Student Spotlight - John Ostrowski

The Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems has many alumni who have gone on to have successful careers in a wide variety of industries. We highlight various alumni throughout the year to share their exciting career paths, offer advice to current and incoming students, and provide a way to connect fellow Buckeyes from around the world. Read below to learn more about John Ostrowski, a Deals Transformation Associate at PwC. 

John Ostrowski is originally from Belle Mead, New Jersey and graduated with a BSBA in Accounting and minor in International Business in 2022. He's currently in the Management Consulting industry, working at PwC in New York, New York as a Deals Transformation Associate. In this role, he assists clients in a variety of fields - Financial Services, Private Equity, Pharmaceutical, Technology, and Aerospace & Defense Industries. He graduated from Fisher having already accepted his position with PwC.

Why did you major in accounting?
As cliche as it sounds, I believe that Accounting is the universal language of business. To succeed in most roles today, it takes at least a basic understanding of the fundamental accounting principles. The hard skills I learned studying accounting (how to read a 10-K, Accrual Accounting, etc.) have helped me stand out across various roles so far in my career against peers with other majors.

Why did you choose to attend Fisher?
While my Accounting Specialization allowed me to develop strong hard skills, I believe Fisher was truly unique in their emphasis on soft skill development. Fisher places such an emphasis on not only landing a strong first job like many schools, but instilling the necessary professional skills to excel in all of your roles. I attended Fisher due to their reputation for having a close-knit alumni family, strong industry placements, and massive brand - I couldn't have had a better experience!

Who influenced you most during your time at Fisher?
As a member of the 24th Honors Cohort, the continuous challenges I was presented with and skills I was taught from my 29 peers helped mold me into the person I am today. We all remain very close and serve as strong guides and friends when we need them most.

What advice would you give current students or recent graduates interested in pursuing a career in your professional field?
My advice would be: Please do not self-select yourself out of anything! If you want to be a Management Consultant but don't feel that you're qualified enough, put in the effort to learn how to case, conduct lots of industry/firm research, and build a strong network that will be interested in your success. You'll then be able reciprocate that support in the future. Some of my favorite colleagues are those from non-traditional backgrounds that worked very hard to break into our industry - if they had given up because they didn't meet every requirement on a job application, our profession would be very worse off for it.

If you'd like to connect with John, you can connect with him on LinkedIn.