Onondaga Community College's chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society grew by 112 students during an induction ceremony October 27 in Storer Auditorium. PTK is the official international honor society of two-year colleges. New members must have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours at OCC, and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5. The fall 2023 PTK Honor Society inductees are:
By day, Jeffrey Passino wears a badge and helps lead the largest law enforcement agency in Onondaga County. But one night a week, he heads straight from work to the Onondaga Community College campus, where he's close to completing a goal he set aside more than two decades ago: completing his college degree.
Mitchell Cook never expected to be back in a college classroom in his late 20s, but he's glad he is - and he's excited to come to Onondaga Community College every day.
After graduating from Oswego High School a decade ago, Cook enrolled in a computer science program at a two-year school. He realized pretty quickly it wasn't for him. "I wasn't in love with it. I started applying for jobs because I just wanted to work."
Nicholas Pangaro completed his second science-based research internship this summer, and he has an enthusiastic message for any student considering doing an internship of their own. "If you're thinking about it, I say absolutely do it! Before this, I had worked as a lifeguard and in a pizza shop. I was very nervous going into something that was 'professional.' But you can do as well as I did, even if you're only in your first semester! You're going to be okay, and you will be surrounded by people who are there to teach you, not rely on you."
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 this forever. The first thing that came to mind was my science background, and the Micron program at OCC. My goal was to work at Micron. The quickest, most immediate way was to become a student, get an internship, and get a job with Micron."
Five former Onondaga Community College students were recognized as Alumni Faces honorees during a ceremony Thursday October 16, in the Frederick Marvin and Ernst Schuh Recital Hall. Their accomplishments were highlighted during the event, and their likenesses and inspirational success stories were added to the Alumni Faces display on campus. The honorees are:
Chidera Joseph '16
At age 28, John More never expected to be back in a classroom, let alone love the experience. A decade ago, he set foot on the Onondaga Community College campus with no clear plan. He hoped going to college might lead him somewhere, but wasn't passionate about it. "I didn't know what the heck I wanted to do," he said laughing. "All I wanted was to play drums, skateboard, and snowboard. I still had a kid mentality."
Thursday, October 16 at 5:30pm, Onondaga Community College will honor a new class of Alumni Faces inductees. The ceremony will be held in the Frederick Marvin and Ernst Schuh Recital Hall in the Academic II building. In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, we are highlighting one of our new Alumni Faces honorees every Wednesday.
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 so big. I knew in my heart I wanted to be a builder one day."
"This time I'm doing it for me!"
Amber Hart is a much different student now than she was a decade or so ago when she first walked into a classroom at Onondaga Community College. Back then, she was studying Liberal Arts, unsure of her direction, and following advice she wasn't sure she believed. "I was doing something I was told I had to," she recalls.
