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ONONDAGA COUNTY, N.Y. -- With high school graduations just weeks away, people in Syracuse are enjoying food and wine in honor of some young people who beat the odds to receive their diploma.

"The Taste of Success" took place Friday night to benefit the Hillside Work Scholarship Connection. Hillside is a dropout prevention program that has ballooned from 33 students four years ago to nearly a thousand.

Hillside is graduating 28 seniors this year from all five Syracuse city high schools.

"To see those children walk the stage, knowing what they've overcome, it's incredibly moving because now they've passed this step. Next step is college and career. So it's very moving,” Hillside Executive Director Wayne O’Connor said.

Hillside Work Scholarship Connection is also celebrating its 25th anniversary.