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As for Gallo, he has been a two-year starter
for the Hokies as a center on the offensive line.
He started 25 games over the previous two
seasons, including 12 of the 13 games in which
he played this past season.
Gallo plans on graduating in May of 2018
with a degree in finance. He has been named
to the ACC All-Academic Football Team on two
occasions—an honor that requires student-
athletes to maintain a cumulative 3.0 grade-
point average during his/her academic career.
He worked an internship last summer for
the Wadsworth Group at Morgan Stanley, a
wealth management firm in Roanoke, Virginia,
and he plans to do so again this summer.
“I’ll have a different role, and I’m not sure
what that will be, but last summer, I had a
great experience, and I’m looking forward
to returning this summer,” he said. “When I
decided to major in finance, it just seemed to be
the jack-of-all-trades when it came to business.
Essentially with a finance degree from Virginia
Tech, you can do anything business related just
because it’s such a strong business school and
such a strong finance program.
“Besides fromthat, I was looking to challenge
myself in the classroom, and I thought that
finance was going to be the biggest challenge
for me. That’s what I wanted to do. I wanted
to have a versatile degree, and I wanted to
challenge myself along the way.”
In addition to naming Bose and Gallo as
the Skelton winners, the athletics department
also named its ACC Scholar-Athletes of
the Year. Those honors went to men’s
swimmer Brandon Fiala and volleyball
standout Lindsey Owens. Fiala, a four-
time member of the All-ACC Academic
Swimming and Diving Team, graduated
in early May with a degree in finance,
while Owens, a three-time member of
the All-ACC Academic Volleyball Team,
graduated with a degree in biology.
The department also honored those
with the highest GPA during the 2016
calendar year, and that group included
Torben Laidig (men’s track and field),
Brooks Wilding (wrestling), Hanna
Green (women’s track and field),
Jennifer Boyles (women’s soccer),
Anissa Dadkhah (women’s soccer),
Murielle Tiernan (women’s soccer) and
Nick Stegmuller (cheerleading).
The department recognized its 2016 All-
Academic Team, which includes the top
student-athlete academically in his/her sport.
The list for this team included Greg Donlon
(men’s basketball), Mac Caples (baseball),
Brent Musselman (men’s cross country),
Brandon Facyson (football), Drew Johnson
(men’s golf), Rodrigo Zampieri (men’s
soccer), Fiala (men’s swimming), Jason Kros
(men’s tennis), Laidig (men’s track and field),
Wilding (wrestling), Regan Magarity (women’s
basketball), Green (women’s cross country),
Bose (women’s golf), Tara Feehan (lacrosse),
Breanna Davenport (softball), Boyles (women’s
soccer), Dadkhah (women’s soccer), Tiernan
(women’s soccer), Caroline Buscaglia (women’s
swimming), Caroline Daxhelet (women’s
tennis), Erica Hjerpe (women’s track and
field), Katie Krueger (volleyball), Regan Wu
(managers), Hellen Samuel (trainers), Stephen
Dixon (video), Stegmuller (cheerleading) and
Maggie Mitchell (HighTechs).
In all, more than 300 student-athletes were
recognized at the AD’s Honors Breakfast,
including all those who achieved a grade-point
average of 3.0 or better during one or both
semesters in the preceding calendar year.
IHS
extra
Eric Gallo gave
a speech at the
AD’s Honors
Breakfast after
earning the
Skelton Award
for Academic
Excellence.