Karinda Shanes, '98 - 2021 Alumni Faces Honoree

Chatting About College

Each year Onondaga Community College recognizes distinguished graduates who have made a difference in their community and professional life, naming them "Alumni Faces" honorees. On the night of Wednesday, October 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the Frederick Marvin and Ernst Schuh Recital Hall, we will pay tribute to the Alumni Faces Class of 2021. In this edition of our podcast, "Chatting About College," we meet honoree Karinda Shanes, '98.

Onondaga Community College has provided Karinda Shanes and her entire family the educational foundation they needed to build their professional success upon. All five family members earned associate degrees here. Karinda's was in Criminal Justice, husband Leonard studied Mechanical Technology, middle son Armondo's specialty was Human Services, and oldest son Dante and youngest son Quintin received their Electrical Technology degrees from OCC. Quintin celebrated the completion of his degree in 2019, just one year after graduating from the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central as part of the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program.

After completing her bachelor's degree, Shanes worked for human services-type agencies including Catholic Charities and Contact Community Services. She focused on youth development programs and learned how to write local, state, and federal grant proposals which brought critically needed funding to the agencies for students. Her outstanding level of service was applauded as "red carpet work" and led to her current role as Regional Executive Director of Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection (HW-SC), a nationally-recognized youth development program which helps at-risk youths stay in school and graduate from high school with the skills and confidence necessary to enter college or the workforce.

Her experience with HW-SC as a parent, coupled with her time on the OCC campus, instilled in her a deep appreciation for the Central New York community and a desire to give back.

Even though it has been 23 years since the Broome County native was a student on the OCC campus, Shanes still leans on lessons learned here while working as a Youth Development and Leadership Administrator. "I am thankful to OCC for high-quality education, a fun learning atmosphere, and most importantly for the chance to study with knowledgeable, caring professors which provided me with a solid foundation that led me into a successful adult life."
Enjoy the podcast! The Alumni Faces ceremony will be streamed live on OCC's YouTube channel and Facebook page Wednesday, October 6 at 5:30 p.m.