Josephine Ochoa of Utica has been honored with the 2021 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest honor bestowed upon a student by the University. 

Ochoa, a Karen and Burmese refugee, earned her Criminal Justice AAS degree from Mohawk Valley Community College in December 2020. During her time at MVCC, she was very active on campus; she was president of two student clubs — Kidz N Coaches and the Criminal Justice Fallen Legends Club — and was a member of Student Congress, the Auxiliary Services Committee, and the Disciplinary Appeals Committee. She also participated in Student Leadership Academy and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.

Ochoa plans to continue her education and one day earn her Ph.D. She has been accepted to the University of Albany’s Criminal Justice program and is now considering the many different career options in the criminal justice field, from working for agencies like the FBI or CIA or doing research in the area of criminal justice reform. In addition to continuing her education, Ochoa plans to continue helping her family, the local community, and her family members and others who are still in Burma. “I have so much I want to get done,” she said. “One thing I know I do love doing is helping people no matter where they are from, what their background is, or what they have done. Change is possible. I also believe everyone deserves to have opportunities.”

Ochoa came to America with her family from Thailand in 2001 when she was 2 years old. She says being different from the other kids made it hard to fit in when she was growing up, but ultimately these experiences made her work harder to overcome obstacles, proving to herself that she could “be something great.” As she got older, Ochoa says she learned to appreciate her culture and be proud of the person she was. 

“Watching my mom, a single mother taking care of my brother and I, really taught me to be humble in life and to keep working hard so I can accomplish my dreams and goals. I used to be afraid of failure, but I accepted the fact that it comes with the process, and everything I’m doing now is working to reach those goals. The truth is I’ll never stop working hard because I’m not doing all of this for myself — I want to give back and show others to never doubt yourself, especially when it gets hard.”

The SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence acknowledge students for outstanding achievements that have demonstrated the integration of SUNY excellence within many aspects of their lives in areas such as academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service, or the arts.