Being a Team Player Enhances Growth

As a senior at New Trier High School outside of Chicago, Evan Kalish ’25 set his sights on studying business in college. When he saw many of his classmates heading to different universities, he knew he wanted to chart his own path.

The Whitman School quickly rose to the top of his list. “I liked the way the core curriculum was organized and thought the Goodman IMPRESS Program was something unique,” he says.

His experience has been all he’d hoped for and more. Kalish has double majored  in finance and business analytics with minors in economics and public health. 

Now heading into his senior year, he’s been selected as a Whitman Marshal for Commencement 2025. “I’m honored and super excited to represent our class and bring everyone together throughout this next year,” he says.
He’s had plenty of experience doing just that. This past year, Kalish co-chaired FreshFest, a three-day pre-orientation program for incoming Jewish students sponsored by Syracuse Hillel. “FreshFest is an awesome way to start the school year, packed with tons of activities and programming. It’s a great way for first-year students to acclimate to campus and for upperclassmen to give back,” he says. 

In addition to leading FreshFest, Kalish is president of Hillel this year. “My goal is for Hillel to feel like home for the Jewish community on campus, a place where people feel welcomed, no matter what,” he says. 

He’s also served as a tutor and is program coordinator for Balancing the Books, a financial literacy and life skills program offered at Syracuse City Public Schools, sponsored by both the Whitman School and the Shaw Center. “Last year we had around 60 tutors and are primed to expand to a fourth school, which is super exciting,” he says. “It’s probably my favorite activity I’ve been involved with on campus because it helped me realize how important community is and to give back to the communities I’m connected to.”

Clearly, Kalish likes working with teams toward a common goal. That’s one reason his summer internship at Deloitte Consulting in Chicago was such a good fit. “It was a great experience because I was essentially doing the work of a first-year analyst,” he says. “My team was fantastic, and I am hoping to pivot into health care consulting.”

Kalish believes his experiences in and out of the classroom have laid the foundation for a successful career. “That’s exactly what I was looking for,” he says. “I wanted a degree that was flexible enough to support me down any career path I choose, and I’ve played into my strengths with the combination of business analytics and finance.”

By Renee Gearhart Levy