Joseph Kelly ’19TCB

When Joseph Kelly ’19TCB was preparing for his first day on the job at LPL Financial a few weeks after graduating from The Peter J. Tobin College of Business in May 2019, he had a Yogi Berra moment: that “it’s déjà vu all over again” feeling, as the late, great Yankees catcher famously quipped.

Mr. Kelly, a relief pitcher on the St. John’s University baseball team for four seasons, found himself going through some familiar routines that morning.

“I woke up early, ate breakfast, made my lunch, suited up, and headed to the office,” he said, recalling his opening day as an Associate Service Consultant on LPL’s new accounts squad in the national firm’s La Jolla, CA, office. “It was not much different from my baseball schedule, so the adjustment was pretty easy.”

As he did during his college baseball career, Mr. Kelly started out with a few months of training, learning the rules, regulations, and industry lingo, and getting in sync with his teammates.

“At St. John’s, I had to manage my time wisely between classes, homework, and the baseball schedule,” he said. “I fall back on that time-management experience with my job.”

He also benefits from his wide-ranging curriculum at Tobin, where he majored in finance.

“My classes in accounting, financial investments, economics, and other topics have given me a solid foundation,” said Mr. Kelly. His duties at LPL include creating and managing brokerage and advisory accounts for financial advisors and moving money between client accounts.

For the moment, Mr. Kelly has hung up his baseball cleats. “Maybe down the road I will join a weekend league,” he said.

Or to quote another Yogism, in regard to playing baseball, “it ain’t over till it’s over.”