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Onondaga Community College recognized its 2025 Pinnacle Award winners during a ceremony held April 21 in the Gordon Student Center Great Room. The Pinnacle program recognizes students who have shown excellence in one or more of the following fields: leadership, civic engagement, and scholarly research. The students selected also demonstrated not only an exemplary academic performance, but also a strong connection with the campus or community.

This year's Pinnacle Award winners are pictured below with their presenter and OCC President Dr. Warren Hilton.

Sajad Ali has found a home in the United States and on the Onondaga Community College campus.

Ali was born on the first day of the 21st century in Iraq, moved with his family to Syria 6 years later, and immigrated to the United States in 2013. When he arrived, he didn't know a word of English and had never seen snow. Five years later he graduated from Syracuse's Henninger High School and became a U.S. Citizen.

Two of Onondaga Community College's best and brightest have been named Phi Theta Kappa All-State students. They were chosen for the academic team because of their distinguished academic achievements and leadership accomplishments. Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society of all community colleges.

The 2024-2025 honorees are:

A national organization has recognized the outstanding job Onondaga Community College's Office of Veterans and Military Services does supporting Student Veterans. GI Jobs Magazine has named OCC both Military Friendly and Military Spouse Friendly. "We are excited to again be named a Military Friendly school," said Steve White, Assistant Director of Veterans Affairs. "OCC is a great place for Student Veterans or military-affiliated students to pursue their educational goals."

Each Wednesday we are sharing the stories of outstanding students who began their college education while still in high school. Today we introduce you to Alyssa Millet.

When Micron announced it was coming to Central New York and gifting Onondaga Community College $5 million for construction of a space where students could be trained for rewarding careers in the semiconductor industry, the Onondaga County Legislature immediately matched the gift, followed shortly thereafter by New York State.

Onondaga Community College's chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society is celebrating another year of excellence on the international stage! Representatives of OCC's chapter, named Alpha Sigma Zeta, traveled to Kansas City for the international PTK Catalyst conference where they were recognized as one of the top chapter's in the world.

The National Awards they brought back to campus included:

You may not expect to hear a high-achieving student and athlete who earned a bachelor's degree before coming to Onondaga Community College say her time here was transformative, but that's Vanessa Esposito's story and she's sticking to it. "It changed my life for the better, more than I could have ever imagined. I'm so grateful. I took a chance and came here and it's one of the best things I've ever done."

Each Wednesday we are sharing the stories of outstanding students who began their college education while still in high school. Today we introduce you to Trenton Hoyt.

Trenton Hoyt is an 11th grade student at Phoenix High School who takes classes on the Onondaga Community College campus four days a week. He's part of the P-TECH program, working toward a Mechanical Technology degree. "I'm a lot further ahead than my friends who didn't choose P-TECH. It's given me a huge head start."