Jack Witherspoon ’24 (A&S), ’25 M.S., has played lacrosse since he was 5 years old. In his junior year of high school, the Maryland native was recruited by Syracuse University and invited to visit campus.

“It was always my dream to play at the highest level, and there I was walking around with legendary John Desko, who was showing me National Championship trophies,” he says of the former Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse coach. “I already had some buddies who played for Syracuse, and knowing the lacrosse community, its work ethic and the commitment the players had to win made my decision to come to Syracuse easy.” 

While he was drawn to Syracuse for lacrosse, Witherspoon also intended to get a degree—but he will actually leave with two: a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in American history from the College of Arts & Sciences and a master’s degree in finance from the Whitman School of Management.  

COVID hit in the spring of his senior year at Syracuse, just as the lacrosse season was gearing up. So he made the decision to red shirt, practicing with the team but not allowed to play in games. The upside, however, was that this gave him the option to play an additional year. Witherspoon completed his undergraduate degree in 2024 and decided to stay at Syracuse and use the opportunity to earn a master’s degree at the Whitman School. 

Even as an undergraduate, he had an interest in commercial real estate, having interned at Newmark, a retail brokerage in New York City in the summer of 2023, thanks to a connection he made with a Syracuse alumnus. The internship was an outstanding experience, but it also showed him that he wanted something more closely related to the finance end of commercial real estate.  

After speaking with administrators, faculty and several alumni of the Whitman School, Witherspoon decided spending his last year of eligibility earning a master’s degree in finance was the right option for him.  

Last summer, he was able to secure a second internship by networking with another Syracuse alumnus at Greysteel, a real estate brokerage firm specializing in capital markets.  “This type of work really appealed to me—analytics, market research, site visits, cold calling and learning how to sell,” Witherspoon explains.  

It was also great preparation for the coursework for his master’s degree. “Working on my master’s in finance has been a really great lesson in learning more about the commercial real estate industry, as well as finance in general,” he says, noting his appreciation for all of the Whitman faculty but especially Professor of Finance Practice Thomas Barkley, director of the M.S. in Finance program; and real estate adjunct instructor Michael Dunyk. 

“Professor Barkley really educated me about the world of finance, and Professor Dunyk opened my eyes to the world of real estate development,” he explains. 

As graduation nears, there is still much to be done on and off the field. This semester, Witherspoon has a rigorous schedule with morning classes at Whitman, followed by two hours of watching films, two hours of practice and then an hour of “lift” (weight training), not to mention travel and games.  

“Once a week, I have to finish all that and rush over to a three-hour class, which is especially tough, but, as an athlete, that’s what I signed up for. Nothing is going to slow down in the real world either, so all of this is preparing me for life after school,” he says. “I’m so grateful to have been at Syracuse for the past five years with the opportunity to play lacrosse, earn two degrees and access the people and the resources of the Orange family to figure out my career goals. I’m eager to see where it takes me.” 

 By Caroline K. Reff