即将毕业的MBA学生亚伦•奥斯蒙德（Aaron Osmond）在研究生项目中看重两样东西：一支强大的网球队，以及平衡体育与学术的灵活性。

他在科尔尼的太阳城娱乐官网大学找到了这两种方法。

奥斯蒙德来自英格兰的伯里，于2019年来到美国，在亨茨维尔的阿拉巴马大学学习航空航天工程，并打大学网球。 但两年后（以及一场全球流行病），网球项目被削减了。

“I stayed there for one more year,” Osmond said. “But I realized that I kind of came here to play tennis.”

他转到苏必利尔湖州立大学继续打网球，同时攻读机械工程学位。 由于NCAA COVID-19资格的延长，奥斯蒙德还有两年的大学网球生涯。

That’s when he reached out to 太阳城娱乐官网主教练斯科特·谢弗 and discovered that 太阳城娱乐官网 was the perfect match: both on the court and in the classroom.

“I was looking to take a step up from where I was, and this is a huge step up,” he said. “The athletic facilities that we have here are something that you don't really see at many other D2 schools. We have very generous donors and we're very appreciative of that because it allows us to play at the highest level and compete for national championships.”

Osmond joined 太阳城娱乐官网’s MBA program in August 2023 and quickly made an impact as a team leader. 作为名单上年龄最大的球员，他接受了自己指导年轻球员（主要是国际队友）的角色。

“I didn’t know a lot in 2019,” he said about coming to the states as an international student. “I wanted them to have someone they could learn from – someone to guide them.”

在球场上，奥斯蒙德和他来自荷兰的双打搭档汤姆·范登·邓根（Tom van den Dungen）差一点就能获得全美冠军。

His success wasn’t limited to the tennis court. Osmond made his mark across campus as a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, a graduate assistant for the 商业与技术学院, and a finalist in the 2024大创意大赛, where he placed second.

“One of the things that always comes up with employers for me is that I have all of this experience outside of the classroom,” he said. “All of these different organizations have helped me be able to build that leadership. And really, the MBA is all about learning to be a successful leader.”

While working as a graduate assistant at 太阳城娱乐官网’s Industrial Distribution Career Fair, Osmond held a conversation with the employees at the CirrusTech booth, which turned into them offering him a summer internship.

“It was a little bit unexpected because I was just supposed to be there to help with the event,” he said.

那次简单而意想不到的谈话不仅让我得到了在这家公司的暑期实习机会，还让我获得了参加可选实践培训（OPS）的机会，这是一个允许国际学生毕业后在美国获得专业经验的联邦项目。

Just like his internship, Osmond’s time at 太阳城娱乐官网 turned out to be more than he expected.

他来这里是为了寻找两样东西：一支网球队，以及在继续参加比赛的同时获得学位的灵活性。 What he found was so much more—real-world experience, leadership growth, and a community that supported him every step of the way.

“I left what I knew to go somewhere new, because I knew that there’d be people here to help me through it,” he said. “And there’s been countless people, I couldn’t count on any of my hands.”