Chad Mallo, a high school teacher in Pasco County, earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from USF in 2001. Now, he is leading summer camps for finance and entrepreneurship. ORACLE PHOTO/LUIZA CAMPOS

Nearly 25 years after graduating from USF with a finance degree, Chad Mallo returned to the Tampa campus — this time as a summer camp instructor.

Mallo graduated from USF in 2001 and said he spent roughly 20 years working in banking before becoming a high school teacher.

He teaches in Pasco County and leads the entrepreneurship pathway at the Angeline Academy of Innovation, where he teaches four entrepreneurship classes — business entrepreneurship, financial literacy, accounting and business law.

Mallo said the transition from banking to teaching came from a desire to find a career where he could have a more direct impact on people’s lives.

“I was asking myself, ‘How am I helping others?’ he said. “In banking, you do help others, but I wanted to ask myself, how can I give back and be able to make a positive influence in someone’s life in the future, and so I was like, teaching.”

Now, Mallo is teaching nearly 65 high school students about financial literacy through the Bulls Finance and Bulls Startup summer camps at USF Tampa and St. Pete.

He said the financial literacy camp, which ran last week, teaches students the fundamentals of stocks through lectures and hands-on research at USF’s Lasher Center for Financial Markets.

The entrepreneurship camp in July will teach students how to turn ideas into business plans, sell the idea and showcase their business in a competition, he said.

For Mallo, coming back to USF is a “full-circle moment” and offers him an opportunity to give back to the community that shaped his career.

“I walk around this school, and I was a student here, and it’s like, you know, I’m a little older, and I know that I have a lot of knowledge, and it’s just, it’s surreal,” he said. “It really is.”

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Mallo said his teaching method incorporates real-world experiences into the classroom and is also open about showing students his own practices and engaging them with practical financial situations.

“I show the students my credit card statements, I show them my balance sheet, I show them my bank account, I show them how I have direct deposit,” Mallo said.

Mallo said he’s also used this method to help students create opportunities outside the classroom.

He said he developed a program for high school students to take an adult-level financial exam based on their mandatory financial literacy class. Students’ exam performance can also place them in paid summer internships with Achieva Credit Union.

Mallo added that one of the biggest lessons he took from USF — and makes sure to teach his students — is the importance of networking.

“One thing I believe is it’s not just what you know in this world, it’s also who you know, and I always tell students, if you got a who you know and a what you know, you’re dangerous in a positive way,” Mallo said.

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As the lead at the entrepreneurship pathway at the Angeline Academy of Innovation, Mallo has also motivated students to create and compete with business ideas for entrepreneurship competitions.

Mallo said three of his students placed first in the Pasco Young Entrepreneurship District Competition, including ninth-grade student Eva Livingston.

Livingston said she developed a product designed to prevent raccoons from opening trash cans — a problem her family experienced firsthand in their neighborhood.

“We were using bungee cords a lot of time, and it was just really annoying, because we had to take them off before, like, trash men actually came by,” she said. “That’s when I came up with the idea of creating a weighted trash can sleeve that could still stay on when trashmen come by.”

Mallo said Livingston’s presentation stood out because she combined creativity, marketing skills and comedy.

“Her project actually caught me by surprise, and how she presented it so confidently, being] just only in ninth grade,” he said. “The cool thing about it was she brought humor to her presentation, so it was a very unique, different type of presentation.”

On the other hand, Livingston said Mallo’s mentorship in his entrepreneurship class helped her feel confident presenting her project.

“He’s really just been a good mentor,” she said. “He’s helped to motivate me and guide me, and just make sure that I’m feeling encouraged, and he’s just very supportive throughout the whole process.”

She added that Mallo spent additional time helping her practice and prepare her presentation and delivery before meeting the judges.

“He dedicated a lot of his time to me and to help me prepare to present to the judges,” she said. “He wanted to make sure that I was feeling confident before I spoke with them.”

Following the competition, Livingston said Mallo has encouraged her to continue exploring new projects and entrepreneurship through motivation and support.

“He’s just a very kind-hearted person,” she said. “He’s very devoted to his students and even his staff. He’s very encouraging, and he does a lot for our school, and he’s just very positive.”