College
College: The Ohio State University
Ahh yes. The Buckeyes.
How did I end up here, you may (or may not) ask? A similar trope to other large life decisions in my life…I waited until the last minute, then just sent it.
I waited until the last day to accept the OSU offer.
I was torn between a few colleges. My dream school was Duke, but alas, I did not get accepted. Playing college soccer had played some role in my decision-making, but the majority of the decision was opportunity.
Again, I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. I was afraid of going to a smaller D2 or D3 school and becoming bottlenecked or limited due to the school size. OSU offered a ubiquitous amount of clubs and majors and decided that if I went there, whatever I choose I would be able to pursue it at a high level and leave with a degree from a respectable university.
(Fun aside: I had good relations with my high school biology and anatomy teacher. My senior year, she incessantly asked me what school I was leaning towards and if I had made a decision. She insisted that I couldn’t make a “wrong” choice and that whatever school I did end up choosing, would’ve been the “right” choice for me. I would make it the right choice.
I really like that mentality for life. Making any decision, even the wrong one, can be the right one for you (and is better than no decision at all).
Anyway, I remember telling her when I was between OSU and another school that I would just spend two years at one school and then transfer to the other so that I could have both experiences. She called me on my bluff. She was right).
Looking back, I am so thankful that I chose OSU. It truly was the right and best decision that I made. I am very grateful for all of the people and relationships that I made over my 4 years as well as all the things that I got to experience.
Educationally, I went in as an “exploration” student. My freshman year survey class allowed me to see slices of a myriad of different majors and what they were about. Whilst in this cluster, I was enrolled in the pre-med course load “just in case” so that I wouldn’t fall behind if I were to pursue that path…yes, I dropped that after GenChem2.
I definitely had some parental influence for pursuing this path, but also, I realized that I was capable of doing the work…I just really didn’t want to.
The opportunity cost was too high for me. So I went back to the undecided pool and floated around, completing my GenEd classes.
I spent a lot of time in the counselor’s office going over different majors and their career paths.
It was sophomore year and I knew that I didn’t really want to stay in school longer than the 4 years I had allotted. This narrowed down some majors due to the “subsequent or stacked courses of degrees such as engineering.”
Again, I leaned toward opportunity. “Everything is kinda a business, right? Or everything will need someone to help with the business end of things. So whenever I decide what area or sector I want to be in whether it be health, engineering, or whatever…I could probably use business to get me in the door…” Thus, I enrolled in the Fisher College of Business.
As for the decision to specialize in finance, I said to myself “what are the top specializations here?” - Finance and Accounting.
“Well…accounting=accountant….Finance it is!”
I am very happy that I ended up here and it turned out to be a very practical degree for my life outside of my career.
My college experience was way more than just my degree. Below are just a few of the things that I was very thankful to be a part of.
OSU FC:
If we are going in chronological order, we must start here. As mentioned above, playing soccer was a big part of my decision. OSU had a club team that had less time-based commitment than a d2 or d3 varsity team, BUT, I would argue, just as or more competitive.
I was informed of OSU’s club team by a teammate’s older brother who played on the team. He invited me to play in some open fields on camps o cover the summer.
Yeah. They were good.
But more than that, they all had lives outside of soccer. Many of them were students who even had D1 soccer offers, but decided that they valued other things such as pursuing a tough degree and/or a better social life.
I was sold and planned to tryout in the fall after committing to OSU.
After 4 consecutive days of tryouts…(yes…4 days of tryouts and around 100 people…cuts each day)
I made it to the last day feeling pretty confident. Although there was a plethora of Center Mids trying out, I thought that my attendance over the summer and rapport with some of the current teammates would make me a shoo-in.
I got the call a couple of days later saying that it had been a very tough decision and that I was not selected.
Damn.
Wtf, they must have gotten that wrong. They must have mistaken my name for another Anthony. The decision to cut someone who paid his dues over the summer and felt like he was already a part of the team felt ludicrous.
I was heartbroken. I didn’t know what to do with myself. The call was not a mistake.
I mean, a major part of my decision to go to OSU, a large part of my identity since middle school, and the social/physical/mental basket I put my eggs in, had been taken away from me.
It just didn’t make sense to me.
I remember sending an email to the coach, not about why I didn’t make the team, but how I could improve and make the team next year.
I still have that email saved to this day.
