UW Foster School of Business · Class of 2028

Finance. Entrepreneurship.
Real operating experience.

I’m a junior at the University of Washington studying Finance and Entrepreneurship. I’m interested in how financial analysis, strategy, and operations come together to build better businesses.

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About

Analytical rigor, an entrepreneurial lens, and a bias toward action.

My education at Foster gives me a foundation in finance, accounting, economics, entrepreneurship, and communication. My work experience has taught me how those disciplines show up in practice: making decisions with imperfect information, leading people, communicating with stakeholders, and improving the way a business operates.

I grew up in a multigenerational entrepreneurial family, with my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents founding and operating successful businesses. Their examples made entrepreneurship tangible early: build with courage, work with discipline, and use success to strengthen a community.

I’m building breadth deliberately while looking for the career path where my analytical strengths, leadership experience, and curiosity can create the most value.

Financial thinking Operating judgment Clear communication Entrepreneurial problem-solving

Experience

Learning business from the operating floor up.

Hands-on responsibility across finance and strategy support, location management, team leadership, stakeholder communication, events, and customer experience.

2021 - Present Kittitas County & Seattle

Manager

Sugar + Spoon

+60% sales growth

Manage food-truck and location operations across Central Washington and the greater Seattle area.

Operate food trucks at high-profile events, including UW Stadium, Lumen Field, MOPOP, and the Gates Foundation.
Oversaw a remote location, including hiring, training, scheduling, and day-to-day execution.
Communicated with commercial landlords, business owners, and venue managers to keep operations moving.
Coordinate staffing, location logistics, and day-of priorities across permanent sites and mobile event operations.
Helped lead the relocation to Roslyn, where strategic positioning in a higher-traffic market increased sales 60%.

September 2026 - PresentPart-time

Finance & Strategy Intern

KSIG Advisors

Support supervised financial analysis, research, model preparation, client materials, and special projects. Contribute research-backed content for KSIG Insights and LinkedIn.

2022 - 2025Cle Elum, WA

Recreation Attendant

Suncadia Resort

Facilitated corporate retreats and team-building activities, led archery and axe-throwing demonstrations, trained new hires, and supported guest operations across multiple recreation departments.

Summer 2024Easton, WA

Barista

Awaken Me Coffee

Delivered customer service in a fast-moving coffee trailer while operating the point-of-sale system, restocking inventory, and helping maintain smooth daily operations.

Education & coursework

University of Washington

Michael G. Foster School of Business

Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
Double major in Finance and Entrepreneurship

Expected June 2028 GPA 3.75 / 4.00 Dean’s List · 2024-2025 and 2025-2026

Professor recommendation

“You could look for many months and not find an intern candidate more qualified than Sydney.”

Thor A. Tolo, Sydney’s BCMU 301 professor, identified her as the top-ranked student in his real-world-project course and highlighted her curiosity, research discipline, thoughtful feedback, accountability, and ability to put documented ideas into action. She earned a 4.0; he separately told her it was the second-highest grade he had ever awarded.

Read Professor Tolo’s full reference letter PDF ↗ Thor A. Tolo, MCDM · UW Foster Lecturer

Finance & accounting

Business Finance 4.0, Financial Reporting, Managerial Accounting

Strategy & communication

Strategic Communication 4.0, Leadership & Organizational Behavior, Business Law

Economics & markets

Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Marketing Concepts 3.8

Now

Autumn 2026

Managerial Economics, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Special Topics in Finance

Additional perspectives

What educators have seen firsthand.

“Her natural leadership abilities and excellent communication skills make her stand out in any academic setting.”

Her chemistry teacher also emphasized Sydney’s attention to detail, strong questions, initiative, and willingness to help classmates master difficult material.

Graeme SchroederScience Teacher · Cle Elum-Roslyn School District

“An enthusiastic, driven young woman with an entrepreneurial spirit.”

Her college-readiness director highlighted Sydney’s determination, intelligence, work ethic, and ability to balance academics, employment, and leadership.

Sarah Day, M.Ed., E.S.A.Director of Career & College Readiness

Leadership & honors

Prepared to lead—and to speak (or sing!) when it matters.

Leadership experience built through public representation, community service, campus involvement, and performance under pressure.

Sydney Ohlemann performing Jolene on guitar, with her message about performing in Alabama and attribution to Distinguished Young Women

Chi Omega · Alpha Chapter

Choir Chair & initiated member

Organized a recruitment performance for 100+ women and supported fundraising for Make-A-Wish.

