Our Stories

Our Stories

Angela Angell,
General Studies/Liberal Arts, 2007
Krysta Schwuchow,
Graphic Design, 2008
Blaze Sanders,
Engineering Sciences, 2008
Eduardo Garza,
Engineering Sciences, 2008
Jack Keck,
Liberal Arts and Sciences – Social Sciences, 2008
Justine Lewis,
Human Services, 2008
Rose Dovi,
Graphic Arts, 2008
Harold Higgins,
Award-Winning Writer, 1970
Seth A. Thompson,
Director of Multicultural Services
Amber Coulthart,
Liberal Arts and Sciences - Childhood Education ‘07
Matt Sierra,
Computer Support Specialist ‘08
Tricia Goodenough,
Non-Traditional Student
Scott Ochs,
Professor, Criminal Justice/Sociology

Scott Ochs

Professor, Criminal Justice/Sociology

Scott Ochs knows criminal justice. He earned his master’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and worked in the justice system in New York state before joining the faculty at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

Scott Ochs also knows how to teach. His students love him because he makes his classes fun and interesting, but his students also respect him because he demands they work. And Scott is a big believer in the community college education and TC3 in particular.

“We provide high quality education and it is college education. I think one of the things community colleges have to deal with is the myth that is still out there about community colleges: ‘It’s not a real college experience’,” says Ochs. “It is. We teach 100-level and 200-level freshman and sophomore courses very well.

“And I’m the parent of a college student who went through the community college system and is now at a four-year college,” Ochs says. “I saw the quality he experienced.”

Ochs is chair of TC3’s criminal justice program, which offers two degrees. The associate in applied science degree is structured as a career-oriented degree, while the associate in science degree is primarily designed for students who want to transfer to a bachelor of science degree program at a four-year college or university.

There has been significant growth in the A.S. degree program in the last five years, says Ochs.

“I see more and more students of a traditional age coming right out of high school, coming here with the intent to get a two-year degree and then transfer successfully to a four-year program,” says Ochs.

Ochs feels so strongly about the criminal justice program at TC3 that he can guarantee success to students who are looking at the program.

“If you can come here and you do it correctly…you get the grades you need…you take the courses you need. I can guarantee you successful transfer, as long as the student does what he or she needs to do,” says Ochs.

“It’s the quality of education they get. It’s the one-on-one contact,” Ochs says. “Students will meet all of their professors…personally. They will develop excellent relationships and interaction with their professors.

“On the career end, one of my favorite joys is seeing a student successfully complete our program here, graduate, and then I see them later in uniform as a police officer or corrections officer.”

Ochs says one of TC3’s strengths is its diversity.

“For being a rural location, we do have a diverse population,” Ochs says. “Diverse in age; diverse along race; diverse along ethnicity and gender. And that to me brings a lot of excitement to the classroom.

“I have students who are 18 out of high school who grew up locally. I have students who are 18 right out of high school from New York City. And I have students in their 40s and 50s,” says Ochs, who received the 2005 SUNY Chancellor’s/Trustees’ Award for Excellence in Teaching. “And the diversity is a great opportunity for our students because they learn from each other. I think it’s a great experience for rural students to experience students from urban areas and for urban students to experience students from rural areas. It creates a unique environment in the classroom.”

Ochs has also witnessed a shift in the way the students approach their degrees.

“Students now take a lot of liberal arts, history that they never took before. Although it’s not required, they take foreign language and other liberal arts electives. They take more math and science, sometimes painfully,” Ochs says with a smile. “But it’s great for them. It makes for a well-rounded potential employee for the agencies. It makes well-rounded students for the four-year college.

“I get a lot of E-mail from students,” he continues. “They E-mail me back from their four-year college and they now say ‘You know all that history you made me take and all that English…It’s paid off!’”

You can hear it in his voice. You can see it in his eyes. There’s a passion Scott Ochs has for TC3. Students enjoy studying in his program. When you have a professor who feels so strongly about his or her program and then makes that connection with the students, then you have successful graduates who can do whatever they choose in their desired field.