Gallo?s Stock On The Rise
9/1/2015 2:00:00 PM | Football
By Greg Goldstein, Maryland Athletics Communications
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For many college students, getting a job while you're still in school seems unimaginable, especially for a student-athlete. It can be a daunting task to balance working hard on the field with doing well in the classroom, while pursuing a career. For Maryland tight end P.J. Gallo, however, it was hardly an issue this past summer.
Gallo, who is entering his junior year at the University of Maryland, recently completed an internship with the investing company Goldman Sachs in New York City, which eventually led to a job offer in August. Gallo was quick to take advantage of the opportunity and accepted the offer. Due to the job, Gallo will be graduating the University of Maryland in December and forgoing his final season of eligibility to start at Goldman Sachs in the summer.
“I just try to work as hard as I possibly can and do more than what coaches ask me to. If they're asking me to do one thing, do that thing, but do it better than they expect it and maybe do a little extra.”
- P.J. Gallo
The tight end was greatly appreciative the support shown by head coach Randy Edsall throughout the entire process.
“He was very supportive about going up to New York for the summer for the internship. I really appreciate that from him,” said Gallo. “When I told him I was going to accept the job, he was more than happy for me - he was very understanding and supportive because none of this would have happened without him.”
For the Holland, Pa., native, being able to work on Wall Street and play football for a Division I team has been a dream come true, but accomplishing both of these feats was not an easy task. It was due to a culmination of hard work that started since he was a kid.
“Growing up my parents just always told me to work hard and to make sure you're doing everything that you can do to make the things that you can control turn out the way you want them to turn out,” he said. “I've learned a lot from my parents and siblings. I really try and learn a lot from different people, whether they're coaches, teachers, and just other people you meet. I just try to take the best qualities from other people and apply them to my own life.”
Working hard and going the extra mile on the field has always been something that the junior has taken pride in.
“I just try to work as hard as I possibly can and do more than what coaches ask me to,” said Gallo. “If they're asking me to do one thing, do that thing, but do it better than they expect it and maybe do a little extra.”
While Gallo is a great worker on the gridiron, he also applies his great work ethic to what he does in the classroom as well. Gallo was named to the Big Ten All-Academic this past year. Being an organized student and getting ahead of his schoolwork has helped the junior excel academically, even with his busy schedule.
“Obviously we put in a lot of time into football and also a lot of time with school,” Gallo said. “So between the two, my days were very long and very busy. I tried not to waste a minute of them. I think the most important thing I did for my success in the classroom is that every single day I was on top of my work and that I was never falling behind and that I was always ahead of the curb with what the teacher was doing and that each night I wasn't putting anything off to the next day.”
The school's great academics along with the coaching staff played a huge role in Gallo deciding to attend the University of Maryland.
“It's a great school; it's a great business school as well,” he said. “And then the coaching staff, I really liked the coaching staff. I felt like I've made some great relationships with them during recruiting.”
While winning football games and being successful on the field is what almost every player wants when they join a college football program, Gallo will also walk away from the program having learned many valuable lessons that he feels will help to make him successful in his career.
“There are so many translations it's crazy,” said Gallo. “It's something I think about very frequently. I could go on and on with the things I learned in football that will help me at Goldman Sachs or just later in life: the work ethic, the discipline, the leadership, the teamwork, there's just so many things that you learn every single day here that will translate to the rest of my life and that's the thing I'm most appreciative of from this experience.”
Being a junior, Gallo has seen tremendous growth of the team under Edsall, including a pair of bowl appearances over the past two years after losing seasons in 2011 and 2012. Gallo also sees a ton of talent and potential on this year's team.
“I think he (Coach Edsall) has done a great job with the program,” Gallo said. “You can see over the past couple years the trajectory that this team has been on and it's very exciting. I'm really looking forward to this year. I think we have a really good team; we have some great chemistry throughout the entire team. I think we could do a lot of big things and surprise a lot of people.”
In addition to seeing growth from the team overall, Gallo has also seen the role of the tight ends in the offense change a lot since coming to the school two years ago.
“I think that this group of tight ends is the best group of tight ends that we've had in a while,” he said. “It's been great to see how we've developed as a group throughout the years and to see how our role in the offense has kind of changed throughout the years and this year as well. I'm really excited for it, I think we have a great group of guys; I think that each guy brings a unique strength to the table, which is awesome.”
Gallo also praised Edsall's emphasis on academics and how he gives his players every opportunity to succeed in the classroom, which is something that the junior greatly appreciates.
“He definitely puts an emphasis on academics,” Gallo said. “He's very serious about it. He's not just one of those coaches who just talks about it; he actually means it.”
In terms of Gallo's goals for the year, he plans on giving it his all because this is the last season that the tight end will be putting on a football uniform. However, Gallo could not be more excited to embark on this new journey and help his new team become more successful.
“From day one I just want to add value to the team I'm working with right now,” said Gallo. “So I would say just every single day, I want to try and add more value than the day prior and hopefully that puts me on a good career path for the future.”
If his career path on the field is as strong as his path off the field, he will undoubtedly make an impact for the Terps in 2015.
