Villanova is full of amazing professors, in every college. However, Dr. Angelo Armenti is one professor who exudes what being a Villanovan truly means. 

Armenti is a physics professor at Villanova, but he is much more than that. 

Not only did he attend Villanova himself, but he created the Physics of Sports course that all Villanovans know and love. Armenti is also the founder and president of the Pennsylvania Association of State Colleges and Universities.

While speaking with Dr. Armenti on his success and path to teaching, The Villanovan got a glimpse of why he is so passionate about teaching. 

“It begins with my experiences as a student in the classrooms of caring and accomplished teachers in high school and continued into college and graduate school,” Armenti said. “Although I didn’t realize it while it was happening, upon reflection years later I knew that certain teachers had changed my life for the better by the way they taught and the example they set.”

Armenti expressed that in high school, he doubted his intelligence, yet his math and physics professors made him realize how much he was capable of. His passion is rooted in honoring his previous teachers, and he hopes to impact his students the way they impacted him. He has found that many students at Villanova choose life paths based on professors that made them love the subject. 

“I think it is extremely likely that Sister Marie David and Father Girolami were not the first caring and accomplished teachers to appear on Earth,” Armenti expressed. “It is much more likely that they received the gift of teaching from exceptional teachers from an earlier generation, who passed it onto students of my generation and who now pass it on to students of today’s generation.” 

For students who feel grateful for help received from one of their professors, Armenti suggested that a proper “thank you” is due, and can be expressed in the form of helping students that come after you. 

“Aspire to be the best you can be in your chosen profession, and you will be accomplished,” Armenti said. “Be caring to those who come after you by being generous with your time and encouragement. In that way, you will prepare them for the debt they will owe to all the caring and accomplished humans who came before them.”

As a current student of Armenti’s, I can attest to the passion he has for his profession. He is always in favor of helping his students succeed, no matter what that may entail. Something that also makes Armenti’s teaching style so memorable is his ability to tell stories in relation to the material he teaches. 

His familiarity with his craft is unlike any professor I have ever seen. I am not a physics major, yet I find his class to be so stimulating based on who Armenti is and how much he cares for his students.