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On Saturday May 15 Nor Rizek is expected to become the first student in Onondaga Community College history to earn her degree here AFTER receiving her bachelor's degree from Harvard University. "It was super important to me to come back here and finish what I started. I went through a rough period the first time I was here."

When OCC students graduate, they usually go down one of two paths: transferring to a 4-year school or going directly into the workforce. Today we will be highlighting some of our amazing graduates who are entering the workforce right now!  

When Amanuel Yohannes came to the United States from Ethiopia three years ago, the North Side Learning Center was where he felt most comfortable. "They helped me prepare for school. They had internet, wifi, and good places to study. I had learned English in Ethiopia but was not good at speaking it."

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 my time here so much and this was a great place for me. I was able to find my niche and feel really comfortable. Any struggles I ever had I was able to find different people to help me."

Onondaga Community College's Board of Trustees voted today to freeze tuition and fees for the upcoming school year. During the current academic year tuition is $2,545 per semester for full-time students, and $212 per credit hour for part-time students. Fees are $332 for full-time students and vary for part-time students based on the number of credits they take. Tuition and fees will remain at those amounts for the 2021-2022 school year. The tuition and fee freeze will become official next month when the College's budget is voted on by the Onondaga County Legislature.

When OCC students graduate, they usually go down one of two paths: transferring to a 4-year school or going directly into the workforce. Today we will be highlighting some of our amazing graduates that are transferring to 4-year schools. 

Sonya Walter has been to hell and back to earn her degree in criminal justice! She came back to school in 2018 and was on track to complete her degree when the pandemic hit. Like for so many, using new technologies, keeping up with the bills, and adapting to an at-home-only environment was a struggle. Beyond that, she was also adapting to a new job, dealing with delays in her internship placement and caring for her father who had advanced cardiovascular disease. To Walter, it was like "walking through fire," but she persisted. 

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 school house, an educated house. We all sit down and do our work. Everybody understand it's the frame of mind that surrounds our house."

The mini fan creation project was funded by a grant from the Central New York Library Council and developed in partnership with Professor Mike Grieb from the Applied Technology Department. A guide has been created that provides additional information about the project including instructional videos that provide step by step directions for creating your personal mini fan out of 3D printed parts, circuits, and simple machines.