(I plan to write a better story later, but the TL;DR is I replaced soccer with the gym and worked my arse off, gained 15ish pounds, and made the next year’s team. We practiced 3-4 times a week, played games all over Ohio, made it to nationals twice, and competed in the national championship my Junior year! Unfortunately losing in Round Rock, Texas to BYU).
Good friends, good competition,
8.9/10
RA:
I had a rough end to my first semester of college. To maintain brevity, near the end of the semester I had a tough breakup, I was not doing well in two core classes (I got D’s on the third exams for Calc and Chem prior to their finals), and a friend was diagnosed with cancer.
It happened all around the same time- and it just kinda wrecked me.
I was not in a good place mentally and emotionally, but I was lucky.
I had really great friends and I had a really great RA.
My RA freshman year, Nick, was the man. He has made such a positive impact on my life and I feel eternally grateful that he was in my life. Not only was he a badass in Neuroscience- but he also was an authentic person and made me feel cared for and loved, and really was just there for me during this turbulent period of my life.
He is the reason why I decided not to live with my friends in the coveted “Res on 10th” and became an RA for the next 3 years of college.
I wanted to be a Nick to other students.
Wow, I could write pages and pages about being an RA throughout my time at OSU. There are so many stories, experiences, and many things you can only really “get” if you have been an RA (iykyk). Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were many-a-times where being an RA SUCKED (also iykyk).
I feel content with my origin story delineation. I may write more in a blog post.
9.5/10
TA:
After transitioning to the business school I had to hustle to make up the core classes, one of these classes was Statistics. The first statistics class was “ight.” I feel like I kinda breezed through without having to really “learn” anything.
(I do not condone this- but remember…I was just playing catchup so I didn’t really care as long as I passed).
The subsequent course the following semester, Stats II, was notorious in the business school for being very difficult. It was revered amongst the accounting classes as one of the most “frustrating” and time-consuming classes at the Fisher College of Business.
After getting a D+ on the first exam…I also agreed with the crowd.
The trap that most students fell into happened at the beginning of the course. It was the inflection point of “I can” and “I can’t.” It is the decision where students did poorly on the exam or homework and mentally made the decision to “give up” and deem no matter how much they try or study- they are just not made for statistics!
I know this because I was on that cusp.
Again, after breezing through the first course, I did not build ANY true foundation- and how can I build upon the knowledge that I didn’t have?
Well, right before I went down the hole of “woe is me- I am just gonna try to pass,” I got an email from my Professor, Professor Schroeder, to meet with her about the first exam.
I don’t think I went to office hours, but I met with her after class and we went over some of the problems on the exam. Mostly “stupid mistakes” that cost a lot of points. To my surprise, she was not mean. Not upset with me. She was very encouraging and really believed that I could do well in the class.
I finished the class with a 97%.
I credit a majority of this score to the belief that she put on me. She believed in my ability even though I was about to give up.
Not only did this experience prove to me that I could really do anything, even “hard,” that I put my mind to.
Professor Schroeder emailed me near the end of the semester encouraging me to apply to be a Teaching Assistant for the course for the Fall semester.
Again, at first, I was like, “no way! You have to really understand and love statistics to apply to be a TA, much less be able to teach it…”
I remember showing up to the initial meeting where you could ask the current TA’s questions about the role.
There was a check-in list, 20+ applicants were dressed up business casual or above (mostly above), and the meeting was halfway through.
Halfway through? Yeah…I showed up late, on my motorcycle- Canadian Tuxedo, and my name was NOT on the guestlist…so I just penned it in at the bottom.
Long story short, the professors and TA’s believed in me again. I became a TA the following semester and taught upper-level statistics and held office hours since.
Even with a 99% Confidence Interval, I would have not been able to predict that.
9.5/10
(Fun side anecdote. Many students like to come “guns-a-blazin” into office hours, both digitally and in-person, already frustrated, complaining, and with the belief that THEY themselves will not succeed no matter how hard they try. One of my favorite parts of this role was being able to empathize with them just a bit (if you did more than that, it became a complain-sesh, and students could spiral and start blaming anything and everything…) so that they put their guard and other preconceived notions about stats or the class down. Then you could actually start to help the students learn the material and succeed!
The most satisfying part of this role is when students would come to an office hour or see you in person later in the year and talk about how “it wasn’t so bad” when they just took a step back, took a breath, and put in some effort. Those students and stories were my absolute favorite).
