Barry Wilkins, MBA,’09, offers the three ingredients that helped catapult him to the top of his industry: faith, discipline, and pursuing passions. But there is something else that makes Wilkins stand out from the pack: dynamism.

Along with a B.S. in economics with a mathematics minor from the University of Pittsburgh, Wilkins added an MBA in finance from La Salle to his portfolio. “I wanted to give my career some legs,” he says.“And that’s exactly what I got.”

He credits his classes at La Salle, including some invaluable travel study trips, with helping him get ahead in his career. “I went from zero background in credit analysis, budgeting, and forecast analysis to one of the best [financial] underwriters on my team,” he says. “That stems from the confidence levels I was able to learn at La Salle and getting involved.”

Wilkins’ career has evolved outside of the traditional finance trajectory over the years. From technical positions to client-facing roles as senior relationship strategist, vice president at PNC Bank (Wealth Management Group) and now as FUSE executive fellow with the Managing Director’s Office and Department of Commerce with the City of Philadelphia, Wilkins created his own career path using all of his skils. That, he says, is what has made all the difference.

“I don’t think that there’s anybody who has the background that I have,” he says, “which makes you stand out… And that’s what you need these days. One of my fears is that I don’t want to be a one trick pony.”

But Wilkins doesn’t worry too much about that these days. “I’m spiritually grounded, I work hard, and I pursue the things I’m passionate about and everything else sort of falls into place from there.”