When Jamaal Reid walked across the SRC Arena stage May 18 and received his college degree, he became the first person in his family to do so. "It felt good. I'm proud of myself and how far I've come. I'm accomplishing something."
Onondaga Community College celebrated its 61st commencement ceremony Saturday, May 18 in the SRC Arena.
A total of 625 students were eligible to participate. They completed their course work in either the spring 2024 semester, or will do so in the summer 2024 semester.
She recently received a call from the SUNY Chancellor who wanted to congratulate her on her accomplishments. And earlier this week she visited the Onondaga County Legislature and shared her success story with lawmakers.
It's been quite a month for Melissa Duran! It will continue this Saturday when she receives her Surgical Technology degree and is the Student Speaker at Onondaga Community College's Commencement. She's the star of the latest edition of our podcast, "Chatting About College."
Onondaga Community College Lazers Student-Athletes excelled on national stages on Mother's Day weekend. The Women's Lacrosse team dominated their opponent in the National Championship game and sophomore Bryn Whitman won her second consecutive National Championship in the Women's Discus event.
Women's Lacrosse
Aiden Knapp is preparing for the chance of a lifetime. One week from today he will begin a paid internship at Micron Technology in Manassas, Virginia. "I'm going to be a technician who troubleshoots equipment. I want to become more engaged in the field I'm pursuing. I see it as a great learning opportunity."
The achievements of students in Onondaga Community College's Opportunity Programs were celebrated during a convocation ceremony held May 8 in the Frederick Marvin and Ernst Schuh Recital Hall.
Speakers during the ceremony included Provost and Senior Vice President Anastasia Urtz, and graduating students Carlos Rodriguez-Bornot and Mohamed Abdulkadir.
Below is a list of winter, spring, and summer graduates recognized during the ceremony followed by their areas of study.
Collegiate Science Technology Entry Program Honorees
Nick Campbell's childhood dream was to make movies one day, but the dream never seemed attainable while growing up in rural southern Onondaga County. Today at age 30, the dream seems like more of a possibility. A short film he wrote and directed won two awards earlier this year at the Global Film Festival Awards in Los Angeles, and earlier this month was highlighted at the Chicago Film Festival. "It's so surreal thinking of everything. I never would have considered any of this if it wasn't for Professor Snow approaching me and telling me I had a lot of potential with this.
Migual Mathis's love of science earned him an invitation to an exclusive event. Mathis was one of just 150 high school-aged students to be invited to participate in the first ever National STEM Festival in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the festival was to highlight and showcase student-led solutions which address critical global challenges.
Melissa Duran will be the Student Speaker at Onondaga Community College's Commencement ceremony. "Being selected doesn't feel real! I keep having imposter syndrome. OCC has been the piece of the puzzle I was missing."
Duran immigrated to the United States 11 years ago with the dream of becoming a surgeon. She settled in New York City with her sister where she worked full-time and went to school full-time. She earned Biology degrees from CUNY two-year and four-year schools. Her grades were good, but not good enough for medical school. Her dreams of becoming a surgeon were on hold.
Approximately 40 percent of the employees in America work in small businesses, but during the economic recovery small businesses have accounted for two-thirds of the net new jobs created. That's why the staff in Onondaga Community College's Small Business Development Center spent National Small Business Week criss crossing the 8-county region its serves by recognizing one business in each of those counties as "Small Business of the Year."
