When Amazon announced Onondaga Community College was its new education partner in the Career Choice program, the timing was perfect for Ivan Kamdem. He'd come to the United States five years earlier and tried to attend college while working, but with a family to support in another country it was cost prohibitive to do so. "I knew I wanted to do this, and this was a way I could afford college. This is a really good opportunity for me."
Kamdem is an Amazon employee who began attending OCC tuition-free this semester thanks to the Career Choice program. He works as a Manager's Assistant at the massive fulfillment center on Morgan Road in Liverpool. He's one of nearly two dozen Amazon employees taking classes here this semester.
Kamdem chose the Cybersecurity degree program and has enjoyed his OCC experience. "I think this is a great institution. Everybody is so welcoming. I can talk to any professor and they all respond and are really really helpful. I would love to one day develop my own application that can be used in cybersecurity engineering. My goal is to get my degree so I can make a decent living and support my family."
His family is in his native Cameroon, an African country located on the continent's west coast. Kamdem left there at age 22 in search of a better life for him and them. "I need to work full-time to keep up with my bills and take care of them. And I have a ton of homework to keep up with. It's really tough but I can do it."
Just last month Kamdem became a United States citizen. He plans to complete his degree in two years, bring his family to the U.S., and keep climbing the ladder at Amazon. "College Choice is that little boost they give you to get started. At first all I wanted to do was make money, but now I want to make my way up in the company."
