SU Experience Helped Alumnus Michael Sullivan Find Success as U.S. Navy Supply Officer

SALISBURY, MD---When Michael Sullivan ’21 graduated from Salisbury University with a B.S. in corporate finance, he decided to put his degree to use to help the U.S. Department of the Navy.

As a civilian business financial management analyst at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary's County, he found fulfillment in supporting the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. After eight months of budgeting, filling out funding reports, and auditing aircraft records, he began to think about a career he originally considered during his days as a Sea Gull.

“I had thought about becoming a naval supply officer in college, but never acted on it because of the civilian job I was offered,” he said. “I found there was an active duty career path in finance that was identical to its civilian counterpart. I put together a package and was soon selected to attend Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI.”

Following three months of intense training, he was commissioned as a U.S. Navy supply officer in June 2022. Graduating from Navy Supply Corps School in December (ranking 18th out of 67 students for the basic qualification course), he now serves as a division officer aboard the U.S.S. Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship homeported in Norfolk, VA. There, he leads 16 sailors as the ship’s hazardous materials coordinator.

While his Navy Supply Corps School courses focused on supply chain management, disbursements, retail operations, and food service and leadership management, he credited SU with teaching him lessons that were equally important.

“I had a 20-hour-a-week internship at InFocus Financial Advisors in Salisbury,” he said. “This really helped me to mature, put an emphasis on time management (because of classes and commuting/working in the office) and stressed attention to detail, which I consistently use on a daily basis in the navy.”

At SU, Sullivan was involved in multiple student clubs and organizations, including the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the club lacrosse, golf and gymnastics team. (The latter was just “for the heck of it, but I learned to do a backflip,” he said.)

For any current students or graduates considering active duty or reserve positions in the navy staff corps, he has just one piece of advice: go for it.

“I am excited to see where the navy takes me,” he said. “I joined to see the world, enhance my leadership skills and kickstart my career in finance. I do not regret a thing, and it has been a blessing to be exposed to such a diverse culture and community of people who are all fighting for the same goal. I love the job and working with the finest men and women the navy has to offer.”

Learn more about opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at the SU website.