The RAA Young Alumni Committee would like to spotlight some of the fantastic journeys Rutgers graduates are taking as they enter the workforce and make a difference in their community. We are pleased to share a series of young alumni profiles, and their advice to both current and recently graduated students.
Anthony Covington, SAS’15, is a senior consultant at Deloitte, a trustee on the Rutgers Board of Trustees, a global shaper with the World Economic Forum, and a member of the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International affairs. The following text has been edited for clarity and space; for the full interview see the video below.
What brought you to Rutgers the first place?
I am born and raised in New Jersey. I come from a town called Bordentown in South Jersey, or Central depending on how you see New Jersey or if you consider there to be a Central Jersey. I am one of those believers; there’s a true Central Jersey. For me I was really looking for a place that I could grow. Rutgers actually wasn’t at the top of my list but when I was in high school I was a volunteer firefighter and I was really looking for programs that could expand that kind of community involvement. Rutgers is one of the few universities in the country that has a full-fledged fire department and I would love to say that was my primary reason but additionally I come from a modest background and our family didn’t have a lot of money. Rutgers presented a great return on investment. I was fortunate enough to receive a lot of scholarships and Rutgers fit the package and I tell you it’s been probably one of the best decisions of my life. I am really, really happy that I’m a Scarlet Knight!
That’s awesome; I was looking at your resume and before you even graduated from Rutgers you were already working with Chris Christie; you were working in politics. Is that something that was always part of the plan or something you fell into?
Community involvement is so important to me. I would not be the man I am today without members of my community and my family, to support me and from that I kind of got into politics. When I was in high school I started a group, of politically engaged students and we just talked about things….it wasn’t necessarily Democrat versus Republican, it was really just to engage students and from that I was invited to go to something called Boys State. In New Jersey it’s held every year at Rider university. You create a 51st fictitious state based on the state that you live in and ours happened to be New Jersey and I was fortunate enough to be elected governor there against a thousand others.
Cut throat.
Yeah, but it opened my eyes up to a lot of things. Most importantly, the value of your vote and your voice. So from there I knew I really wanted to get more involved in politics. The opportunity opened up to be a constituent liaison at the governor’s office. For me at that time and still I wasn’t Democrat or Republican but I really wanted to make sure I could engage in my community. I thought doing constituent relations was a beautiful way to understand the needs of the community. When I came to Rutgers I had all these thoughts but then Rutgers just took it to the next level; it really became a platform for me to expand on the opportunities that I had and really what I thought I could do in New Jersey or just in general for myself.
What are some of the most meaningful experiences you had as a Rutgers student?
I will say my involvement in the Educational Opportunity Fund, being a firefighter on campus, being involved in student government and then last, serving on the Board of Trustees for Rutgers. When I came in I came in through the EOF program.. For people that don’t know about EOF. it’s a program that gives people that are highly motivated and intelligent but maybe lack financial backing the extra funding needed to attend a university like Rutgers. So when I got there I came in with a cohort of a couple hundred students and that was kind of my first opportunity to engage in new student voices and there I was elected as the freshman representative for the EOF class. I joined something called EOFSA which is the student government side of EOF and that really led me into RUSA. (Rutgers University Student Assembly) and involved in participating in student government. That position really propelled me to use my voice. It’s one thing to think about issues and policies; it’s another to actually advocate for them and I think that was my first opportunity to do so. Going into my sophomore year, EOF was in danger of being cut for funding by two million dollars and that was something which really struck a chord with me. I felt students like myself or separated by a zip code or just lacking a couple hundred dollars to go to school could potentially lose the opportunity to go to Rutgers. That was something that not only is it near and dear to my heart but I just felt it was wrong. I wanted to do everything I could so I helped lead a letter writing campaign to the governor’s office and to the education committee in Trenton. Thankfully funding was restored and we didn’t lose any funding that year….So from EOF into student government I really came to understand how policies were created, and what was the mindset of students. I was elected as a university at large senator; I got to participate in so many conversations and really pushed agendas forward that I think really represented students. That ultimately led into my junior year; being appointed and unanimously confirmed by the Board of Trustees to be one of the youngest student charter trustee members. That was eight years ago and it was just an incredible experience because that took me from merely a student to taking all that input that I had as a student and really advocating for them at the university administrative level. I tell you that was something I could never dream of. I couldn’t plan for it but it has been a platform for me to really advocate for students in the best way I know how.
It sounds like you’ve been a little busy; any notable items some Rutgers alumni or students would know about?
