Yesvier Aviles Mendez found his eventual career path as a member of his high school track & field team in Puerto Rico. "I was really good with my hands. My teammates were always asking me to help them stretch out and massage them before meets."
When the President of the United States came to Onondaga Community College two years ago to celebrate Micron Technology's decision to build a massive chip-making facility about a half-hour drive from campus, it set in motion a whirlwind of related activity.
A conversation with a friend introduced Skylor Kelley to the possibility of enrolling in the P-TECH program. "My neighbor was in it and told me about it. I decided to apply, interviewed, and figured why not do it as an alternate way of high school. It's turned out pretty nice."
P-TECH stands for Pathways in Technology Early College High School. It's a program that provides high school students the opportunity to work toward their diploma and associate degree simultaneously, and ultimately a pathway to an in-demand job.
Joe Seeber had been looking forward to this field trip since the beginning of the semester. Seeber is an Electrical Technology major at Onondaga Community College who will complete his degree this semester. On September 30, Seeber and his classmates in Professor Betsy Nicholas' Power System (ELT 285) class went on a field trip to the National Grid Power Distribution Control Center in the Town of Clay. "My brother works in NYSEG's (New York State Electric and Gas) Control Room and I was excited to see what something like that would be like."
Dick Woodworth's lifelong hobby began in 1967 when he was driving from Central New York to Louisiana where he would attend a four-year college. He stopped in Tennessee for gas and wound up buying a "Kennedy for President" poster for $2. "I was shocked it was for sale because Kennedy wasn't popular in the south. I bought the poster to hand in my dorm room."
Teaching was always what was most important to Ashley Haskins. So when she was presented with the opportunity to return to her alma mater as an Assistant Professor in Applied Engineering Technology, she jumped at the opportunity. "It feels great to be back. It's like coming home. I've been pursuing more meaning. I want to make more of a difference. It's become more important to me as I've furthered my career."
If you need physical therapy in Central New York, you're in good hands thanks in large part to Onondaga Community College's Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program. There's a pretty good chance wherever you go, an OCC grad will be helping you. In 2022 and 2023, every student who completed their PTA degree went directly into the workforce.
