As a high school senior, Michael Ozlanksi ’05 was sure he’d attend college in a big city. When he received recruitment letters from Susquehanna, “I just pitched them. Because of the location, I just wasn’t interested at all,” he recalls with a smile.

The first-generation college student likes to tell the story of how he came to Susquehanna. He did evaluate several metropolitan colleges. Then, almost on a whim, Michael and parents made the 45-minute drive from his home in Mount Carmel, Pa., to Selinsgrove for a business in-action day, then an admissions open house. “We had this shockingly good feeling about the place... it turned out that Susquehanna was the only place I applied to, and it really is a fantastic fit,” he says.

As a first-year student at Susquehanna, Michael was interested in joining a student organization that combined service projects with a regional or national competition. He refused to be deterred by the fact that no such club existed on campus. With the support of the Sigmund Weis School of Business Dean James Brock, Michael and two other students founded Susquehanna’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team.

Visiting Instructor of Management Steve Wilkerson signed on as faculty advisor and Michael was elected president. In its inaugural year, the team educated members of the community about market economics, personal finance and entrepreneurship, and at the same time conducted traditional service projects such as a community center fundraiser and a campus-wide food drive.

At SIFE competitions, the group’s efforts garnered several recognitions on the regional and national levels, including “Rookie of the Year” honors at the national contest in Kansas City, Mo. “Michael’s leadership was largely responsible for the SIFE team’s amazing performances,” Brock said.

In turn, Michael is quick to acknowledge the dean’s support, and recognizes Wilkerson’s selfless devotion in making “tremendous contributions” to the team’s success.

Michael, who also serves as president of the university’s Accounting Club, is an accomplished trumpet player. He finds the time to perform in the symphonic band and offers music lessons to students in the music preparatory program.

At Susquehanna, Michael recognizes the opportunity to “constantly learn and constantly push yourself.” In recognition of his academic achievement, Michael received a $1,000 scholarship this year from the Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society, of which he is a member.

While many seniors are sending out resumés and preparing grad school applications, Michael is doing neither. After a summer 2004 internship with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, he received — and accepted — an offer of full-time employment upon graduation. Michael will be working with the assurance practice at the firm’s Philadelphia office.

The internship also allowed Michael to measure his career readiness and reinforce the value of his Susquehanna education. When he found himself working with students from schools such as Villanova, Saint Joseph’s and Notre Dame, “I was initially slightly intimidated by my peers because of the universities that they attended,” he admits. “However, once I had the opportunity to work with them, I learned that … many times I had the intellectual advantage over them,” he says.

—Paul Novack