The merger with Robert Wood Johnson is a big one. I was a part of the fight to save Rutgers Camden. That was a big controversy; it seemed people in South Jersey had a different idea for what Rutgers Camden should be and I’m very proud and happy to say that we were able to work with legislators and other people within the community to prove that Rutgers Camden belongs with Rutgers and so that’s probably one of my shining moments. More recently though, the merger of the Big Ten. I think we all love Big Ten football and we just got our first win of the season over Michigan State so let’s go Scarlet Knights. I’m really excited about that. I was watching it from my couch and I wish I could be there in person. People try to doubt Rutgers or count us out but we got the first W and that’s all that matters.
This interview is going to go up in a couple of weeks so hopefully this ages well.
Absolutely. And we’re the ones that talked about it first right?
Right!
So absolutely the Big Ten merger and most notably the bringing in of the new President Holloway. He’s an outstanding individual, happy that he’s leading the ship; happy that I get to work with him and really help chart the next course for Rutgers in this new generation. The last bit, more recent is Rutgers Scarlet Promise Grants. That is something the board unanimously adopted to take on as one of our initiatives. We have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to that and some board members have donated hundreds of thousand dollars of their own money. When President Holloway first joined the board he made a personal financial commitment and to me that program is signifies everything that stands for Rutgers. It’s to give opportunity for people like myself and others to continue to go to school, to stay in school, and to graduate because if it’s one thing that Rutgers does, we take care of our own. I’m really proud to stand behind that program and really happy to see it touching so many people.
Let’s transition a little bit over to what you’re doing now. You’re a consultant with Deloitte. What’s the role you’re in now?
My junior year I had an opportunity to go into phone banking to work in the previous administration under President Obama and I jumped at the opportunity to work in that administration and to learn so much. It was actually also the first time I ever went to DC and working in DC I fell in love with the culture of the area. What I mean by that is its diversity not necessarily the political arena or its contention there but I think DC is a melting pot. You will meet so many different, communities, cultures. That is something that I was attracted to, hence why I live there but that’s where I learned about Deloitte. Before that I didn’t even know what consulting firms were or what they did and so I had an opportunity to join the Rutgers consulting club my senior year. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to work at Deloitte five years ago and now I’m a senior consultant leading teams in technology consulting. My portfolio covers education, healthcare, technology and defense work. It’s been it’s been an amazing ride and one of the things I also get the pleasure of actively recruiting Rutgers students so I come to campus from time to time. Before Covid of course, not only for board meetings but to recruit and bring some of the best and brightest of Rutgers to Deloitte. Outstanding program and I can’t talk about it enough
How have your Rutgers experiences informed the work you’re doing?
How to consensus build is the major thing that I learned. One of the things I don’t talk about a lot but I’m extremely humbled by and proud of is my involvement in Cap and Skull. Can and Skull is a senior honor society that selects 18 members a year and I was fortunate enough to be selected in my senior year. Those relationships and some of the things that we talked about in terms of agreeing while still disagreeing and pushing issues is something that has stuck with me through my time at Deloitte. I realize that you’re not always going to be right but if you can come to some common ground you’ll get farther than you were before. If you start looking at people for their similarities instead of their differences you’re going to be able to see each other much better than you could before. That goes to the next point about the experiences at Rutgers I feel like you can be two types of people. You can be just a number that fades away, because it is a big campus, a big university, or you can be someone where you grab it by the horns and you make your experience what you want of it. At Deloitte it’s similar where we have this philosophy: You lead and you build your own career. It is so true and it’s the lessons of being independent and resourceful and knowing how to consensus build and getting the opinion of others that really propelled me in my thinking.
You get out what you put in.
Yes absolutely. I’ve always felt that was one of the best parts of Rutgers. You can go in and you can get a degree or you can go in and you can really do something special. With what’s available [at Rutgers] there is no single path to success.
“Never give up. Don't take no for an answer if you're pursuing something that you truly believe in.”
What do you plan for the future? What’s next?
I’m in a search to go back to grad school and I will tell anyone; I’ve been out of school for five years and it is incredibly hard. I’m trying to connect with people but also trying to find time for my personal well-being and mental health and then also studying it it’s extremely taxing along with the other organizations I’m involved in in DC. I quite frequently feel that my time is slim and there’s not enough time in a day to get everything done. Ultimately I want to be in public service whatever that may be. If it’s holding office, if it’s serving on the board of education. For me service work is so important and I think that’s why when I joined Deloitte I specifically joined our public sector practice where we focus on local governments, education or the federal agencies. For me I wanted to do something where I give back and here I get to serve agencies or school districts or what have you that is benefiting actual people and that’s something that’s always stuck with me. I know that if I keep my eyes open and keep looking for opportunities and finding ways to serve that hopefully I’ll find it.