Navigators · Christian campus ministry

Chi Omega chapter representative

Represents Chi Omega within Navigators and leads weekly meetings centered on faith, community, reflection, and personal growth.

Campus involvement

Business community

Undergraduate Women in Business and Women in Consulting at Washington.

Class of 2024

Distinguished Young Woman of Washington

Represented Washington in Distinguished Young Women, the national scholarship program formerly known as America’s Junior Miss, through national competition, live interviews, community events, and service projects. Prepared across current affairs, scholarship, fitness, dance, and vocal performance—building poise, discipline, and public-speaking confidence.

Talent performance Vocals & guitar · “Jolene” by Dolly Parton

Sydney had long admired Parton as a wholesome, grounded female role model, giving the song a personal connection.

Daily Record News Roslyn teen to participate in Distinguished Young Women National Finals

Sydney Ohlemann speaking at a podium during Distinguished Young Women — Public speaking · Distinguished Young Women

ValedictorianCle Elum-Roslyn High School

All-American cheerleaderNational selection · Walt Disney World parade participant

Dean’s ListUniversity of Washington · 2024-2025 and 2025-2026

ScholarshipsState, county, and Rotary recognition

Career interests

One throughline. Five ways to explore it.

I’m exploring roles that connect capital, strategy, and execution. The goal is not to collect titles—it’s to understand where rigorous analysis and hands-on business judgment create the strongest results.

Corporate finance & FP&A

Forecasting, planning, performance analysis, and decision support.

Strategy & consulting

Structured problem-solving, research, recommendations, and implementation.

Commercial banking

Understanding companies, assessing risk, and supporting business growth.

Entrepreneurship & startups

Building, testing, and operating in environments where ownership matters.

Investing & capital markets

Company analysis, valuation, markets, and the allocation of capital.

Selected projects

A proof-of-work library in the making.

This section will grow with finance models, case analyses, entrepreneurship projects, and internship work that can be shared publicly.

Active build01

FoodTrack

I co-developed FoodTrack with a four-person UW entrepreneurship team and am continuing the concept beyond the classroom. The proposed location-based platform helps diners find nearby food trucks in real time while giving operators a more reliable way to publish locations, schedules, menus, and updates.

Customer discovery: 10 Seattle-area food trucks · 33 diners · operator interviews · pricing and execution model

Explore the case study Visit TruckTrack.ai

Venture development · Customer discovery · Product strategy

In progress02

KSIG Insights research

Research-backed finance and strategy content for KSIG Advisors’ website and LinkedIn, with published work added here as it becomes available.

View Sydney’s KSIG profile Finance · Research · Writing

Portfolio in progress03

Strategic Communication

A future case study for the analysis, recommendation, and presentation work behind a 4.0 course performance in BCMU 301.

Writing · Analysis · Presentation

Reserved04

Financial models

Forecasting, capital budgeting, valuation, and decision-support work that can be shared publicly.

Finance

Family influences

A family history of building from nothing—and building things meant to last.

At home

Entrepreneurship up close

Both of my parents have founded and operated businesses. Through my father Karl’s founder-operator and finance work, I grew up hearing real conversations about customers, hiring, cash, systems, risk, and growth. Business was never only a classroom subject; I saw how decisions become outcomes.

Family business perspective

Grandfather

Sig Ohlemann

After escaping East Germany at 14 and immigrating to Canada, Sig earned a track-and-field scholarship to the University of Oregon and became one of Bill Bowerman’s “Men of Oregon.” He represented Canada in three events at the 1960 Rome Olympics, carried the Canadian flag at the closing ceremony, and later won silver in the 800 meters at the Pan American Games. He went on to build custom homes and work in real estate—an enduring example of resilience, performance, and entrepreneurship.

Read Sig’s story Olympic record

Great-grandparents

Nils & Jewel Hult

Nils was a second-generation lumber entrepreneur, and he and Jewel paired business success with sustained civic leadership and philanthropy. Their giving helped make Eugene’s Hult Center for the Performing Arts possible and supported the University of Oregon through scholarships, the arts, athletics, and campus projects.

Hult Center story UO family profile

Resume

The concise version.

A public-safe résumé is available here, with direct links to my professional email and LinkedIn profile.

View résumé LinkedIn

Contact

Let’s talk about the work.

I’m interested in internships, project work, and conversations with people working across finance, strategy, banking, entrepreneurship, and investing.

sydney.ohlemann@outlook.com Connect on LinkedIn