Lakewood Ranch resident earns degree of perseverance

It took more than 30 years, but a Lakewood Ranch resident finally accomplished his lifelong goal, finishing his business degree.

At 22, Bill Mariotti left the University of South Florida in Tampa because his father, William, was injured in an accident. He was only a few credits short of his degree when he returned to Sarasota to take over the family business, Mariotti Paving Co.

“I wasn’t looking at my own ambition, I was looking at what I could do to help,” said Mariotti, who is now 55.

“I tried to keep taking classes to keep my student status active, but I gave up in 1986,” Mariotti said. “I was getting more involved with the business, and I lost sight of finishing the degree.”

His work ethic helped him to not only take over the family business, but expand it three-fold. In his spare time, Mariotti got involved in the community by being involved with the Sarasota Academy of the Arts, Community Haven, Children First and the Loveland Center. He also serves on his homeowners association board in the Lakewood Ranch Country Club.

About four years ago, he rekindled his desire to finish his education.

That desire was sparked by a visit from his friend and the company’s insurance agent, Ted Bogusz. Mariotti noticed that Bogusz proudly displayed his alma mater, USF, on his license plate. Bogusz told Mariotti that he would get one for him, but Mariotti refused.

“I wasn’t an alumnus, not in my book,” he said.

Bogusz persuaded Mariotti to visit the campus and meet the chancellor. With that suggestion, Mariotti decided to finish his degree.

“I never really pushed him that hard,” Bogusz said. “He’s very self motivated. We talked about it and one day, he said, ‘I’m going to do it.’”

For someone who wakes up at 4 a.m., attending night classes after working a full day at his business wasn’t easy. Mariotti had to suspend a lot of his other pursuits.

“I never sit down,” he said. “I leave in the dark and come home in the dark,” he said.

He was required to complete five classes to finish his degree. His adviser suggested he start with a Statistics I class to ease back into the role of a student and refresh his memory. But Mariotti went straight into Stats II.

“That was the hardest class I ever took,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges he faced was getting used to the technology in the classroom.

Mariotti recalled one of his first days of class, how the student next to him took notes on a laptop and already had a print-out of the syllabus. When Mariotti asked where the syllabus was, the student showed him how to find it online.

After 18 months of classes, he received his diploma Dec. 13. He’s now involved in USFSM – he calls it his hobby — as the campaign committee chairman and a member of the community leadership council. He hopes one day to serve on the USFSM board.

Bogusz and Anila Jain, a USF alumna and an elementary school friend, organized a celebration for him Dec. 11.

“We were so proud he was graduating,” Jain said. “It was special because of his family obligations, and now he achieved a goal his parents would be proud of.”