How do you stay involved with your fellow alumni? Last month’s honoree of this spotlight is Yousef Saleh, you’ve mentioned he is a classmate of yours. How do you stay involved with other folks from Rutgers that you were friends with when you were a student?
Yousef is also a Cap and Skull member so we talk. Not as frequently as I would like, but we try to keep in touch. How I stay connected; you just find time if it’s important to you then you make the time for it. I say Rutgers takes about 25% of my day every day. No matter what it’s about, if it’s for alumni engagement work or if it’s something with the foundation, Rutgers African American Alumni alliance; if there’s something that Rutgers needs I’m sure I can give my time. For being connected to people I think it’s just staying present. I have a core group of friends that are in DC from Rutgers that I interact with constantly. My fraternity on campus I try to go back there once a year if not more. With the pandemic things have been hard so it’s a lot of phone calls. I’m not going to say I’m the perfect person with following up but what I can say is that I’m going to work as hard as I can. Relationships matter and my friends, colleagues. they have impacted me and through my experience and I don’t want to forget that.
“That's why I do what I do. Because I want to help others get to the same position or even higher than I have.”
What’s your biggest point of pride as a scarlet knight?
Probably Dance Marathon; every year they continue to break the record but when I was there I volunteered and participated and we had the record for fundraising that year. To me, going to such causes like that just highlights why Rutgers is so great: its people and its commitments.
You mentioned there’s more that you’re involved in now besides your job and besides Rutgers. What are some other things that you’re involved in? You mentioned you worked with Obama. Tell us a little about that.
When I worked in the previous administration; I worked in the constituent relations section of the former administration. It was taking what I’ve already done on a local scale, where I formally worked for Senator Cory Booker and Bob Menendez. Taking that to the federal level and really trying to engage with constituents around the country. Understanding their needs and really trying to find ways the federal government could help and pitch in. Now more than ever our country is in pain. We’re hurting; hundreds of thousands of people have died because of this virus and I think understanding the pain points and what’s going on in a community level in a town or a city is so important. That role really allowed me to do that and now since I’m always looking for more things to do and put more things on my plate for some reason, I recently joined The Global Shapers which is a program founded by the World Economic Forum. It’s a group of highly motivated young people under the age of 30 that come together to support programs within their local community. I serve as the diversity and equity inclusion officer for the global shapers of DC. I tell you there’s never enough time in the day but things like this always matter and I will always try to find time because they’re usually impacting people that were a young Anthony 10 or 15 years ago. As I said in the beginning of this interview I would not be the man I am today without the support from my mom, from my community members, and from my friends. That’s why I do what I do. Because I want to help others get to the same position or even higher than I have.
Last question. I think we’ve kind of touched on this throughout the whole conversation but what kind of advice do you have for young alumni, recent graduates, or students that are going to be graduating this year? Especially in the light of everything that’s going on this year, what advice would you have based on your experiences?
Never give up. Don’t take no for an answer if you’re pursuing something that you truly believe in. That’s not saying just never take no for an answer but if you’re passionate about something? Go after it and get it. Rutgers has given you all the tools that you could ever need and you’re going to learn many more things outside of Rutgers but that foundation that Rutgers will give you if you take up the opportunity? It has everything you need. So believe in yourself first and foremost, help others, support your friends, your colleagues, your teammates. Whoever is listening or watching this, it may be ten years that you’ve been removed from the university, it may be five and maybe four. I know we’re talking to young alumni here but no matter how old you are and how many years ago you graduated does not mean that Rutgers doesn’t need your help doesn’t need your support. You can always get more involved in Rutgers, you can always give back and come back and I think this interview and these types of series is a testament that Rutgers cares about its own and we want to take care of our own.
Anthony, thank you so much for taking the time. We wish you the best of luck and we hope to have you at some of our events in the future!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you and to tell my story. I can’t wait for more events after covid. Thank you for providing this platform for people like myself to engage with other Rutgers students and alumni. I hope to see more young alumni featured on this program and hear the incredible work that they’re doing.
Young Alumni Spotlight The RAA’s Young Alumni Committee is pleased to spotlight some of the fantastic journeys recent Rutgers graduates are taking as they enter
Young Alumni Spotlight The RAA Young Alumni Committee would like to spotlight some of the fantastic journeys Rutgers graduates are taking as they enter the
Young Alumni Spotlight The RAA Young Alumni Committee would like to spotlight some of the fantastic journeys Rutgers graduates are taking as they enter the
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