Benjamin Onesko,‘24 MPP

I didn’t take the traditional path to ASU. I earned my undergraduate degrees in 2007, then spent 15 years in the hospitality industry, working as a bartender at luxury resorts and serving powerful people. I came from a working-class background, and while I worked in exclusive spaces, I never felt like I truly belonged in them.

When the pandemic hit, I was laid off. That moment forced a reckoning. I studied for the GRE, took a leap of faith, and enrolled in ASU’s Master of Public Policy program. I returned to bartending later to support myself and my wife, and to make sure we had the health insurance we lost.

For three semesters and two summers, I pushed through grad school while working full-time, taking on student debt, and learning to believe in my ability to make a difference. During that same time, my mom was dying of ALS back in Pennsylvania. I couldn’t be there the way I wanted to be. I had no paid family leave. I said goodbye to her in between shifts, classes, and papers.

After all of that, I landed an internship at the Arizona Governor’s Office. It was a turning point, the opportunity I had worked toward, and the break that changed everything.

Today, I serve as a Budget Analyst at the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB), one of the most respected public finance offices in the state. I work on infrastructure and transportation policy, manage major investments, and help ensure the state’s resources serve the people who need them most. I carry my past with me in everything I do, from the service industry to public service.

My Sun Devil story is about second chances, purpose through pain, and what it means to rise. ASU didn’t just change my life. It gave me the tools to change lives for others.