Meet Miami U

If you were a Miami University student beginning in fall 2019, there’s a great chance that you met Michael Gallo ’23 at some point over the next four years … you probably just didn’t realize it. As Swoop, the university’s beloved RedHawk mascot, he learned at countless sporting and spirit events how to communicate without ever saying a single word. That skill and the connections he built have come in handy at his current position as a product manager at JPMorganChase.

“I enjoyed that experience a lot,” Gallo said. “There was just constantly a smile on my face and nobody could see it because there was a big bird beak in the way. But it was just so fun. And you kind of got to pretend to be somebody else for a little bit and that was just so interesting.”

From Oxford Beginnings to Columbus Living

Now that he lives two hours northwest of Oxford in Columbus, he still sees and keeps in touch with several of the connections he made during his time at Miami. 

“Being Swoop the RedHawk gave me lifelong friends,” Gallo said. “I have several cheerleaders that live in the area that I still see regularly and those friendships last a lifetime. We have a real bond, which is something that’s just exciting. And I feel like I would have missed out on them if I didn’t go to Miami.”

Building A Career through Connection

Gallo, who started his professional career as a product manager at Lululemon, even learned about his current position through a Miami contact, a former professor who connected him to someone at JPMorganChase. 

“I always go back to them for advice and feedback because they’re a great resource to have,” Gallo said of the faculty members who shaped his time at the university. “And it’s clear that as a student, if you put your time into them, that will pay dividends for you throughout your career.”

Now he supports JPMorganChase’s check fraud teams which work to intercept and reduce risk to the firm. As a Supply Chain and Operations Management major, it’s a job he didn’t consider in college but has since embraced because it combines his business acumen with his technical background. 

“Miami definitely shaped my career path in a lot of ways,” Gallo said. “It really taught me to branch out and try a lot of different things. Don’t shy away from something just because you don’t know it. Really tackle it as best you can.”