With an impressive track record in leadership, professional development and community service, it’s no surprise that Sho Ishizuka also accomplished many firsts in his three years at USF.
The finance major — who graduates in May with a 4.0 GPA — was the first USF St. Petersburg student to be admitted into the Business Honors Program and led the program’s inaugural community service project in fall 2021. This service project cleaned Sawgrass Lake Park and supported the Tampa Bay Estuary.
On campus, he works for the USF Student Government, serving as the deputy financial officer and the chair of the Campus Allocation Funding Committee, where he oversees budget allocations totaling over $3 million.
He’s also the first president of the Investment Club on the St. Petersburg campus. He was instrumental in spearheading the initiative to expand the club onto a branch campus. In less than two years, he grew membership from zero to over 100 members.
The relationships and skills he learned through the Investment Club led to his first internship opportunity at Dubin Clark, a private equity firm in Jacksonville, Florida.
Another internship quickly followed at TrueNorth Capital Partners where he worked on cross-border merger and acquisitions transactions. Since much of the work involved Japan and the U.S., Ishizuka was able to use his bilingual skills and multicultural background.
Those internships led to a job offer from Raymond James. After graduation, he starts a full-time role on their Equity Capital Markets team where he will be carrying his USF Bull spirit.
25 Under 25 Program 