BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—For many college students, summer vacation means spending time away from campus or perhaps finding part-time work to pass the time and earn some spending money. For Sarah Lawrence College junior Brendan O'Connell (Andover, Mass./Phillips Academy Andover), "vacation" might be the least applicable word to describe his summer.

A member of the Gryphons men's basketball team, O'Connell made an immediate impact in his rookie season. He played in all 24 games, starting in 23 and scoring in double-figures three times.

O'Connell came to Sarah Lawrence intending to follow a pre-medicine track, but in spring 2014, he took an interest in business instead.

"After working at the New York Organ Donor Network in the spring of my first year, I determined that I wanted to pursue opportunities in the business world," he recalls. "Finance, particularly investing, allows me to work with numbers and learn about companies and industries."

That summer, O'Connell took a banking and research internship at Thomson Reuters, a mass-media company headquartered in Manhattan. Having successfully learned the ropes of business, O'Connell was offered a position with Merrill Lynch as a member of a wealth management team. For the past year, he has worked amid the hustle, bustle, and fast moving pace of Wall Street.

In his sophomore year, O'Connell returned to the court for another effective year. During the 2014-15 season, he again played in 24 games, and he crossed the threshold of 1,000 career minutes played.

According to Head Coach Chris Ehmer, O'Connell's work ethic has not gone unnoticed. "Brendan is one of the hardest workers on the team. Every day at practice, he brings total dedication. In every game, he is 100 percent focused."

Summer 2015 saw O'Connell reach a major milestone in his commerce career when he passed the Series 7 exam—also known as the General Securities Representative Exam. The six-hour exam consists of over 250 questions, and passing the test is a trading requirement for stockbrokers. Most professionals in the industry take the test, but very few pass it while still undergraduate students.

Studying for the exam was no small commitment. O'Connell explains, "I read a 1,000-page textbook and took ten practice exams to prepare."

When asked about his success, O'Connell was quick to mention the benefits he received as a Sarah Lawrence student. The philosophies of SLC and NCAA Division III afford student-athletes with the opportunity to pursue their interests and passions beyond the classroom.

"Sarah Lawrence has a competitive advantage over other schools because it emphasizes research and thought over regurgitation. The school's proximity to New York City is also a major plus as it gives the students access to work opportunities."

With the final days of summer winding down, O'Connell is hard at work, making the best of his time before returning to campus full-time for the semester… not a bad use of a summer vacation.