YoungLife College:
Overall, I think YoungLife is an organization that does want to help and change people’s lives for the better.
I have met some of my best friends through YoungLife.
I started going to campaigners and small groups my senior year of high school. I got to go to Saranac before going to college, then kind of fell out of my faith.
As an aside, I think faith is an interesting/important thing that I may write more extensively on in a later post. I grew up Catholic and going through the motions, discovered Christianity which was much more involved and truly felt like a relationship, and have since kinda “fallen off” since my senior year of college. It does make me feel kinda uncomfortable writing about my faith journey on the internet (people-pleasing complex, not wanting to step on any toes or rock any boats, etc.), but again, the whole point of this is to be authentic.
YoungLife played an important role in my life and development. I was invited to a small group in a dark time during my Freshman year of college. I was invited to Community, friendship, and a group of people who genuinely cared about me.
I was then invited to be a leader for YoungLife College, and I had a great time whilst I was there.
Now I am in a place where I feel like I am in a bit of a “deconstruction” phase in terms of my faith. As I have discussed with my close friends, I don’t believe I am punting on Jesus, but I am leaving more room for questions and nuance.
8.7/10
Portfolio Management:
My heart grew fond of finance, not of the subject itself, but by the way it was taught. Specifically, initially by Professor Salopek and subsequently by Professor Sheridan. Both of these classes had so much “life knowledge” packed into them, I absolutely loved them.
I took the more traditional or classic corporate finance classes, did my forecasts, and managed my NPV and IRR’s, but it didn’t really excite me.
Professor Salopek and Sheridan both came from the industry and did not have an “academic “ background. They shot it straight and told us how life really was.
They made me view finance in a new light and they tied investing, not only to the financial health and independence of a company but tied it to the financial health and independence of yourself.
I have every annotated PowerPoint slide saved and both of my notebooks from those classes with me to this day.
Anyway.
I was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of two students by one of the professors to work on a special side project.
To maintain anonymity and hold my end of the “unofficial” NDA- I was able to practice due diligence and act as a portfolio manager on a 6-figure portfolio.
We met every week, had “market talk,” sessions, and made investment decisions.
It was a great experience and I was upset that COVID cut our time short.
9.1/10
Ohio Innovation Fund:
This was my virtual taste of running valuations and what venture capital was all about. Very thankful that my professor prompted me to pursue this.
We got to run two valuations on two different startups and present our findings at the of the program. Both of which ended up being firms OIF invested in.
I wish the experience wasn’t shortened due to COVID and I wish it was in-person.
It has planted an itch that I hope to fulfill by becoming an angel investor one day.
8/10
Landscaping:
Ahh yes, the salty to my sweet. Chris Sacca had an interesting anecdote of growing up and having “salty and sweet” summers. A salty summer would be a sweaty blue-collar summer job. The following summer would be the sweet and be a more white-collar internship. This was to learn the pros and cons of both types of work. (and ultimately serve as a motivator to perform well in school).
Landscaping was tough, physical labor. Hot, sweaty, and long days under the sun. If not weed-whacking in the blistering the sun, mulching in the pouring rain.
On the flip side, this motivated me enough to take a couple of days off a week to teach my boss’s son guitar lessons. I made up a whole program and everything once I heard that he had the interest to learn.
Heck, the guitar lessons even paid me more per hour.
It reminded me what hard labor looked like. (Like I forgot during my College Hunks moving days…) But it also reminded me that if I can work hard, I can make the best of, and try to improve upon, any situation I was in.
7.9/10
OnRamp:
This was definitely a conscious overstepping of my reach. I was already doing…everything else mentioned thus far in the fall of my senior year…BUT, this cohort was heavily regarded and recommended by some of my entrepreneurial friends…so what the heck…I applied on the last day…and got accepted!
It was a 10ish week program that gave me experience gathering data and interviewing experience, working cross-functionally with students studying different degrees, and I got to ideate, innovate, and create a presentation for a large and very well known company (one that I, unfortunately, cannot disclose due to an official NDA).
I uhh…wasn’t technically allowed to do this position because it was “paid” and I would go over my already pushed over limit of working 20hrs as a student…but uhh…we finessed the system and made it work ;)
Honestly, the XP and knowledge gained from the cohort were well worth it, the people I met were very awesome, and being on two simultaneous zoom calls on different accounts, taking notes, AND participating…is a skill forged in fire.
