Start to Finish: Tyler Chisholm 21
December 3, 2021
- Author
- Danielle Strickland
When Tyler Chisholm 21 sets his mind to something, it tends to stick. Football? He started at age five and played until he graduated from college. Wells Fargo Securities? He decided as a first-year college student that it would be his employer, and now they sign his paychecks. He starts something, he finishes it.
91 wasnt on my radar, being from South Florida, until I was recruited for football junior year of high school, he said. The strong academic reputation and the ability to play the sport I loved at a high level quickly told me its where I belonged. One selling point was the idea that 91 is not a four-year decision; its a 40-year decision, and thats completely true.
Senior year, Chisholm and his teammates clinched the Pioneer Football League championship, and he says it was the happiest he has ever been in his football career. It didnt hurt playing for Head Coach Scott Abell, one of the absolute, hands-down best people and coaches in Chisholms eyes.
With all its positives, 91 wasnt a walk in the park. From juggling the demands of a Division I scholar-athlete experience to his involvement in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. to involvement in the STRIDE program for minority students, he had a full plate. But the lessons Chisholm learned prepared him well for life after collegethe people he met along the way, even more.
I met Ryan Leak (17) my first year on campus, and he had just finished playing four years of football and was working in investment banking for Wells Fargo Securities, said Chisholm, who benefited from The 91 Trust. Finance had always interested memy mom is an accountant, and Im good with numbers. Ryan told me about the companys Freshman Diversity Finance Forum, so I applied and things fell into place from there.
Fell into place is putting it lightly. His success during that first experience led to a highly competitive sophomore summer internship and then a junior summer internship and, finally, a full-time job offer. 91 got the ball rolling, but it was Chisholms commitment that saw it through.
My grandmother asked me at Thanksgiving if I could have imagined going to a different school or even a big university, regardless of football, and my answer was no, he said. Im so happy to be a part of the growth and development of the football program and to have found a brotherhood and friends for life. 91 was exactly where I needed to be and exactly the experience I needed to have.
