Onondaga Community College student Damon Gilstrap will receive two major awards from SUNY this month. He's one of a very select group who will receive the Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for Student Excellence, given annually to students in the Educational Opportunity Program who exceed academically while overcoming personal obstacles. And Gilstrap is the only SUNY student in the entire system who will receive the Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence - Special Award for Overcoming the Odds. “Just being here is a gift from God. And winning these is so exciting. I always say if you do the right thing for the right season you will be alright in life.”
It's hard to imagine a student overcoming more personal obstacles than Gilstrap has. When he was 9 years old he found his mother dead from a heroin overdose. “I tried to wake her up. I was angry at her for 40 years because she left me.”
Those feelings of abandonment and worthlessness led to decades of heavy alcohol and drug use. Fifteen years ago he hit rock bottom when a massive stroke caused by three brain tumors left one of his vocal cords paralyzed and his life forever changed. "It was the worst moment of my life and it was a gift from God. Because of what happened to me I'm here today to help young people choose the right road, not the wrong one."
As Gilstrap recovered physically and mentally from his stroke, he dedicated his life to mentoring others. He wanted to prevent people from making the same mistakes he did. "I didn't want anyone to go through what I went through. That's what drove me and continues to drive me."
A significant part of Gilstrap's message focused on the power of education and how life changing it could be. But he didn't feel right saying the words because he didn't have an education. "I was telling kids it was important to go to school but I didn't want to be a hypocrite. I wanted to show them that if I could do it, they could do it too."
In 2015 he began attending the SUNY Educational Opportunity Center. It took four years to go from a 5th grade education to ready for college. In 2019 he earned his high school equivalency. That fall, at age 53, he enrolled at Onondaga Community College.
Gilstrap chose OCC's Human Services degree program because he wanted to dedicate his life to helping others. "I want to work with the kids no one else wants to work with. Everyone needs to be loved. Even the bad kids need a good person in their life and to know someone cares about them."
For Gilstrap, that person who cares about him is Angela, his significant other. They went on their first date 20 years ago and he let her know that night about the life he had left behind. "I told her about group homes, violence, being homeless, being incarcerated... I wanted to be straight with her. I wanted her to hear it from me and not anyone else."
Gilstrap wrote a book about his life titled From Tragedy to Homeless to Triumph. Now he's working on a follow-up about how his life has evolved, including his time here at OCC. "I love it here. People ask me 'why are you so happy?' I tell them 'I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm helping people.'"
Tomorrow in Albany Gilstrap will be honored with the Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for Student Excellence. On April 26 he will receive the Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence - Special Award for Overcoming the Odds. And next month he'll walk across the stage in the SRC Arena and receive his Human Services degree. "Now when I tell someone I'm helping how important getting your education is, I'll be able to stand behind those words."