8.7/10
Lifting/Powerlifting/Bodybuilding
This was something I did at least 3x a week…and up to 6-7x a week throughout my tenure at OSU. It was quite the fitness amalgamation over the years so that’s why I can’t quite pinpoint the subheading- but since it was such a large part of my life, I would be remiss to not write about it.
As stated above, this journey really started after I got cut from the club soccer team my Freshman year. The prequels began to premier my senior year of high school when I was lifting with both the football and basketball teams in an attempt to generally get better/faster/stronger.
Upon further reflection, I just remember wanting to hit 225lbs on bench and be in the “1000lb” club (combined total weight for Bench-Squat-Deadlift) so that I could have my name up at the high school weight room.
That was the seed that planted itself in my mind back in 2016-2017.
Apart from overall health, lifting was also a way for me to meet new people and develop relationships. If you consistently show up to ANY place…in really any area of life, you are bound to meet people that have similar values, interests, etc. and conversation is bound to strike up, if you let it.
The most consistent of these consistencies is my lifting partner Matiss. He has been the force that continued to push me to be the better version of myself since we had our first lift the day after sitting by each other during an OSU Varsity Soccer match. The rest, truly, is history (and is still being written;)
Honestly, the rule that “you are the conglomerate of the 5 people you surround yourself with most,” rings true. Much of my lifting progress, knowledge, planning, etc. has come from him.
Most notably, by the end of my senior year, I hit 315lbs on the bench TWICE and joined the 1000lb club:)
(1155lbs: B:315 S:405 D:435 @160-165 bodyweight)
(link to recorded lifts)
The man works like a frikin horse and is relentless in pursuing his goals. He has just made me a program because I have been slacking in Austin lol. If you have any fitness/lifting goals/questions/etc. He is the man to contact. (If you send me an email, I can ask to get you connected).
I plan to write more about my fitness story. It has been a long journey and has taken years of hard work to be where I am today and I still don’t really know where I want to be or even what my goals are for 2022, but for now;
9.2/10
Nike Project Move:
Ohhhhhh yes. The coveted Nike Project Move Cohort. 10 Students. A trip to Nike HQ in Oregon. Working with both Nike and the University. A ton of networking possibilities as well as tons of FREE MERCH.
What college student wouldn’t love this?!?
The first year of NPM was in 2019-2020, and the first iteration was created at tOSU.
I had a couple of friends who were in the first-year cohort and talked very highly of the experience.
What the heck. Knowing I was overextended, I filmed this video with a few buddies and threw my name in the hat…andddd again, we got accepted!
This year there were going to be two schools involved, UT Austin and OSU.
Starting in the Summer of 2020, our trip to Oregon got canceled.
Ending in the Spring of 2021, both teams put together two campus-wide programs that promoted movement amongst students.
I could talk/write a lot about this experience. It had a LOT of ups and downs and honestly, it’s an IYKYK type situation.
It was very “real world” and I can reflect and take away the positives.
Let’s just say the best part and the most gratitude I have through my NPM adventure was the people and relationships that came out of it. Everyone who got accepted was a truly dope, motivated, and unique individual. I am very excited to see where everyone ends up.
I also stayed on a couple of the NPM UT dudes' couches on the motorcycle trip, and that was the first time I met them in person! It was also another motivator to move to Austin.
Overall, 7/10 (the weighted average coming from 10/10 people…)
Did I Hear Dare?
Ahhh. Last but not least. DIHD?
The band that was the senior thesis to my time at OSU.
The band that played a far more significant role in my life than I could ever imagine.
The band that extended way further than just the members IN the band, the instruments played, or songs created.
The band I created with some of my best friends.
Writing about this experience always gets me a bit emotional. It makes me feel like it is “past tense” and it is done for good.
For a better understanding of Did I Hear Dare? as a whole, please check out this link and our documentary.
Did I hear Dare? gave me permission to create.
It allowed me to learn how to play the guitar. Learn how to sing.
It pushed me out of my comfort zone many times, from giving a TED talk and performing in front of crowds of 100+, producing music to put on streaming services, and digging into the deep and sometimes dark parts of my heart and transforming it into an intimate story.
Other skills such as creating and making merchandise, creating and booking shows, managing band funds, transactions, social media content, the list goes on.
Dom, Jake, Coop, Connor, and everyone else who has supported and helped us behind the scenes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We couldn’t have done this without you.
I think I will come back and write much more about this.
For now, 10/10