Award-Winning Alumnus Grateful for Work Ethic and Discipline Instilled at St. John’s

Mr. Roth also enjoys a familial connection to St. John’s as both his mother and grandfather attended. “So it was really a compilation of all those things.”

Initially a Communication Arts major, Mr. Roth’s dream was to become a broadcaster for ESPN. “I knew St. John’s had a tremendous communications program,” he said. 

During his first two years at St. John’s, Mr. Roth explored his major, getting involved at WSJU Radio—but by his junior year, he understood that the endless travel and financial realities of the profession didn’t align with his goals.

It was around this time when Mr. Roth realized his true passion: business. His parents are agents for State Farm Insurance and he decided to follow in their footsteps. 

“As they were both business owners, my parents had flexibility to be present for their family, and I liked the idea of that.” 

A fortuitous moment occurred during junior year when Mr. Roth took a Business Law class taught by Thomas Shannon ’93L, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Business Law. “He asked us what we wanted to do for a living, and I said I wanted to become a State Farm agent—and he is a State Farm agent. I think he believed I had looked him up and was trying to get points, but I explained the family connection, and he became a real mentor for me.”

Mr. Roth loved his St. John’s experience and made the most of his proximity to New York City. “It was amazing that for $2.75, I could take the subway anywhere in the boroughs. I got to fully experience Manhattan. I was going to St. John’s Men’s Basketball games at Madison Square Garden. It was amazing.”

Another memorable aspect of St. John’s for Mr. Roth was the diversity he encountered there. “I grew up in a very homogenous area and St. John’s is one of the more diverse schools.”

He added, “I became friends with international students and with people from Chicago, Florida, and California. It was really eye opening because I grew up in kind of a cookie-cutter town, where everyone has a similar upbringing and very similar backstory, and now I was at a mecca of diversity. That was incredible.” 

“I feel like when I entered St. John’s, I lacked maturity and wasn’t very cultured,” he continued. “When I reflect on the person I was the day I stepped foot on St. John’s Queens, NY, campus and the day I graduated, it’s night and day in terms of my values, work ethic, and perspective. It was by far the biggest developmental period of my life.”

“I met my seven or eight best friends here at St. John’s. I still have a great relationship with them to this day. I just bought a place in Manhattan, and they’ll all be at my housewarming.”

Mr. Roth opened his own State Farm agency at age 23, shortly after graduating from St. John’s. “I never thought I’d be able to become a business owner so young. St. John’s opened my eyes to what is possible for me and strengthened my work ethic and discipline. Even though I was extremely young to open my own agency, I said if I outwork my contemporaries, there’s no way I won’t be successful. St. John’s gave me much confidence, because starting a business can be extremely daunting and frightening.”

He is a four-time time State Farm Chairman’s Circle Award recipient (given to the top five percent of agents every year for overall production). With more than 20,000 State Farm agencies across the US, Mr. Roth’s location has been first in auto policy production the last two years running. His agency has also ranked in the top ten for auto and fire insurance production throughout each year of its existence.

“It’s a lot of fun building a team that buys into your vision. I’m fortunate that I have such an amazing group of young individuals. The average age of my employees is 22, so they’re hungry.”

He added, “I’m just so thankful for being able to attend St. John’s. I rave about it to everyone.”