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If you're an avid country music fan there's a pretty good chance you've heard Cassidy Lynn's lyrics being sung by some of the industry's biggest names.

Cheyenne Sinchico came to the United States from Ecuador with the dream of one day earning her college degree and making a difference in the lives of others. She's on her way to doing that at Onondaga Community College. "I'm grateful for all of the support I've received at OCC because without it I wouldn't be here."

Sinchico was born in New York City, left the country at a young age with her family, and returned to the U.S. in 2014 along with her two sisters and brother. She worked hard to learn the English language and graduated from PSLA at Fowler High School in 2020.

Kelly Grinnell-Seibt entered her first season as Head Coach of the Onondaga Community College Women's Basketball team with a group of players who had never played together. The new coach and top-to-bottom new roster won their first two games, lost their next two games, and haven't lost since. They enter the post-season with a 19 game winning streak and a top 5 national ranking.

Professor Shane Patterson’s childhood fascination with old music equipment led him to a dream career and a role in a Grammy-nominated album. “My parents were in a band before I was around. Growing up I would tinker with their old sound gear. I did a lot of learning by plugging things into other things and seeing what happened.”

Juhudi Boazi's 8th grade English teacher at Syracuse's Frazer School saw something in him that even he didn't see. "We had this program where we built robots and things in the computer. She saw how I was doing with it and thought I would be a good fit for P-TECH."

When Ashley Menifee heard about the Syracuse Surge program it almost sounded too good to be true. The 32-year-old iron worker from Syracuse was exploring employment possibilities and considering his options. "Work was slow. I saw this as an opportunity I should take advantage of."

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. "I never thought I would make it into the honor society because of my epilepsy and my ADHD. But I did the best I could with my disabilities and I made it! No one should let disabilities hold them back. A disability doesn't have to harm your future.

Seven Onondaga Community College students in a variety of STEM-related degree programs took advantage of a new research opportunity over the semester break. They spent a week at Syracuse University working with Biology professors there as part of the new "BREW at SU" initiative. BREW stands for Biology Research Experience in Winter. It's the creation of OCC's Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) and Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program (LSAMP).