Alumni Spotlight: Angelo DiGiorgio

Entrepreneur Angelo DiGiorgio isn’t afraid of failure. As a 2019 Proctor High School graduate, he lives life with bravado and enthusiasm. DiGiorgio is all in on his new venture: a newly opened brick-and-mortar store, Handshake Antiques.

Having lived post graduation in Chicago, Illinois and Boston, Massachusetts in pursuit of higher education at Columbia College Chicago campus and an acting career, he came back home when the world shifted to virtual auditions. A silver lining of the pandemic meant he could turn his passion for antiques into a business in the Mohawk Valley while simultaneously submitting his work digitally for comedy opportunities. Having worked at local radio station WIBX, he's a natural in front of the microphone – something he attributes to growing up as a highly involved student in the arts community at Proctor High School. Reflecting on his high school experience, he is quick to reach into a collection of plentiful positive memories. “I was happy to be there and I loved going to school every day. I loved causing a little trouble,” DiGiorgio jokes. “I graduated number 121 of my class. My sisters were like number three and number nine and I was 121. But I had the number one most fun, so that's all that counted. I had a lot of teachers at my
graduation party!” DiGiorgio shares cheerfully.

Sitting on a cognac leather tufted couch, DiGiorgio is right at home – an old soul among a curated collection of art and antiques, a feast for the eyes. “I did 24 estate sales in 2025, and then I saw this building was up for lease. It looked like a good spot. I liked the window frontage. I felt it had good potential and so I just pulled the trigger and I did it.” As customers enter in and out of the newly opened store, the warm greetings between DiGiorgio and patrons would make you think this store had a long standing history on Genesee street. Rather, it's the support of his hometown community – the same one that's shown up for him since his days as a student at Albany Elementary, JFK Middle School and Proctor. “When I was applying to schools in Boston, I had to send in a video application. My video was an essential part of my acceptance and it was a school-based comedy that I edited. I had a bunch of teachers in the school who helped me film it and record it, and they were all in it too. There were probably 20 educators in it, and only
about five of them ever taught me in a class. They were just so willing to be part of it, saying, ‘Whatever he needs, we’ll help.’ Over the course of a week, I was filming stuff and giving them scripts. So really and truly everything has been – well, not everything – but 95% of everything has been because of the support that Proctor gave me,” shares DiGiorgio.

When asked about teachers who made a lasting impression on him, it's easy to understand why DiGiorgio can’t single out just one. However, a school-lead instrument drive by his then band instructor Alexius Wronka led him to connect with Town Square Media, which then fostered a relationship with a talk radio host and eventually an internship offer. That freshman year initiative was very impactful on the then young
student who found himself at home in front of an audience.

Walking around Handshake Antiques, you can see the tribute to local memorabilia – a unique living museum where objects stay for a while and then move on to a new home. “I love Utica. I tell people all the time: I would not be who I am if it weren't for the education I got in the Utica City School District and the outrageous support from all the educators – it was just the most fun. I remember telling underclassmen when I was a senior: You make it what it is. If you go in with a bad attitude and you don't say hello to the security guard, you're not gonna have a good experience. It's just that simple to just – you know – say hi to the janitors,” shares DiGiorgio. He has a natural knack for making friends wherever he goes, a characteristic that is most certainly his factory default setting. “I went to school in Boston with dozens of friends from California. They had a completely different education. They were jealous of mine coming out of Utica. Say what you want about Utica, but there's a lot of good. There's a lot, a lot of good, especially at Proctor High School. If you walk in every morning thinking that you hate it and you don't want to be there, then that will become the reality. On my last day on air working at the school television morning show, I said, ‘just be the change you want to see.’”

That seems to be a self fulfilling prophecy, as one of the things he feels the community was missing was a new space – just like the one he has created where antiques can be accessible and local. A boutique with a one-of-a-kind decor, this young entrepreneur has taken down walls and re-finished floors to bring his vision to fruition with “sweat equity” leading the way. DiGiorgio's first introduction to antiques came from Proctor Assistant Principal Ken Szczesniak, an avid collector. “So truly, every aspect of my career – acting, the arts and the antiques business – has somehow been cultivated with Proctor High School in the Utica City School District. I love all things old. A lot of my tastes, comedically, are also influenced by a bygone era. There is a lot of stuff that coexists. When I was going to school, my friends who would talk about comedy would name very contemporary people, and I would name – you know – Phyllis Diller. People would be like ‘Why is this guy naming Phyllis Diller as somebody he really likes?’”

His love of all things vintage did have some advantages for his circle of friends. “I'm a big vinyl record guy. That is one of the things that ushered in this store. I've got over 3,000. They're all first presses – all in plastic sleeves and in alphabetical order.” DiGiorgio then turned to appreciating midcentury decor. When he moved to Chicago in a U-Haul, it was full of antique and vintage furniture he couldn’t leave behind. “My parents were rolling their eyes at it all, thinking it was nonsense to them,” he recalls with a laugh. Today, his mom and dad have come around, happy to see that his passion has manifested itself into a small business. With a “work hard, and play hard” attitude, he enjoys introducing little bits of the past to his peers. In college, he’d prepare a cocktail (like a Manhattan or a Cosmo) served in the correct glassware and friends instantly loved it, creating new Art Deco aficionados by the end of an evening.

One of his biggest professional accomplishments to date has been being part of Second City in Chicago, a legendary comedy institution. His former boss, radio personality Bill Keeler, came to know DiGiorgio well working side-by-side in media. “Bill says that I'm the only struggling actor who isn't struggling, because I've got so many other interests and so many things that fill my cup – and I do. I've got friends who are in New York City grinding, and they are miserable. Here I am, selling some old antiques with a grin on my face and happily going to work every day,” he remarks. With the drive of a small business entrepreneur and a joke in his pocket, we’re certain that this Proctor graduate belongs in the spotlight both on the stage and at home in the Mohawk Valley.