Press Releases and News
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Journey to Success: Empowering Student with Disabilities
Google ‘secrets to success for college students with disabilities’ and you’ll get ‘about 77 million results.’ But if you ask one OCC alum, he’ll narrow down the answer as he shares his own journey to pursue a college education.As a baby, born in Melbourne, Australia, Nicholas Ritchie’s...
‘It’s Never Too Late’: Retiree is the First to Graduate in Her Family
After 45 years of taking classes on and off at OCC while working and raising her daughter, Carol Ridings decided she wanted to get her associates degree. The 68-year-old woman asked herself, how hard could it be? After all, her grandmother got her GED when she was 80 years old. Turns out it actually...
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Awards Grants to Nine Community Colleges
OCC among top five awarded up to $150,000 to improve completion rates among Future for Frontliners, Reconnect studentsTaking the leap to continue education is not easy for some, and adult learners often face unique barriers to graduate, which is why the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic...
DEI at OCC, Pride Month Insights and Resources
Spectrum Club Offers Support and Welcoming Environment for LGBTQIA+ StudentsAfter beginning college at age 16, including a semester at Harvard, Joseph Paul Javier lived with an aunt in the Philippines, where he enjoyed a 15-year career in radio, TV, public relations and journalism.Severe nerve damage...
OCC Celebrates Class of 2021 Graduates
A Class Like No Other Leads the Way for a Celebration of Equal ProportionAfter a year like no other, which featured Oakland Community College’s first-ever, all-online year of learning, OCC celebrated its Class of 2021 graduates’ great achievement with a virtual commencement. This was the second...
OCC Names Experienced Fire-Fighter to Fire Training Institute Leadership Post
New program manager aims to take OCC’s exceptional program – the only nationally and internationally accredited fire academy in Michigan – to new heights.Dennis Cotton, a lieutenant with the West Bloomfield Fire Department, has been selected as the Fire Training Institute program manager at...
Sandra Bachert Named OCC Director, Workforce and Economic Development
It’s not often that you encounter someone who has spent the majority of her career at her alma mater. Sandra Bachert of Troy, has done just that and moved up the ranks to become director, Economic and Workforce Development at Oakland Community College.In the late 1980s, Bachert took classes at...
OCC Virtual Commencement Reflects Challenges of Unique Year
“Being involved in OCC built my personality and made me the person who I am today. If had to choose again whether I want to attend OCC or go straight to a four-year institution, I would definitely choose OCC again and again.” - Razan AlaliJust over a century ago, Michigan was in the grips of...
Evelyn Chan Receives 2021 Faculty Member of the Year Award
Alliance for Excellence in Online Education honors faculty for teaching excellence during the pandemicEvelyn Chan understands firsthand the challenges students face with online classes. A few years ago, she enrolled as a graduate student in an online course and has integrated that mode of learning...
OCC Alumna Receives Doctorate Degree After Overcoming Life-Threatening Accidents
As the owner of her own consulting practice, Chantal Davis developed her company motto “Where We Serve is Where We Succeed,” based on her own extraordinary experiences. She highlights a pivotal time in her life as a community college student at OCC and the caring support of a college counselor.A...