Syracuse high school students on Tuesday gathered at Onondaga Community College to officially sign on to receive their college degrees through the P-TECH program.

Through a partnership with the district, 63 students will participate in the program. They will simultaneously work toward their high school diploma and college degree at OCC, SUNY Broome or Mohawk Valley Community College.

During the ceremony, all eyes were fixed on student speaker Kiamesha Cotton, who participated in OCC’s Mechanical Technology Program as part of P-TECH and graduated from OCC last weekend.

“I wasn’t too excited about going on job shadows and waking up early to go to big, loud factories,” she told the students. “But eventually, I grew to appreciate all that P-tECH had to offer, and I got excited about college.”

For students just getting involved in the program, her success working at a local radio station during school is a glimpse at what could lie ahead.

“I test out the radios. I plug them all in, make sure they’re all working, make sure the music is working,” she said.

It’s also a glimpse at the hard work that lies ahead.

The program combines a high school diploma, associates degree and work experience in an in-demand field.

“It is fast, very fast, way faster than high school, a completely different switch over,” Cotton said.

It's a challenge that incoming mechanical technology student Ama’zhalia Cummings said she was ready to tackle.

“I feel like I can handle a lot more work,” she said. “I feel like I can persevere with a lot more work, and for a lot of my life, classes have been easy, and I really want to have to push through.”

As Cotton watched students like Cummings sitting in the audience, wide-eyed with ‘the real word’ still years away, she offered advice about all of the administrators and counselors.

“Just keep a good ear out for all of the stuff they’re saying, even though it might be early or boring, just listen,” she said.

The students will pursue degrees in several fields, including clinical lab work, mechanical technology and computer information systems.

Intimidated?

“Be scared. It’s OK to be scared and nervous. But take your time. Go at your pace, but be prepared for the pace that the college courses are at,” Cotton said.