Amazon Provides New Support for OCC Students

Onondaga Community College today received a gift of $50,000 from Amazon. The generous donation will be used to assist in supporting Student Success Coaches at OCC. Student Success Coaches responsibilities include:

• Monitoring student academic progress and providing proactive and just-in-time guidance and support.
• Providing a sense of community by organizing educational and social events for students in their respective Schools.
• Guiding students through the higher education landscape and managing competing demands from school, family, and work.
• Collaborating with colleagues and departments across the institution to provide holistic support and meet the unique needs of individual students.

Today's announcement is the latest example of Amazon's commitment to the Central New York region and its mission to create paths to career success through education and learning new skills. In October 2022, Amazon chose OCC to be its partner in the Career Choice program. Career Choice provides hourly employees the opportunity to take classes at OCC at Amazon's expense. Employees can focus on the academic programs of their choosing and learn new skills for career success at Amaon or elsewhere.

During the spring 2023 semester nearly two dozen Amazon employees took advantage of Career Choice. For Amazon employees and students like Ivan Kamdem who sends money home monthly to his family in Cameroon, or Kay Cee, a single mother who also works full time for the Syracuse City School District, Career Choice is providing them the opportunity to better their lives through higher education tuition-free.

"We are grateful to Amazon for their partnership with us at Onondaga Community College. From the Career Choice program which is already changing lives, to today's support of our Student Success Coaches, they are truly making a difference. Their transformational support is paying dividends today, and will continue to do so in the future," said OCC President Dr. Warren Hilton.

"We know that OCC's Student Success Coaches program is a critical resource for supporting students as they achieve their education goals," said Carley Graham Garcia, Amazon's head of community affairs in New York. "It's also a great way to support Amazonians who are taking advantage of Career Choice and all the benefits it has to offer them and other employer-sponsored students."