ASPIRE’s Luca Toth, BS ’24, Graduates into Full-Time Employment

Luca Toth, BS ‘24, was determined to earn his college degree at an institution that could support his autism diagnosis. As he and his parents searched for the perfect match, they were told outright by some colleges and universities that enrolling with them wouldn’t be a good idea because they didn’t have the resources to support Toth through his journey.

“I really appreciated their honesty,” recalls Toth. “And I was fortunate to receive scholarships elsewhere. I ended up choosing St. Joe’s because Haub has such a good reputation and I knew I could depend on ASPIRE to help me through.”

Toth enrolled through the Kinney Center’s ASPIRE program and began at Saint Joseph’s in 2020, taking lots of general education classes to figure out what exactly he wanted to pursue within the business school.

“I’ve always known that I want to run my own business,” he says. “I just don’t feel sure what that business will be.”

As he acclimated to life in college, it took him some time to warm up to Saint Joseph’s ASPIRE program – Toth didn’t immediately love the newness of the experience and felt stifled by its structure. Gradually, Toth became more comfortable with the activities and opportunities for connection that ASPIRE offered.

“What I really took away from ASPIRE was being open-minded,” says Toth. “Once I learned to keep an open mind and approach the activities we were doing together without scrutiny, it was much easier to get something out of the program.”

In his junior year, Toth declared a marketing major and took courses that challenged his work ethic and influenced his outlook on marketing as a whole.

“Donna Falgiatore’s Marketing 301 class brought this whole marketing philosophy together for me,” recalls Toth. “That everything you put into market should be delivering the same message – there shouldn’t be a different message for your ads on TV versus Spotify versus Google. The message should always stay consistent.”

Toth also participated in Saint Joseph’s co-op program, where he took on a position at USLI before ultimately landing an internship in Philadelphia Insurance’s (PHLY) claims department.

“It was such a wonderful experience being there,” says Toth. “I learned a lot about communicating clearly with my colleagues and supervisors. I got better at taking notes to improve my work and efficiency. I just really enjoyed working on the team.”

Toth managed to impress his supervisors at PHLY to such an extent that they offered him a full-time position as a business operations analyst trainee upon graduation this May. 

Toth’s supervisor in the claims department, Jacob Clark, recommended him for the position due to his hard work, determined professionalism and overall friendly demeanor. 

“During his internship, Luca was highly determined to be as successful as possible and absorb as much as he could,” recalls Clark, who is the claims team lead at PHLY. “He took the initiative to ask questions and take on any projects or tasks we placed before him. I believe Luca has the skills to be very successful within the professional world, especially at PHLY.” 

In this position, Toth will be generating and analyzing various claim reports and sharing that analysis in team meetings.

“Luca has had his eyes set on employment for many years,” says Theresa McFalls, LSW, interim executive director of the Kinney Center. “He devotes much of his time to professional development, enrolling in business and computer science certification programs and joining networking groups outside of school. I am so proud of Luca for reaching his ultimate goal of full-time employment and for all of the work he put in to position himself for success.”