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Every April, OCC holds a ceremony called Curriculum Honors during which we recognize the top student in each of the College’s majors. It’s one of the highlights of the year. During the ceremony a faculty member introduces each student and details his or her accomplishments, the student receives a certificate and a blue stole to be worn at commencement, and the student is photographed with OCC President Dr. Casey Crabill. Due to the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, we were unable to hold our ceremony this year.

OCC’s “College Credit Now” program which allows high school students to earn college credits while in high school earned reaccreditation from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) Accreditation Committee. College Credit Now serves more than 4,000 students across 36 Central New York school districts.

It takes a special kind of person to run toward danger. That’s what first responders do. That’s what medical personnel do in the time of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. Community colleges certify 80 percent of first responders in the United States and produce more than 50 percent of new nurses and other healthcare workers. Across Central New York You can find Onondaga Community College alumni putting their personal safety at risk to help others. Here are some of their stories.

Scott Baker, ‘04, Respiratory Therapist

Every April, OCC holds a ceremony called Curriculum Honors during which we recognize the top student in each of the College’s majors. It’s one of the highlights of the year. During the ceremony a faculty member introduces each student and details his or her accomplishments, the student receives a certificate and a blue stole to be worn at commencement, and the student is photographed with OCC President Dr. Casey Crabill.

What has this unusual semester been like for OCC students? We held a Zoom conversation with three of them to hear about the challenges of distance learning, how they are keeping their sanity, and even what shows they are streaming in their spare time. The students who participated in the conversation were:

• Major: Human Services
• High School: The Heritage School in New York City, class of 2017

When Shania Guzman started taking college classes she was pretty sure she didn’t belong. “I didn’t think OCC or any school was for me. I was eager to go home but that wasn’t an option. That’s when I made the decision to participate in activities and clubs.”

Every April, OCC holds a ceremony called Curriculum Honors during which we recognize the top student in each of the College’s majors. It’s one of the highlights of the year. During the ceremony a faculty member introduces each student and details his or her accomplishments, the student receives a certificate and a blue stole to be worn at commencement, and the student is photographed with OCC President Dr. Casey Crabill. Due to the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, we were unable to hold our ceremony this year.

Onondaga Community College Music Professor Dr. Rob Bridge started planning for a worst-case scenario more than a month ago, shortly after he held  his last in-person class with students on Friday, March 13. A Percussion Ensemble was scheduled for Friday, April 24. What if student’s couldn’t return to campus? Would they still be able to perform? “I reached out to them about recording a piece, ‘Clapping Music’ by Steve Reich. We were able to make a nice video fairly quickly,” said Professor Bridge.

Nidaa Aljabbarin has been selected to receive the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s prestigious Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The highly competitive national scholarship will provide Aljabbarin with up to $40,000 a year to complete her bachelor’s degree, and up to $75,000 of funding toward graduate school. Aljabbarin is one of only 50 recipients nationwide and one of only five in all of New York State. The other four New York State recipients are all from the New York City area.

Colin Manwaring knows what the next few weeks will look like. He'll have plenty of coursework deadlines to meet in the Electronic Media Communications (EMC) major, and ultimately earn his degree in May. It's what will come next that he's trying to figure out. His dream was to become a sportscaster, but he's realized he's not willing to achieve that goal at the expense of missing out on life. "I've always grown up appreciating family and friends. Being away makes me notice that more. I want to be there.