In one hand was an acceptance letter postmarked from the University at Buffalo. In the other was a Syracuse University housing confirmation letter.

Halfway through her freshman year, Stephanie Kranz was seriously considering transferring from a campus she desperately wanted to fall in love with.

Syracuse was never the Buffalo, N.Y., native’s top choice. Kranz originally had big state school dreams of attending Michigan State. She visited campus during Spring Break of her senior year in high school.

Kranz wanted to leave home for school after her older sister stayed in Buffalo, but after a not-so-easy freshman year, she started having doubts about being away from home. With the two letters in hand, she picked Syracuse.

“It was without a doubt the right choice,” the senior policy studies and mathematics major said without pause. “I can’t even begin to describe how different it would be if I transferred.”

One of the driving influences in her decision to give Syracuse a chance for love at second sight was getting involved with Syracuse University Ambulance. She accompanied a friend to the hospital with SUA as a freshman, and even though the application deadline passed, the ambulance driver convinced Kranz to apply.

“I remember thinking that if I got accepted, I was going all the way to the top,” Kranz said.

Now an SUA field supervisor, Kranz has logged more than 1,000 volunteer hours. That’s on top of being a Remembrance Scholar, a Habitat for Humanity volunteer and an upright bassist for SU’s Jazz Ensemble. Stephanie Kranz isn’t a big fan of saying no.

But the skill sets intertwine, she said. Experiences treating patients at SUA help with her Habitat for Humanity work, where the collaborative element lends itself to playing in the jazz ensemble. Everything overlaps.

Kranz’s acceptance to — and of — SU kick-started a tradition of sorts for the Kranz clan. Her sister, Lisa, is a freshman music education major, though Stephanie swears she didn’t do much persuading.

“It’s really funny how many people know her,” Lisa Kranz said. “It’s like having my sister be a celebrity on campus.”

If Kranz is a campus celebrity, then her dog, DJ, is her co-star. She’s quick to draw out her phone to show off pictures of her pup like a proud mom. He often makes the rounds around SUA headquarters.

“He loves Syracuse as much as she does,” Lisa Kranz said.

Kranz does most things with a laugh. Close friend Dan Cowen, an SUA administrative supervisor, is quick to point out her penchant for puns. The two met at SUA and became close when they took an EMT course together in which they were the mom and dad of the group.

“We were good friends right off the bat,” said Cowen, a senior political science and policy studies major. “Puns are definitely her thing.”

Her favorite is one she’s regaled friends with “thousands of times” — a conservative estimate — but still tells enthusiastically. You and a giraffe go to the bar for a few drinks. The giraffe drinks way too much and passes out.

“The bartender comes over and says, ‘You can’t keep that lyin’ there.’” Then, Kranz delivered the punch line, ready to burst out with laughter. “And you say, ‘That’s not a lion, it’s a giraffe.’”

She said she will always love that joke, no matter how many times she tells it.

“Steph’s always cracking jokes,” Cowen said. “She’s always happy and tries to make everyone’s day.”

Kranz tried imagining how her life would be different if she transferred, ticking off the changes on her fingers. She probably would’ve reverted back to her old high school group of friends. She wouldn’t be in a music group, either.

Most of all, she’d have missed out on her fondest memories on SU’s campus — responding to medical emergencies.

“It’s great feeling like such a part of the community,” Kranz said. “Students can go out and do crazy things with the safety of knowing I’ll be there for them.”

Diane Kranz, her mom, didn’t persuade her daughter either way. The letters were in her hands: It was her decision to make.

“I didn’t think she’d go through with it,” she said. “Everyone gets the freshman jitters and asks, ‘Do I belong here?’ Then you find your niche and suddenly it’s like, ‘What was I thinking?’”

Kranz found her multitude of niches — SUA, Habitat for Humanity, being a Remembrance Scholar, the jazz ensemble — and now, she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“I love this school to death,” she said. “I’m so thankful for making the decision I did.”

Published on April 24, 2013 at 2:34 am

Contact Erik: ervanrhe@syr.edu | @therealvandyman