Michael Speach '02 is putting a new spin on fundraising for not-for-profit agencies. Speach is the President and Head Chocolatier of the 104-year-old Speach Family Candy Shoppe. He's brought a jukebox into his store and filled it with hit records. Customers visiting his business at 2400 Lodi…
Mikaelie (Fletcher) Lanzafame '11 has a challenging job. As a Human Resources Business Partner at Marquardt Switches in Cazenovia, she's trying to find workers at a time of profound labor shortages. The plant has approximately 260 employees and dozens of openings. "Our apply rates are down. We…
Life circumstances propelled Dorothy Davis toward a health-related career without her even realizing it. When she was growing up and her father became ill, her mother decided to go back to school and earn her Certified Nursing Assistant certification so she could support the family. Davis helped…
The amazing Kayla McKeon '22 has done it again!
McKeon has helped design the first Barbie Doll with Down Syndrome. Her story was highlighted earlier this week on ABC Television's Good Morning America and local ABC affiliate WSYR TV…
MaryPat Carhart fell in love with the possibility of a career in health care at a young age. She was a student at East Syracuse Minoa High School who found her calling in BOCES LPN program. While working as a Licensed Practical Nurse she decided to come to Onondaga Community College and pursue a…
When Jodi DeAugustine '89 graduated from Cicero-North Syracuse High School and came to Onondaga Community College, her plan was to stay for one semester, earn some college credits, and transfer to a four-year school. She was a first-generation college student who grew up in a single parent home…
Chidera Joseph is stunning, hilarious, and brilliant.
She's a far cry from the 11-year-old girl who immigrated to the United States from Nigeria after being orphaned. Joseph credits Onondaga Community College with making a life-changing difference in her journey. "My second semester at…
Nikki Carlson '13 is proud of what she has accomplished and, more importantly, how she has accomplished it. Her parents always encouraged her to 'do what you love.' It resulted in a non-traditional and highly fulfilling path to a great career. "I regret nothing. Everything I've done has led me…
Onondaga Community College Alumna Lanessa Owens-Chaplin '03 will receive a prestigious national award next month. She is one of only three recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Alumni Award from the American Association of Community Colleges. Owens-Chaplin is an attorney and lead counsel for the…
Shawn Wayson is one of those people every organization needs. She knows how to get things done. If you need to find a needle in a haystack, she can do it. If you drop a mess in her lap, she can fix it. If a younger, less experienced colleague needs advice about a better way to do things, she can…
When Alexis Riccardo set foot on the Onondaga Community College campus in the fall of 2019, she was a 43-year-old mother determined to change the course of her life through higher education. She had attended three different colleges, spending a semester at each. She worked more than a decade in…
Ashley Homer '18 always dreamed of attending college, but knew as a first-generation college student she would face unique challenges. She was determined to overcome the barriers and turned to her advocates at On Point for College and…