Anthony C’05, Michael C’08, and Domenick Caruso C’12 reflect on how their time at Drew formed the leaders they are today and why they are launching a $50,000 Scholarship Challenge to invest in the next generation of students.
April 2026 – When Anthony Caruso began touring colleges during his junior year of high school, the visit to Drew University was meant to be one stop among many.
Instead, it became a family moment.
From the first walk through campus, each member of the Caruso family connected with something different. The architecture blended gothic, colonial, and Greek revival styles. The quiet strength of the Drew Forest created a sense of calm. The campus felt intimate and welcoming. It did not feel transactional or overwhelming. It felt personal. It felt lasting.
“It did not just feel like a place to attend school,” they recall. “It felt like home.”
Anthony enrolled first and graduated in 2005. Michael followed in 2008. Domenick in 2012. Though their years on campus did not significantly overlap, Drew became woven into the fabric of their family story. It was a shared foundation expressed in three distinct ways.
Their academic paths could not have been more different. Anthony immersed himself in organic chemistry and spent long hours in the Hall of Sciences. Michael pursued philosophy and engaged in rigorous discussions that stretched his thinking. Domenick studied business and developed the operational and financial discipline that would later shape his professional path.
Yet the differences were the point.
Drew’s liberal arts curriculum required each of them to step outside their chosen disciplines and wrestle with ideas beyond comfort and familiarity. Professors pushed them. Advisors held them to higher standards. Courses demanded intellectual humility and persistence.
“The most enduring lesson,” they reflect, “was perseverance.”
Failure was not final. It was feedback. Difficulty was not a deterrent. It was formative.
Those lessons were reinforced outside the classroom as well. All three brothers began their Drew careers in the pre-remodel Tolly dorm. For nearly a decade beginning in 2002, at least one Caruso brother could be found working behind the oak bar at the Drew Pub. The Pub became more than a campus job. It became a living classroom in conversation, perspective, and community. Graduate students, undergraduates, alumni, and professors crossed paths in that shared space.
In many ways, it reflected one of Drew’s greatest strengths. It brought together people who might otherwise agree on nothing and created a setting for meaningful exchange.
While the brothers may not have fully recognized it at the time, Drew was shaping not only their knowledge but their habits of mind. They were learning to question assumptions, debate respectfully, and think independently while valuing collaboration.
After graduation, each pursued his own professional journey. Their parents encouraged them to explore what genuinely interested them rather than what was expected of them. That freedom allowed each brother to grow individually and define his path.
Over time, they found themselves drawn back together.
In 2015, the Caruso brothers acquired Carbro, their family’s business, from their father and uncle. What began as a legacy became a calling. Three brothers became three partners united not only by blood but by complementary strengths sharpened during their years at Drew.
The analytical rigor developed through science. The ethical and strategic thinking shaped by philosophy. The operational discipline was refined through business study. What once existed in separate classrooms converged within a shared enterprise.
By their own account, Carbro has grown tenfold since they assumed leadership. Growth, they are quick to note, is not merely measured in numbers. It is measured in the stewardship of employees, the communities served, and the legacy entrusted to them.
Their connection to Drew is not abstract. It shows up in small but meaningful ways. Carbro’s corporate colors are blue and green, a quiet homage to the university that shaped them. A Drew mailbox sits at their corporate headquarters, a daily reminder of where their story began.
That word stewardship carries meaning for them beyond business.
Each graduating class at Drew begins full of potential. Students arrive ambitious, uncertain, capable of more than they yet know. Drew shapes them through challenge, community, and conviction. It strengthens confidence. It clarifies values. It instills discipline.
For the Caruso brothers, gratitude for that formation naturally evolved into a sense of responsibility.
This year, Anthony C’05, Michael C’08, and Domenick C’12 have committed $50,000 to establish the Caruso Scholarship Challenge. The first $50,000 in gifts designated to the College Scholarship Fund, the Caspersen Scholarship Fund, or the Theological School Scholarship Fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Members of the Classes of 2005, 2008, and 2012 will receive a special two-to-one match. The challenge will remain open through June 30, 2026.
Why scholarships?
Because access matters.
Because talent should not be limited by circumstance.
Because the experiences that shaped them—the late nights in Seminary Hall, the spirited conversations at the Pub, the demanding coursework that built resilience should remain possible for the next generation of Drew students.
“To fellow alumni considering a gift,” they say. “This is not simply a donation. It is stewardship. It is gratitude put into action.”
Their hope is not merely to fund scholarships but to inspire participation. To remind classmates and fellow alumni that the Drew experience they carry with them did not happen by accident. It was sustained by those who came before them. Faculty who invested their time. Alumni who gave generously. Mentors who believed in their possibilities.
Now it is their turn.
Drew, for the Caruso brothers, is more than a campus they once walked. It is a foundation that shaped who they became as individuals, as partners, and as leaders.
They were shaped by Drew.
Now they are stewards of its future, ensuring it continues to shape others for generations to come.
Join the Caruso Scholarship Challenge. Make your gift to the College Scholarship Fund, Caspersen Scholarship Fund, or the Theological School Scholarship Fund by June 30, 2026, and have it matched dollar for dollar. Members of the Classes of 2005, 2008, and 2012 will receive a special two to one match.
