Robert Lando, BSc 92, and his wife Giuseppina Spagnolo, BSc 92. | Courtesy Robert Lando
Lando’s $5,000 winning bid in the auction will support Stingers athletes through the creation of the L.S. Financial Services Inc. Bursary.
This is Lando’s second Concordia hockey auction win. He placed the winning bid in 2014 and created the Robert Lando and Pina Spagnolo Awards for Student Athletes.
Over three years, the charity auction organized by Advancement and Alumni Relations has raised over $15,000 for varsity athletes.
As a student of actuarial mathematics at Concordia, Lando played semi-professional soccer. Therefore he understands the challenges faced by student athletes balancing academic commitments with strict training, practice and game schedules.
“It took a lot of discipline and good time management,” he says. Not only was soccer a passion for Lando, the game enriched his life off the field, too.
“I believe team sport develops leadership, communication and teamwork — which all helped me in my career, still to this day.
“I’m happy I’m giving back,” he says. “Sports have always been a big part of my life and so has Concordia.”
Lando and his wife Giuseppina Spagnolo, BSc 92, graduated together from the actuarial math program. They’ve supported the university’s Institute for Co-operative Education for the last eight years by hiring students for work terms.
Spagnolo was a co-op student herself. She knows firsthand the value of the co-op experience in developing confidence and skills, supplementing classroom education with on-the-job training.
Their daughter is looking forward to coming to Concordia’s John Molson School of Business once she completes her CEGEP studies. An athlete herself, Valerie plays AAA soccer and is captain of her college soccer team.
“I’m happy that the second generation is considering Concordia,” says Lando. “Maybe she’ll be a Stinger herself one day.”
Concordia counts 350 student athletes and 10 varsity teams. Nineteen Stingers have become Olympians and more than 65 have graduated to CFL or NFL careers.