Alumnus Credits St. John’s with Fast Tracking His Career Pregraduation

His successful interview with Glanvill Special Risk in 1985 also allowed him to demonstrate his moxie and negotiating skills to his future employers. “During the interview, I told the Glanvill president that I wanted to work for them full time and go to school at night in exchange for them paying me a salary and covering the costs of my textbooks and tuition.” 

His proposal was accepted, and Mr. Ricker invested six years in earning his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Property and Casualty Insurance. He earned six to nine college credits per semester to accommodate the hours required for his day job. 

“That led to the start of my career because I was able to acquire a lot of practical experience in my chosen field while going to college,” said Mr. Ricker. “I deeply thank The College of Insurance [now known as the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science] at St. John’s because they helped me to secure employment before graduation. Many students without work experience at that time struggled to find jobs.”

Since then, Mr. Ricker built a career as one of the top wholesale insurance casualty brokers and underwriter. A New Rochelle, NY resident, he  serves as Executive Vice President/Construction Practice Leader at Amwins, a leading global specialty insurance distributor. His areas of expertise include construction, real estate, hospital, and retail chains. 

One noteworthy accomplishment is his inclusion in 2023 in the Marquis Who’s Who®. Since the first edition of Who’s Who in America® was published in 1899, the Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including art, business, education, entertainment, law, medicine, politics, and religion.

He has been a dedicated eucharistic minister for more than 30 years at Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church, in New Rochelle.  He also enjoys his classic car collection. However, Mr. Ricker views his children, Matthew, 28, and Elizabeth, 24, who also works in the insurance industry at Markel, a specialty insurance firm, as his most significant accomplishments. 

His son Matthew became gravely ill at two years old when he developed bacterial meningitis. “He spent two weeks in the intensive care unit,” Mr. Ricker recalled. “One day, the medical team told us he had a cold. The next thing we knew, he was on life support.”

As a result, Matthew lost his hearing and has a cochlear implant but otherwise fully recovered. The harrowing experience of his son’s illness moved Mr. Ricker to spend 20 years as a board member of the Center for Hearing and Communication, which provides care for people of all ages who experience hearing loss.

“The center gave tremendous help to my son, so I wanted to give back to the organization,” said Mr. Ricker. “St. John’s University instills in its students, alumni, and faculty the central Vincentian question of, ‘What must be done?’.”