Mark J. Olszewski earned his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Gannon in 1977. Developing an interest in cameras during high school, he formed a bond with an Erie-area businessman, Doug Johnston, who owned Johnston Cameras. Eventually buying the business, Mark would come to own and operate Johnston Cameras for 23-plus years.
During his time as a business owner, Mark worked with the Erie Police Department, maintaining their fingerprint identification system, and GE-Transportation, providing photography for the locomotive maker’s annual reports.
In 2000, Mark sold his business and moved south to Texas and then Alabama. Upon hearing of a video and imaging engineering position opening up with InDyne, Inc., a subcontracted company working at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, FL, he decided that it was time to work in the aeronautics field.
Today, Mark lives in Titusville, FL and works for Arctic Slope Regional Corp. (ASRC), a NASA subcontractor, verifying the performance and specifications of image acquisition equipment like video and still cameras. He also performs engineering and setup work for the cameras, which are used to record shuttle and Air Force rocket launches.
When referring to Gannon, Mark mentions, “It was a wonderful environment. I am very proud of how the school has continued to grow and prosper.”
(Published August 2014)