Jaylen Anderson is a forward on the USF football team and a graduate student studying financial technology. [+]
USF Athletics
Chances are, in the near future, Jaylen Anderson will be hired by one of the Big Four accounting firms or giant banks. He's fine with either. That may happen, but the 23-year-old University of South Florida master's student and football player ultimately wants to be the one on the payroll.
“Long term, I'd like to start my own business,” he said. “In any field, it's important to learn the skills and understand the people who have been doing it for years.”
Anderson has been listening and learning as he pursues a career that combines finance and artificial intelligence: Money has long intrigued him, but with AI increasingly becoming part of the corporate blueprint, he’s intrigued by what the merging of the two means for his future.
When Anderson began his collegiate career, he knew what direction he wanted to go in.
“I chose finance as my major when I first started college and have never changed it,” said the Maryland native, who spent four years at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington before transferring to USF in the summer of 2023. “Money management has always been important to me, so I wanted to learn as much about it as I could from the get-go.”
Study
Education and a love of learning played a big role in Anderson's childhood — his mother, Jennifer, is a school principal, after all — but that didn't mean the eldest of four children was too eager to dive into educational material.
“School was always important to my mom, even though I didn't care about it as much when I was younger,” he said. “I wasn't that focused, especially in middle school and high school, but I always tried to get good enough grades to get by.”
Anderson has maintained a strong sense of integrity since the beginning of his collegiate career, excelling academically far beyond those who are simply getting by, earning multiple Coastal Athletic Association Academic Excellence awards at UNCW and a 2023 College Sports Communications (CSC) Academic All-District award at USF.
“During my freshman year (at UNCW), I majored in subjects that interested me more, like finance and business,” Anderson said. He started playing football in Connecticut, where his family moved at a young age, and then starred at Kingwood High School in Texas, about 25 miles northeast of Houston. “Since then, I've enjoyed football a lot more. Getting good grades (in classes) means a lot more to me now.”
Jaylen Anderson recorded six goals for USF in 2023, his first since joining the Bulls. [+] UNC Wilmington.
USF Athletics
Crazy about soccer
Anderson has also been quite productive on the football field: The forward was a second-team All-CAA selection with the Seahawks in 2022 and was named first-team All-AAC last season, his first, after scoring 16 points (seven goals) in 16 games to lead the Bulls.
Anderson credits Connecticut youth coach Alex Rincon with getting him interested in the sport, and after watching some impressive performances on TV in March 2012, he became hooked.
“I remember one day seeing a guy score five goals against a strong team and thinking, 'Who is that?'” he recalls. “Watching that as a kid is a big reason why I love soccer so much.”
That's why Anderson continues to root for Messi, who scored in the UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen. He's also a big Arsenal fan and has attended many of the team's games with his father. His passion for sports also shines on the field.
“I've stuck with soccer because that's what I enjoyed most, and it's definitely worked out well,” said Anderson, who participated in multiple sports in his younger years and ran track and field at Kingwood University. “I want to play soccer for as long as I can and then get a corporate job after that.”
Prepare for tomorrow today
Anderson is set to complete his master's degree next spring. He's studying financial technology (fintech) and is immersed in coding and data manipulation to help AI applications provide accurate information.
Anderson has connections in the industry, including people in consulting who have offered education on how AI can benefit individuals' needs.
“They're using AI to help close deals and help clients get the most out of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions,” Anderson says. “I see the potential to do something similar. I want to understand how AI works so I can use it to the best of my ability when I need it. That could be in finance, or it could be helping clients in other businesses.”
Anderson has worked hard in his classes, built connections in his field of interest, and seems to have been on the right track in every way since arriving at USF, and as the use of artificial intelligence continues to expand, the possibilities for his future paths will only increase.
“We want to make the most of it and get the best results we can,” he said.
