Anna Gonchar has always known she wanted a career in a field related to the environment. “I grew up four miles away from Onondaga Lake and heard stories about how heavily polluted it was. I was naturally curious to know why it happened and what I could do to improve it. I've always been the ‘nature girl.’ Everyone calls me a tree hugger and I’m fine with that.”
Onondaga Community College student Alyssa Lacomb-Brown began working on a sizable project shortly before Thanksgiving. She was selected to teach students at STEAM at Dr. King Elementary School in Syracuse a song using American Sign Language so they could sign the song during the school's holiday concert. "It was important for them to learn how to sign in case they had a family member or another student who communicated using sign language," she said.
Onondaga Community College welcomes the expansion of the Excelsior Scholarship Program to support the academic aspirations of students across New York State. For first-generation college students in particular, the majority of whom are served by community colleges, college affordability is a significant barrier to degree progression, persistence, and completion. Opportunities to address these barriers through much-needed public investment of grant and scholarship dollars help to address this national concern of students, families, and the institutions that serve them.
The sounds of students hitting ping pong balls could be heard throughout Allyn Hall Gymnasium when it hosted the OCC Table Tennis Club's tournament earlier this month. Sixteen students squared off in the hotly contested competition which was won again by reigning champion Joe Fratianni. Rashawn Sullivan earned second place honors and Joe Ocker finished in third.
Professor Emeritus Ramesh Gaonkar received a pleasant surprise in the mail recently. Gaonkar had retired from OCC in 2010 after spending nearly 40 years teaching Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology. Earlier this year he had applied for a Fulbright Specialist Award. "I wasn't expecting I would be selected because I was competing, primarily, against university research and recognized professors from all over the USA."
Zoe Heyward's story is like that of so many of her Weekend College classmates. She was ready for a career change but between working full time and life responsibilities, college wasn't an option. Onondaga Community College's Weekend College made it possible. "This was something I always wanted to do. For years I had talked to my friends and sisters about it. The experience of returning to school was wonderful. It was stressful and a blessing all in one."
Before October 17, 2018, David Bosak had never known life without soccer. When he was old enough to walk he started kicking a foam ball around the house. As a youth he would always play in leagues against players several years older than him. At Marcellus High School he blossomed into a two-time All New York State performer. But everything changed on October 17, 2018 when he broke his leg in a sectional playoff game. "When soccer came to a halt I didn't know what to do with myself. I'd never gone through a period where I hadn't played for so long.
Onondaga Community College Professor and Chef James Taylor feels like a proud father. He's the Guest Chef for A Mano restaurant's holiday farm-to-table dinner and he's hard at work in the kitchen as opening time approaches. The restaurant is owned and operated by father and son OCC alumni Anthony Fiacchi, '84 and Alex Fiacchi, '12. Noah Fiacchi, who is a current OCC student, also works there. "It's nice to see the alumni in the restaurant business just crushing it," said Taylor. "This place is happening and people in Syracuse are catching on.
Sam Farren always had an interest in firefighting. Every time she climbed into her stepfather's truck, she saw the blue light volunteer firefighters use. While recovering from a medical procedure she found herself riding past one of the Baldwinsville Fire Department's three stations every day. "I kept seeing the 'Baldwinsville Fire Department' sign. I was like, 'I really want to do that.!' As soon as I turned old enough I did it."
