To shape the world, start right where you are. Samuel Ossa Rodriguez ’24 is helping the next generation of students unlock their potential as a college adviser at J.P. McCaskey High School, his alma mater located just miles from Franklin & Marshall.

Ossa Rodriguez calls Pereira, Colombia, and Lancaster City home, illustrating how F&M students don’t simply live in Lancaster — they are woven into the fabric of our surrounding community.

"I absolutely love Lancaster," Ossa Rodriguez said. "I cannot recommend this enough: Enjoy life outside campus as much as inside it. It’s comforting to stay on campus and not go into the city. But the efforts to get out and explore downtown are undeniably worth it."

Ossa Rodriguez is a member of F&M’s Class of 2024. Within six months after graduation, 92% of the Class of 2024 were either employed or furthering their education. This is higher than the national average, which is typically in the mid-80% range.

Samuel Ossa Rodriguez ’24

Major: English (literature)

Current role: College adviser at J.P. McCaskey High School

What did the first six months after graduating from F&M look like?

The first months after graduating involved spending as much quality time with loved ones as possible before starting my new position that August. It was a time of reframing and settling down into a lifestyle outside of academia. My daily routine changed, as did my goals for each day. One enters into a different, more broad and freeing – but also more accountable – mode of being. No longer just a student, but someone making a living in the world. And I really enjoyed that.

"My current [career] path is more clear... But getting to this clarity involved the kind of free exploration that made up my first year at F&M."

– Samuel Ossa Rodriguez ’24

How did your F&M experience prepare you for where you are now? 

F&M did two things to me: Encouraged and widened my creativity, and introduced me to people I truly love.

I had the opportunity to engage with so many great thinkers and books. F&M allowed me to immerse myself in creativity and intellectual exploration. The best way I can describe it is that these thinkers and writers not only spoke my same creative language, but also vastly and deeply enhanced its reaches, gifting me with combinations of words, sentences and paragraphs that I would have never thought to encounter and ultimately love. 

F&M gave me a free space to know myself most truly. And also to know other people. To share experiences of a lifetime with them, and let them know me. These are not connections – they are true and genuine friendships that have the force to last when other things don’t. We went through struggles and joys together. We grew a real bond, with strong roots, and I am so grateful to enjoy the fruits of their friendship every day.

How does your current path compare to what you envisioned in your first year at F&M?

My current path is more clear. I now know what I gravitate toward, what I like and don’t like, what speaks to me. But getting to this clarity involved the kind of free exploration that made up my first year at F&M. I thought I was going to major in psychology and philosophy. Then, I took a literature class, and gradually realized that stories were the way to go. Anything can change just like that – you take one class and it opens everything up in every direction.

Looking back on your college search, why did you choose F&M?

I chose F&M for both practical and emotional reasons. On the practical side, the school offered me an amount of financial aid I could not refuse, and for which I am deeply thankful. On the other hand, I experienced a natural connection with the school. It was a simple feeling of comfort. The teachers and advisers that I most loved had studied there. I took a campus tour and really enjoyed it. Finally, I had a chance to talk to one of the school representatives – it solidified the once light, but real, connection I already had for the school.

What are some of your favorite things about Lancaster City? Any recommendations for visitors? 

I absolutely love Lancaster. The city’s life on a Saturday morning is refreshing like nothing else. All the people walking around the city statue plaza, going to Central Market, talking, eating, sitting around together and enjoying the simple but lively movement of the city on a weekend morning will make you want to stay. I cannot recommend this enough – enjoy life outside campus as much as inside it. It’s comforting to stay on campus and not go into the city. But the efforts to get out and explore downtown are undeniably worth it.

Lancaster: A Lot to Love

"I absolutely love Lancaster," says Samuel Ossa Rodriguez ’24. "The city’s life on a Saturday morning is refreshing like nothing else. All the people walking around the city statue plaza, going to Central Market, talking, eating, sitting around together and enjoying the simple but lively movement of the city on a weekend morning will make you want to stay. I cannot recommend this enough – enjoy life outside campus as much as inside it. It’s comforting to stay on campus and not go into the city. But the efforts to get out and explore downtown are undeniably worth it."

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