Honors College Providing Opportunities to High Achieving Students

When Carter Stewart was considering his college options, he knew he wanted to get a good education and continue playing baseball. Those priorities brought him to Onondaga Community College. "OCC is close to home and a good, affordable option. It's a perfect way to start my college career so I can transfer to a four-year right after."

Thanks to his strong academic performance in the Business Administration degree program, he also wound up finding the Lillian Slutzker Honors College. It helps high-achieving students reach their academic goals through both financial support, and access to designated classes, services, programming, and a special suite on campus.

Students can be part of Honors College if they:

• Enter OCC with a 90 or higher high school average, or...
• Earn a 3.5 grade point average of better as a matriculated student at OCC.

Benefits to being part of Honors College include:

• Exclusive access to small, Honors-designated course sections.
• Keycard access to the Honors College Suite where students can study, socialize, and have access to computers and a printer.
• Honors designation on your transcript upon completing 12 or more credits of Honors with a minimum 3.0 grade point average.
• Cultural events such as plays, concerts, and scholarly lectures.
• Assistance with academic planning, course planning, and transfer preparation.
• A special cord to wear at commencement when you complete the designation.

Honors College students also have the opportunity to apply for a book stipend to cover $300 in books and classroom-related fees each semester. Students receiving stipends are required to complete an Honors class or Honors Contract every semester. Stipends are awarded on a rolling basis as applications are received.

During the spring semester, Stewart won the Susan Mitchell Award for Honors Excellence when he submitted a paper on the economic impact Major League Baseball teams have on their host cities. "I decided to take baseball which I love and business which is the other thing I love and put them together. I really enjoyed writing it. I was able to focus in and write a good paper. I think it's the one paper I've written my whole life I enjoyed. The whole time I was writing it I was really excited to be doing it."

The Honors College has begun a video project  titled "I Am Honors" which gives students the opportunity to discuss how being part of the program has impacted them. You can view the video by clicking on this link.