Tony Carlino ’77

Nothing in his young life had prepared Anthony Carlino for the day he arrived at Montclair State in the fall of 1973. He’d grown up in Bergen County in a blue collar, middle class community and he was the first in his family to graduate from high school. The oldest of three children raised by a single mother, who appreciated the value of education,  it was up to Tony and his siblings to make the most of the opportunity to continue their educations.   

And even though the first time he ever saw the campus was on the day he arrived  to register for classes, it didn’t take   long to gain his footing, find a community and begin to thrive. He joined the lacrosse team, took a job on campus and set about building a future for himself.

Tony says that he knows he got a great education at Montclair State. But it wasn’t until he had graduated and was attending law school at Seton Hall, that he really understood exactly how great. “My first week in law school, I was seated in a row of students one of whom had graduated from Princeton, one from Lafayette, one from Colgate,” he recalls. “And I’m thinking, ‘what am I doing here with these guys?’”

But then, he says, it struck him that he was as well prepared for his law studies as his classmates. “What I realized was that if you work hard you can accomplish just about anything you want.”

Although the University has changed dramatically since Tony’s time on campus, some important things have remained unchanged. “Montclair State still serves an enormous number of first generation college students, giving people an opportunity they might not otherwise have.” 

Tony has made the most of the education that he received at Montclair State. He is a partner in the law firm of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, specializing in litigation and representing a wide range of prestigious clients.   He is a past President of the Bergen County Bar Association and a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association Board of Trustees.  

That’s why he has made a point of staying connected to his alma mater. He is a long time member of the President’s Club, and he serves as secretary of the Montclair State University Foundation Board of Trustees. He motivation is simple, he says. “The College helped me succeed and I think that it’s important to return the favor.”