Magedah Abed comes to Onondaga Community College carrying the dreams of her entire family. She's a first-generation college student who is showing her five younger siblings what their path to a better life will be. "My mother says I have to go to college and keep going. I'm setting an example…
Majors at OCC: Mathematics & Science and Communication Studies
Nottingham High School, Class of 2017
Maisam Aljanabi is an amazing success story. She was born in Iraq and raised in Turkey before immigrating to the United States. She attended Nottingham High School, earned her diploma in…
When Maizie Millwood and her two daughters are home together, the house is usually quiet. Millwood is a 55-year-old single mom who works during the day and takes classes at OCC at night. One of her daughters is in graduate school, the other is working on her bachelor's degree. "We live in a…
Manu Shergill saw the pandemic as his opportunity to better himself. That's why the 35-year-old native of Queens decided the spring 2021 semester was the perfect time to begin his college education. "I thought I could take some classes online and ease into college. And work was slowing down so I…
Major: Humanities
High School: Glenholme School in Connecticut, class of 2017
Mark Santariello is in a good place now. The struggles he experienced earlier in life are inspiring him as he considers his career path. "I want to help people and work on mental health. I like making people's…
Matt McCarthy tried college right after he graduated from East Syracuse Minoa High School, didn't have the right mindset, and decided to enlist in the United States Navy a year-and-a-half later. "I was immature. I didn't take college as seriously as I should have. Now I know why I'm here and…
Maxwell Sheer never considered a career in a health-related field until he began receiving treatment for a serious medical issue. "Once I became a patient fairly frequently, I built up a great respect for what professionals in that industry did. I never realized the level of education involved,…
Maya McLaughlin's epilepsy awareness tattoo near her right wrist serves as a reminder of what she has overcome during her time on the Onondaga Community College campus. She's discovered her career path and related degree program, and earned membership in school's Phi Theta Kappa honor society. "…
Meg Hart started taking OCC classes during her junior year at Altmar-Parish-Williamstown High School as part of the Distance Learning program. The technology allows students to learn from college professors while seated in their high school classes. By her senior year she was coming to…
Meghan Bird's desire for a career she is passionate about with great employment opportunities has brought her from Canada to Central New York.
Bird is a native of Hamilton, Ontario about 45 miles west of Niagara Falls. She earned a college degree in Canada while majoring in Recreation…
Melissa Duran immigrated to the United States from Ecuador 11 years ago with the dream of becoming a surgeon. She settled in New York City with her sister where she worked full-time and went to school full-time. She earned Biology degrees from Laguardia Community College and Brooklyn College.…
Degree Program: Business Administration
While growing up in Cuba, Milka Arencibia and her family always dreamed about what it would be like to live in the United States. "The situation in Cuba was very bad. We were looking for a place with freedom and knew we could find it here."…