Throughout their time at Syracuse University, members of the Class of 2026 have pursued their majors, acquired knowledge, honed their skills, logged time in internships and explored career paths. Now they’re ready for the next step.
Discovering a Career in Information Technology
Bushra Saho Khazaleh ’26 found a home at the School of Information Studies’ Nexis Student Technology Lab, where she serves as head of programming and developed leadership skills that helped prepare her for her professional career.
Bushra Saho Khazaleh ’26 never imagined herself pursuing a career in information technology (IT)—until she transferred into the School of Information Studies (iSchool) and soon realized how much she enjoyed web design, management and cybersecurity. “Before that, I had no experience in tech at all,” says the information management and technology major from Al Mafraq, Jordan.
Khazaleh’s interest in web design, management and cybersecurity led to an internship with Equitable and a job offer. She’ll work in the firm’s Syracuse office as an IT associate.
With the support and mentoring of iSchool Career Development Specialist Morgan Mastronardi ’15, Khazaleh landed an internship with the Syracuse office of Equitable, a financial services company, and participated in a high-level software migration project, serving as a technical bridge between the IT actuarial systems team and business stakeholders. She took a leading role in transitioning outdated data, mapping complex data structures and creating technical visualizations. “I made it clear to my manager that I was open to exploring different areas and challenging myself with new experiences,” she says. “I didn’t want to limit myself—I wanted to grow.”
The experience gave her the opportunity to apply classroom learning, develop her technical and professional skills, and build her confidence. It also confirmed she had found the right field—and her performance led to a job offer. She’s looking forward to returning to the same team at Equitable as an IT associate. “I am excited to take on new challenges, contribute to meaningful projects and further develop my skills in a full-time role,” she says.
Emphasizing Personal Connections in the Job Search
Rider Sulikowski ’26 sits outside Carnegie Library, a favorite study spot. He looks forward to joining Aon as an account manager after graduation.
When Rider Sulikowski ’26 reflects on the job market, he says, “The hardest part of landing a job—as is typical for 2026—was getting in front of a live human person.”
For Sulikowski, the desire to connect on a personal level eventually led to a position as an account manager with Aon, a global management consulting firm where he’d interned last summer. Amid an active internship search and “feeling ambitious and a little desperate,” he placed a cold call to an Aon regional director, which set in motion a series of exchanges with contacts, interviews and the internship. “I believe this gumption was ultimately what caused my application to get noticed,” says the economics major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “I would like to think my qualifications and persistence spoke for themselves.”
Sulikowski, an economics major, says the Maxwell in D.C. program helped him make connections and find career direction.
Sulikowski’s career path began to take shape in an introductory economics class with Professor Derek Laing, who became his mentor. In the Maxwell in D.C. program, he interned with the Washington International Trade Association, built his skills and resume, and created a network that included the Embassy of Malaysia’s First Secretary of Economics and a risk manager who initially recommended Aon. “The Maxwell in D.C. program put me in positions and rooms that allowed me to gain meaningful experience and connections while figuring out where I wanted to take my career,” he says.
And now it’s on to Aon. “The work environment Aon has fostered really makes the human part of the business shine,” says the Redondo Beach, California, native. “It’s the real human connections I made and the friends I still talk to that made accepting a return offer almost a no-brainer.”
Exercising a Passion for Physical Therapy
Zoe Rubin ’26 (right), a health and exercise science major, will be a student in the physical therapy doctoral program at Columbia University this fall.
Zoe Rubin ’26 found herself at a crossroads in her first year at Syracuse University. Originally a biology major with her sights set on medical school, she decided to pivot. After consulting with her academic advisor, she enrolled in an Introduction to Exercise Science and discovered her calling. Now graduating from the David B. Falk College of Sport as a health and exercise science major with a pre-physical therapy track and a minor in psychology, she’s headed to Columbia University, enrolled in its physical therapy (PT) doctoral program.
I have been constantly supported by my advisors and professors and always been steered in the right direction to not only achieve my goals but also push me out of my comfort zone when I needed it most.
Zoe Rubin ’26
“Rehabilitation has always fascinated me, and I am incredibly grateful to have found this career path,” says Rubin of Somers, New York. “I look forward to providing for patients and working with them to reach their goals.”
Rubin completed five PT internships in a variety of clinical settings, found community and embraced her leadership skills as a member and captain of the Women’s Club Soccer team. She credits exercise science professor Kristen Konkol and internship placement coordinator RoQue Harmon for motivating and guiding her on her career path.
“Having the opportunity to spend time in a multitude of clinical settings through internships has enhanced my classroom learning and prepared me for what’s to come at Columbia,” she says. “I have been constantly supported by my advisors and professors and always been steered in the right direction to not only achieve my goals but also push me out of my comfort zone when I needed it most.”
Finding Finance in a Beauty Brand
Thomas Castro-Chalarca ’26 completed an internship last summer with L’Oréal and accepted a position in its management trainee program in New York City.
During an online internship search in his junior year, Thomas Castro-Chalarca ’26 mainly focused on banks and financial institutions. But it was L’Oréal, the world’s largest beauty brand that surprisingly caught his eye. “I became immediately interested,” says the finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
After completing an internship last summer, Castro-Chalarca was offered a full-time role following graduation and will enter L’Oréal’s management trainee program in New York City. “This opportunity truly feels like a dream come true, especially since I’ve always wanted to work in New York City,” says Castro-Chalarca, who grew up in Medellín, Colombia.
Along with majoring in finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises, Castro-Chalarca was active on campus, including serving as vice president of the student chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants and as a First-Year Seminar peer mentor and resident advisor.
Castro-Chalarca’s well-rounded Syracuse University experience played a pivotal role in preparing him. He cites the influence of several Whitman professors, coursework that provided foundational knowledge and his involvement in the Our Time Has Come Scholarship program, the Men of Color Initiative and the student chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). It was through NABA, where he serves as vice president, that he connected with alumni who worked at L’Oréal. He also credits his two years as a peer mentor for First-Year Seminar and three years as a resident advisor (RA) for his growth. “Being an RA was one of the most impactful and unexpected experiences I had at Syracuse,” he says. “It taught me skills that I will carry with me into my professional career.”
At L’Oréal, he’ll put those skills to use and sees it as a full circle family moment, following his father, Freddy Morales ’97, into the world of corporate finance. “I’m excited to begin building my professional career, make meaningful connections and start creating my legacy,” he says.
