Every student at Syracuse University has their own unique story, whether they enroll straight out of high school or as a non-traditional student returning to begin a second career. Some students overcome serious challenges; some attend as part of a Syracuse family legacy. For Oliver Posewitz ’20, a senior in the School of Information Studies, it was a bit of both.
Before attending Syracuse University, Posewitz served six years in the U.S. Navy. Posewitz served as an air traffic controller, a high-stress and demanding job that has a high attrition rate, at the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Florida. Despite enjoying his military career, he knew it wasn’t what he wanted to do forever. When it was time to transition out, Posewitz decided Syracuse was the obvious choice for his academic goals.
“I was getting out of the Navy and looking into where I wanted to go to college. I had read somewhere that Syracuse University was one of the best private schools for veterans and just happened that it was near home,” he says.
Having grown up in the City of Syracuse as well as neighboring Cazenovia, Posewitz was well aware that an education from Syracuse University would give him an edge. So, determined to be Orange, he applied only to Syracuse University.
“It was SU or bust, really,” he says.