Finishing Unfinished Business 50 Years Later

Dave Cook is about to finish something he nearly completed 50 years ago. When Cook left Onondaga Community College in 1972 and transferred to a four-year school, he was one class shy of earning his associate degree. This December, a half century later, he will receive his degree. "I always said it wasn't fair that OCC had a check mark against it because I left here without getting my degree. I went on and got my four-year degree, and I couldn't have done that without coming to OCC first."

Cook graduated from Corcoran High School in 1970 with what he likes to call a 'solid C, barely B' grade point average. He came to OCC when it was located in downtown Syracuse in Midtown Plaza and left two years later for SUNY Potsdam. He would earn a Political Science degree there and go on to manage Social Security Administration offices in Syracuse, Rochester, Corning, Plattsburgh, Ithaca, Schenectady, and Geneva for 30 years until he retired.

Several years ago Cook made a spur-of-the-moment decision to reconnect with OCC. He was driving through Syracuse taking pictures of everywhere he had ever lived for more than six months. That's when he decided to walk in unannounced to the office of the OCC Foundation which provides funding for student scholarships, programs, and projects which create partnerships in success for students and the entire community.

Cook would donate $25,000 to OCC Advantage, a unique college-readiness and scholarship program which gives high school students in specific districts the opportunity to attend OCC tuition-free. “I decided it was time to give back. I made it through as an average or better than average student. I felt it was important to help students like I was.”

Since reconnecting with the college Cook has continued to give back. He donated a 1967 Oldsmobile 442 convertible to the Automotive Technology degree program which students will eventually restore and raffle off. Currently they are working to restore a 1957 Chevy truck. Cook's car is next in line.

Through the OCC Foundation he also created "The Dave Cook Award for Student Success" to help students in the Hospitality Management degree program. "I like to eat, my last name is Cook, and I learned how to cook from watching TV," he said with a smile. "Julia Childs is my hero. I wanted to go eat on her show in the worst way. The idea of paying it forward to help someone get a degree and get into a good job without four years of college was worth it."

About a year ago the OCC Foundation's Steffani Williams began a conversation with Cook about completing his OCC degree. They started the process and eventually  learned he would receive credit for his final class through experiential learning, which is the process of learning by doing.

Earlier this month he returned to campus and had his picture taken for his Lazer Card. And two months from tonight, on December 14, Cook will walk across the stage in Storer Auditorium and receive his degree. "I'm looking forward to it! I've told just about everyone I know I'm graduating in reverse. This should take care of that check mark against OCC because I left 50 years ago. I like the idea of telling New York State 'do not grade this school or other two-year schools strictly on the criteria of whether someone graduated.'"