August Alumnus of the Month: John Palladino

As we near Olde Boys’ Weekend 2016, we honor a recent graduate who has continued to remain active with UMRFC while establishing a career in one of America’s premier aerospace programs. John Palladino saw UMRFC develop into a Division 1A rugby program while holding various positions of leadership, and served as Tour Manager for last year’s spring break in the Cayman Islands. Here’s what John had to say about his time with UMRFC and current endeavors:

When did you play?

I played from October 2011 – June 2015. Freshman year I had just gotten cut from the men’s gymnastics team and rugby was next on my list. In 2011 we were D1-AA and I believe only played teams in Michigan with the exception of a playoff game in Pittsburgh. By the summer of 2015, we became a top contender in the Big Ten and had made it to the quarterfinals at the 2014 and 2015 Collegiate Rugby 7s Championships.

What’s your favorite memory/memories as a member of UMRFC?

I’m definitely going to go with a list of memories for this one. My freshman year we traveled to Ohio to play Miami where we lost in one of the rainiest games I’ve ever played in, but we still gave it our all and that’s what stuck in my mind. As a sophomore we hosted the Air Force Academy at North Field, one of the top programs in the country at the time. We also went on to beat the undefeated Indiana and Iowa for 3rd place in the Big Ten, where I scored a try as a flanker. That Iowa game was the most miserable and coldest games I’ve played in since I didn’t play in Pittsburgh like others did for playoffs freshman year. Thankfully we won the Iowa one which somewhat made up for the conditions. If I remember correctly, during my junior year, we beat Wheeling Jesuit in the preseason, Ohio State at home, and Notre Dame at home under the lights, which were all very memorable. As a senior the memories that stick out are beating Wisconsin at home in a very close, muddy game, and getting the opportunity to compete in the 2015 CRC after breaking my leg 6 weeks prior. The tours to Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica were also high points in my college career. Just way too many stories to tell in one sitting.

Did you have any special honors during your time with the club? (ie captain, chair positions, midwest finals etc)

During my time with the club, I served as Treasurer in 2013 and Vice President in 2014. Aside from the on-field work at practice, I put a huge amount of time and effort into the off-field duties, which is something I take a lot of pride in.

What are you doing now?

At the moment I am working for Lockheed Martin, which is an aerospace and defense company. My current position as a flight test engineer on the F-35 program mainly has me in the control room during test flights to make sure the pilot is accomplishing the test maneuvers safely and efficiently. It’s similar to mission control in the Apollo 13 movie, except almost every day.

Any other interesting stories or info that you can provide?

UMRFC is something that is very important to me and a lot of other people, so spread the good news and leave it better than how you found it. Also, I somehow ended up as the team barber by the time I was a junior (that was when I got really good) so if you need a haircut for OBW, hit me up and I’ll bring the clippers. I recommend experimenting a lot with hairstyles and tour cuts while in college, as people start to look at you funny if you do anything out of the ordinary with your hair once you’re in the real world. That’s just from my personal experience.