Dillon Davis-Tirado felt he had hit a dead end. At age 31, he believed he had gone as far as he could without a college degree, but he didn't have the means to afford one. "I had 10 years experience - as an assembly line worker, a sales specialist, a journalist, and an operations manager for a major clothing retailer. I'd gotten as high as $22 an hour in pay. But I needed a leg up."
Students, faculty, and staff from Onondaga Community College recently joined forces to help beautify a Syracuse Neighborhood during Home HeadQuarters' annual Neighborhood Block Blitz. The event brought together volunteers from across the city to provide free repairs, landscaping, and painting to local homes.
"Volunteer work - and in particular, this assignment - is a strong passion of mine," said student Gregory Anderson. "Our self-worth is tied to how we view ourselves and the world around us. Projects like this directly impact people in a positive manner."
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.
Vicki R. Brackens, ChFC is the newest member of Onondaga Community College's Board of Trustees. She was sworn in by Board Chair John P. Sindoni Esq. during the Trustees' September 23 meeting, its first of the academic year.
Onondaga Community College Alumna Dawn Penson '20 has a relentless desire to help others. She brought that passion to campus earlier this month when she organized and presented, "Living With Vision Loss," a resource fair aimed at providing independence and building community. "We have 35 organizations here to help connect everybody who is blind or has low vision with the tools and resources they need to live autonomous lives. This is our second year, and we plan on this getting bigger and better every year," she said.
At 12 years old, Adam Williams was already knocking on doors. But he wasn't selling candy bars or raising money for a school trip. Instead, he was canvassing for political candidates - collecting signatures, talking about candidates' positions on the issues, and putting up political signs. "I was kind of forced into it at first," he said, smiling, "but I ended up loving it."
Nick Hay is making the most of his final semester at Onondaga Community College, thanks to the new SUNY Reconnect program. Now 25, Hay is taking 18 credits as he works toward completing his Electromechanical Technology degree by December, without the added pressure of a job. "SUNY Reconnect is providing me the opportunity to not have a job this semester, fully focus on school, and put all of my energy into what I need to do."
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.
Justin Tani isn't just looking for a second chance. Instead, he's come to Onondaga Community College to build a new life. Tani is a 48-year-old student in his first semester in OCC's Cybersecurity degree program. He decided to hit the reset button on his career after spending two decades as an electrician. The physically demanding work was taking its toll. "I'm not getting any younger. I might get carpal tunnel working with computers, but I won't blow my back out. I thought this would be a great opportunity. So I thought, 'Why not try something else?"
At 58, Kate Adler is proud of who she is and where she is headed. "I'm the oldest student in my class and older than most of the professors. Pursuing my retirement career means the world to me, and I'm grateful for OCC."
