A Central New York native is taking advantage of Amazon’s Career Choice Program, which gives her an annual benefit that covers tuition and other fees to help her earn a degree from Onondaga Community College.

Amazon began its partnership with OCC in 2022, but the global company has partnered with 23 schools across the state, offering employees access to Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree programs at local campuses and with their national and online partners.

"I was looking for employment. So I came across Amazon just for a quick employment position until I got on my feet. Then I decided that I wanted a career, more of a career," said Ericka Ruffin, an employee at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Liverpool.

She decided to continue her education by partaking in Amazon’s Career Choice Program through Onondaga Community College.

For Ruffin, this program also caught her interest through OCC’s partnership with Micron, a semiconductor manufacturing company that is planning to build chip fabrication facilities in Onondaga County.

"A lot of a lot of the work that we do at OCC is hands on to prepare us for the hands-on position at Micron as a mechanical technician. So everything's been hand in hand, I would say," Ruffin said.

Through her Electromechanical Technology Program at OCC, she will head to Boise, Idaho this summer for a paid internship with Micron. She says it’s the Career Choice Program that opened the door for her to experience the opportunities.

"I would just tell people to take advantage of the opportunity that’s given to them. It's given to them, to look further in detail. If they want to try something different, try a new career path, gain a new skill set, and try to enhance their ability for future investments and future outlook," Ruffin said.

Amazon pledged to commit more than $1.2 billion in providing free education and skills training opportunities to 300,000 employees by 2025.