Scott Tricarico, CLA ’03, returned to Temple University’s College of Liberal Arts on November 5 to receive the Economics Department Distinguished Alumni Award, reflecting on the faculty mentorship, relationships and liberal arts education that have helped shape a very successful career.

Now a senior vice president at Truist Financial Corporation, Tricarico serves the commercial banking needs of middle market companies in New Jersey. His career has spanned more than two decades, including roles at BNP Paribas, GE Capital and JPMorgan Chase. But as he told an audience of students, faculty and alumni during a conversation moderated by Professor of Economics Michael Leeds, his path to banking was far from straightforward.

Tricarico’s road to Temple University actually began with a blown ACL.

“I joined my high school football team, and at a practice in my freshman year, a player jumped on my knee, and my athletic career was done before it even started,” he recalled. “Orthopedics and sports medicine became interesting to me—you could fix somebody’s knee, you could help people. Where is there a great sports medicine program? Temple.” 

Unfortunately, early academic struggles put a halt to Tricarico’s pre-med education. After struggling in his first semester, a meeting with then-Director of the Honors Program Ruth Ost steered Tricarico toward trying economics. 

“I took [Professor Leeds’] microeconomics class, and we’re learning about guns and butter, and I’m looking at these curves, x’s and y’s and thinking, ‘I get this,’” said Tricarico. “I fell in love with it. We would learn something, and I could turn on the news or pick up the newspaper and directly apply it.” 

Tricarico was emphatic in thanking the Economics Department for the support that put him on his professional path. He also took the time to credit the College of Liberal Arts with helping him develop a broader understanding of the world and engage with perspectives beyond his own.

“I was focused on was the tactical: what’s the next step to get to my goal, and [Ost] would send me on all these wild goose chases to meet with liberal arts professors who were political activists or focused on entirely different things. I’m trying to work on Wall Street, and she’s hooking me up with Lori Pompa, who is focused on the justice of inmates and making sure they’re well taken care of. That was not on my radar screen at all,” said Tricarico, who also minored in art history. “But that broadening of my mind is what I needed, and that’s why a liberal arts education is so important. I don’t think I would have been able to pivot the way I have in my career had I not been grounded in liberal arts.” 

The College of Liberal Arts has remained a special place to the Tricarico family, and not only because of the lessons imparted—it is also where Scott met his wife Janelle, CLA ‘03. Over the years, they have been very generous in repaying that gratitude. As Richard Deeg, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, noted in his opening remarks, Tricarico was particularly deserving of this award “not just for his professional success, but for the way he continues to give back to Temple and its students.” 

In 2023, the couple established the Janelle M. & Scott J. Tricarico Pathways to Professions Award, which supports CLA’s Pathways to Professions program. The program helps students with demonstrated financial need pursue internships and other career-building experiences, including unpaid opportunities that might otherwise be financially out of reach.

“If somebody can find an opportunity, or connect with a professor, to create some kind of meaningful work experience that shows up on that résumé and becomes the springboard for the next part of their career, then to the extent we can help, I would not want money to be a stumbling block,” said Tricarico. 

The award is one way the Tricaricos are paying forward the opportunities and support they received as Temple students. During the event, Scott spoke about how he hopes to continue mentoring students and helping them find their next steps. For him, the benefit is mutual—he has always drawn inspiration from the grit and determination of Temple students. 

“This university is such a special place because no matter how hard you think you have it, there’s always somebody kicking butt and doing amazing things in the face of greater adversity,” said Tricarico. “I get the sense that energy is still here, and it’s so exciting.”