Onondaga Community College has submitted its plan to SUNY for the Fall 2020 semester. It includes a combination of in-person and online classes. Classes begin Monday, August 31.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, the College has made numerous changes to support student learning and living, and to ensure safety for all members of the campus community. Those changes include:
When Sarah Smith started working at Wegman's as a cashier four years ago, she was a high school student trying to save money for college. After graduating from Bishop Ludden in 2018, she came to Onondaga Community College and kept working while enrolled in the Humanities degree program. She had no way of knowing how critical her part-time job would become.
OCC Broadcast Media Communications Professor Mark Ballard saw what was happening across our country and he knew he had to do something. The question was, what could one person do? He thought about it and came up with a plan. "When the Black Lives Matter movement reignited after the George Floyd murder, I immediately began considering what it has been like for our students of color to experience this period of time, and how they feel about the issues being discussed."
Working through COVID-19 has given people a new appreciation for their colleagues, especially those who specialize in Information Technology. One of those invaluable employees is Alex Polge, '20, a key member of the West Genesee School District's Technology Department. Saturday he was in charge of the livestream of the high school's drive-through graduation ceremony, providing friends and family members who couldn't attend a way to view the ceremony from the comfort of their home. The ceremony, which was available via Zoom, had nearly 3,500 unique viewers.
Rashedul Alam was a high school Physics teacher in Bangladesh when he decided to move to the United States. After his wife earned a Biology degree from OCC, he enrolled in the College's Engineering Science degree program in 2018.
During his two years on campus he earned a nearly perfect 3.9 grade point average, was inducted into honor society Phi Theta Kappa, and was named the top student in Engineering Science. "I loved OCC, especially my Math teachers. They were supportive, very informative, and always helpful."
All Michael Mingo needed was for someone to believe in him. While growing up in the South Bronx he was often the victim of bullying, had few friends, and struggled with life at home. As a result he had little if any self-confidence. During his sophomore year at Bronx Collegiate Academy, teachers began seeing the promise inside him and provided the mentorship he so desperately needed. Their support led to him consider a career in law and gave him the courage to apply to Onondaga Community College, a school far from home.
Kenny Ulrich, '20 knows the dangers of COVID-19. He's seen it up close while working as an Emergency Medical Technician and Field Training Officer for American Medical Response (AMR) of Central New York. "I've had a couple of calls where I thought to myself 'I have a bad feeling about that one.' Both times the gut feeling has been right. Those patients tested positive for COVID-19." Each exposure to COVID -19 was followed with a 14-day monitoring period.
