Opportunity to Teach Technology Brings Alumna Home

Teaching was always what was most important to Ashley Haskins. So when she was presented with the opportunity to return to her alma mater as an Assistant Professor in Applied Engineering Technology, she jumped at the opportunity. "It feels great to be back. It's like coming home. I've been pursuing more meaning. I want to make more of a difference. It's become more important to me as I've furthered my career."

Haskins is in her first semester as an Onondaga Community College Faculty member. The list of classes she teaches includes Digital Logic, Intro to Microprocessors, and Industrial Electricity. "My students are all great. They're fantastic. They're in a challenging program. And I'm enjoying the challenge of making it applicable and real for students so they can be successful in this field."

Haskins graduated from Sandy Creek High School in 2008 and began her higher education journey at Syracuse University. She earned a degree in Public Affairs, and moved to South Dakota where she taught students on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, home of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

Nine years ago, she decided to return to Central New York and enroll at Onondaga Community College. She chose the Nuclear Technology and Electrical Engineering Technology degree programs. In January of 2017, she accepted a full-time position with Constellation Energy at the Nine Mile Nuclear facility. She became a part-time college student, completed one degree later that year, and the other in 2018. Haskins left campus as a highly decorated student, earning membership in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and a SUNY Chancellor's Award winner, the highest honor which can be bestowed upon any SUNY student.

In the private sector, she continued to share knowledge with others. She was an Operation Instructor at Nine Mile, then served as a Training Coordinator at Novelis, an aluminum mill in Oswego. "Teaching was always part of what I was doing. I was a teacher before I pivoted my career through OCC to go to nuclear power. OCC allowed me to bring the technical side to it."

In the fall of 2023, OCC unveiled its new Micron-related degree program, Electromechanical Technology. And next year, the College will cut the ribbon on its new Micron Cleanroom Simulation Laboratory. "Seeing the activity here around Micron and the advances in the technology being used brought in here was a huge draw to me. I want to learn how to use the technologies, and then be able to teach using those materials, that equipment."