Bianca Gascon's junior and senior years at Baldwinsville High School were anything but normal due to Covid. So after receiving her diploma in 2021, she decided to wait a year before starting college. Throughout the course of her gap year, she learned she had made the right choice. "After taking time off and hearing from other classmates about their experience during their first year of college, they felt like they had to manage and figure things out. I thought for me it would be best to start with something manageable for me, get used to being in a normal classroom setting again, and that led me to OCC."
Gascon enrolled at Onondaga Community College in the fall of 2022. She decided to dual major in Humanities & Social Sciences and Communication Studies, and was selected to be part of the Lillian Slutzker Honors College. "Being in the Honors College prepared me so much and helped me gain confidence in my learning and academics which I lost in high school because of Covid and the expectation to go to very competitive schools and maintain very high grades. It was a culture I didn't thrive in. Here it's about meeting you where you are. They want you to learn and be the best student you can."
An outstanding first semester earned her membership in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) and inspired her to become a leader in the organization. "In high school, I would never go for any leadership positions or do any extracurriculars. I was scared to just walk in a room. After I gained confidence in my own opinions and capabilities as a student, I decided to get more involved."
Gascon became the PTK Vice President for Leadership, then the chapter's Co-President. She also became an Honors College Ambassador, meeting prospective students at Open House and talking to them about opportunities on campus.
In just three months she will complete both of her degrees. She's plans to transfer and continue her education, and is considering a career in public service. "A lot of what we do on the PTK Leadership Team is community-based. We work on research projects for the campus and think about how we can make an impact in the community as well. Honors College is similar. You are doing outreach to students and trying to connect them to an opportunity to enrich their education. The idea of helping people gain access to opportunities and solve problems by getting to know who people are would be very fulfilling in a career."
