Landon Archangelo ’15 can look back now and chalk up an injury as a mixed blessing. The former Christ School quarterback passed for 1,224 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions as a high school senior. Shippensburg University (Pa.) took notice and signed the Greenie. Archangelo was vying to be the starter for the Raiders when a torn anterior cruciate ligament sidelined him in 2017. With football on hold, Archangelo began to really focus on his studies as a Finance major. He was named to the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society for having a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or better throughout his college career. And now Archangelo works out of a Philadelphia office as one of the youngest financial advisors at uFinancial Group. Archangelo said he is staying involved in football as well, helping coach the quarterbacks at Shippensburg.
Question: You’ve been with uFinancial for eight months now. How did this opportunity come about?
Answer: I’ve been in the business for a year and some change now. Everyone at uFinancial has been great. I started out as an intern at Northwestern Mutual. There were about 50 to 60 other interns and they only chose five for a full-time contract. I was one of those five chosen and I really grew and learned a lot. The opportunity came to be with uFinancial (in January 2019) and it was just a better situation, personally and professionally. They’ve been established since 1890 and it felt like a place where I could grow and learn. I’m definitely blessed to be in a great position now. Being the youngest guy by about 10 years (among co-workers) feels good sometimes.
Question: What made you want to pursue a career in finance?
Answer: Tearing my ACL going into my junior year was a wakeup call. I had always been a good student. But after tearing my ACL, it was a good wakeup call to take my major in Finance more seriously. A lot of the same competitiveness from football comes out in my professional work now. I’m not out hitting people or slinging the rock, but there are similarities.
Question: As opposed to being a football player, how has coaching been for you?
Answer: Every quarterback I am coaching is a coachable kid. And I don’t try to be someone I’m not. I think that sometimes as coaches get older, there can be a disconnect. Being that I’m a younger guy and played four years in this exact offense helps, I think. I’ve definitely been able to sit back and listen more instead of always talking.
Question: What lessons did you learn at Christ School that apply now?
Answer: Going to Christ School taught me so much about how to conduct myself. Without Christ School, I never would have been able to get my trajectory started so early. I wouldn’t have been mature enough. Everything I learned from Christ School still impacts me today, especially the idea of accountability and being great every single day. One of the things I’ve have really learned and taken to heart is that greatness only has a shelf life of 24 hours. What are you going to do today? Early on, I got that spark from Christ School and it helped with my maturity and growth.