovering drug addict who has been sober for more than a year, and a member of the newest class of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society inductees. "If you would have told me a year ago this is where I would be sitting, I…
When Joshua Dominguez was a young boy growing up in Washington Heights, the towering cranes and rising steel frames of New York City’s ever-changing skyline captured his imagination. "I marveled at skyscrapers and wondered how people so small could build something…
When Joshua Newman graduated from Queens Technical High School two years ago, he hoped to attend college somewhere in the New York City area. But his father wanted him to experience life away from home and encouraged him to find a college that could give him the total on-campus experience. He…
Judah Bailey is on the right path and he credits the military with helping him find his way. "It's taught me delayed gratification. I know it's important to work for something and not expect results immediately. I know the value of the compounding interest of things. You have to get up,…
Justin Kuneman was making good money waiting tables at Pastabilities, a popular restaurant in Armory Square, and was content to keep doing so, until a conversation with his girlfriend changed the course of his life. "We both wanted a family in the future, and she helped me realize I couldn't do…