O’Connor by the Eiffel Tower
It’s not every day a group of SUNY Oswego students are in Paris, France with a trip over spring break and they meet up with another SUNY Oswego student who is already there.
That student was then junior Daniel O’Connor. O’Connor had taken two courses at La Sorbonne, the Université de Paris, and was interning at the Irish Embassy that semester. A global and international relations and journalism major and French minor, he is a perfect example of a SUNY Oswego student who has taken advantage of taking his Oswego experience to other parts of the globe.
Before all of that excitement, O’Connor first found music as his main interest as a freshman at college.
“Vocal Effect was my life here at college up until I studied abroad in Paris,” O’Connor said. “I was a founding member, choreographer, vice president and finally a co-president of the group in the two-and-a half years I was involved. The reason I was drawn to Vocal Effect is because I absolutely adore music. I also used to travel and perform professionally in my high school show choir, so joining something similar in college really interested me.”
O’Connor also said his time with Vocal Effect helped boost his confidence to new levels and helped him meet a lot of wonderful people.
O’Connor had always wanted to go to Paris since he had taken French classes in middle school and he called his opportunity to go to Paris a dream come true.
“Working there enabled me to work with Irish and French colleagues, improve my knowledge of French greatly, and I also got to work alongside European diplomats,” O’Connor said. “Luckily, I joined the embassy staff during Ireland’s presidency of the European Union, so it was a very momentous time for the Irish government in Europe.”
O’Connor at the Irish Embassy
O’Connor said he was also the first American to work there.
After a semester in Paris, O’Connor returned to SUNY Oswego last fall and joined The Oswegonian, the student newspaper on campus because he said he wanted to perfect his writing style as a journalism major and immerse himself with like-minded students studying journalism, broadcasting, and communication.
“The Oswegonian is a very comfortable and professional environment that has helped me harness my writing skills in just a year. I am really thankful to my fellow staff for being so awesome and for teaching me so much of the journalism trade,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor will be graduating in May and isn’t quite sure where he wants to go from here, aside from receiving his master’s degree eventually. He has been conditionally accepted into the University of Birmingham, England and City University London. His ultimate goal would be to work in an embassy, preferably in the press office sector. Working in media organizations such as the BBC also interests him, he said.
Apparently, he isn’t the only one who sees that vision either.
“What comes to mind when I think of Danny is ‘vivacious’,” SUNY Oswego political science professor Lisa Glidden said. “He has such a vibrant personality. He’s done some amazing things while he’s been a student. I’m thinking of his experiences working in the Irish Embassy while he was studying abroad. I totally see him as a jet setter someday, conducting international affairs in Europe.”
O’Connor at the Arc de triomphe
After all he’s done over the last four years, O’Connor still likes the tale of how he got here, a place that took him to music, to Paris, to his future.
“I was inspired to go simply by a poster of Oswego’s sunset on Lake Ontario in the guidance counselor’s office,” O’Connor said. “Ever since, Oswego has always been in the back of my mind. I even remember looking at the map of the university in a pamphlet and saying to my parents, ‘I think I’d like to go there.'”
As one of Danny’s high school teachers I am not surprised at his accomplishments! Great Job Danny!