Maranda Morris

“All of my friends expected me to fail. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”

After dropping out of high school, Maranda earned her GED and was accepted to Onondaga Community College. But during her sophomore year, she suffered a major setback. A serious head injury forced her to leave school to recover. She eventually returned to college at Syracuse University, where she had the opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy.

Maranda graduated in May 2013 as On Point for College’s first architecture alumna and quickly found a position with Austin Patterson Disston Architects LLC in Southport, Connecticut. She is currently working toward her architecture license, which involves a 7-part exam she plans to complete next year.

Maranda is grateful to On Point for College for providing her with transportation to and from college and college supplies, but most of all, she is grateful for the emotional support that she wasn’t getting anywhere else, but that she received from On Point. “I went through a total of eight years of college and had to work the entire time,” she said. “It wasn’t easy, but On Point was always there to support me.”