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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."

Shyann Shaw is determined to be the change in her community. Her biggest fan is also her favorite Onondaga Community College Professor, Pete Patnode. "He motivates me. He says 'my money's on you. I have a lot of faith in you!'"

Professor Patnode teaches in the Criminal Justice degree program and is a retired Syracuse Police Officer. Shaw's dream is to one day become a Syracuse Police Officer, and eventually Chief. "I feel like Syracuse has a lot of potential. If you start with the newer generation and work with youth, you can change the way people think."

It's been just about a year since Shelly Dunham had to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. For 33 years she had worked at Natur-Tyme, a health and wellness store on Erie Boulevard in DeWitt, where she served as Store Manager. In the spring of 2023 the owners informed their employees the business would be closing for good. "When I knew my job was coming to an end, I was at a crossroads.

Onondaga Community College celebrated the accomplishments of 10 students, presenting them with Pinnacle Awards during a ceremony May 1 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. Students selected demonstrated not only an exemplary academic performance, but also a strong connection with the campus community.

Onondaga Community College was always going to be the place where Lou Kaminski began his higher education journey. His parents met while students at OCC and became professors here. His mother Kelly teaches American Sign Language, and his father Mike leads the Broadcast Media Communications program.

Lou's love of making movies from a young age coupled with frequent trips to campus cemented his plans. "I enjoyed storytelling. My dad would take me into OCC when I was a kid and I would see the studio. I loved editing and I wanted to make videos and things like that."