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CNY Prospective College Students Learn About Post-Grad Opportunities at OCC

Chenelle Terry, WAER News

Central New York prospective college students and their parents filled Onondaga Community College'sSRC Arena Tuesday for the Syracuse National College Fair.  More than 200 college representatives from across the country were on hand to help students jump start their paths to a higher education.  

Cayman Burke, who’s an OCC student, attended the fair to search for the perfect school to transfer to after he finishes his coursework at the community college. For him, the local fair saved him multiple trips to different campuses, he said.


“It’s just nice being able to come and grab all this information at one spot, rather than going to New York [or] Ohio, just for one school,” he said.   

Erin Maroney and her daughter, who's a high school sophomore, haven't given college much thought until attending the fair.  So, they were a little overwhelmed by the 200 representatives from different schools, she said.  

 
“But this is a good beginning, just to get some information, she’s not sure if she wants to stay home, go away.” Maroney said. “So, that’s why we’re here to narrow it down a little bit, just so we can get an idea.”

Credit Chenelle Terry, WAER News
Erin Maroney and her daughter Brianna Rodriguez get a head start on their college search at OCC on Tuesday, March 18, 2014.

Erika Howe represented Simmons College in Boston at the fair.  With concerns about institution size, campus life, transfer credits and internship opportunities, Howe said, the fair can easily overwhelm students.  

“I think it’s great to bring all the information to them – to getting them to start thinking about college and the different types of post-graduate opportunities that may be available to them,” she said.
 

COLLEGE-MIX_Wed.mp3
Cayman Burke; Austin Parker, a high school senior; and Brianna Rodriguez describe their career trajectories at the national college fair.

The college fair continues tonight until 8 p.m. in OCC’s  SRC Arena.

Valerie studies Newspaper Online Journalism at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She began reporting for WAER in 2008. Two years later, she started helping produce the afternoon state and local newscasts. Then, her passion for radio led her to report and anchor local news for KBEC 1390-AM in Waxahachie, TX from 2011 – 2012. After returning to WAER, she jumped right back in as assistant producer and weekend reporter. Now, she’s primarily interested in multimedia journalism, telling stories through print, photography and audio for the web. But you can still hear her this fall, as Friday’s host for All Things Considered. She enjoys the beautiful scenery around Syracuse. And she loves serving Central New Yorkers!