Alumni Events

Back-to-School Alumni Happy Hour

Kick-off the school year with your fellow Tampa Prep Alumni at our annual Back to School Happy Hour. Complimentary drinks, food and live music in the Smith Black Box Theater on Tampa Prep’s Campus! Take a look at the video below to see what the event is like. We are excited to welcome you all to campus and catch up!

Spread the word, and RSVP here and on Facebook!

The Smith Black Box Theater was alive with conversation as Terrapins of all ages — from members of the first graduating classes in the late ‘70s to more recent alumni — gathered to connect and reconnect at the Back to School Happy Hour on Friday, September 22. It was Prep’s first time hosting the event and it could not have been more of a success. Live music filled the air as around 80 guests enjoyed cocktails, food and the special relationships that Tampa Prep fosters.

Alumni Board President Chelsea Nauta Colwill ‘07 says of the Prep alumni events she has attended over the years, something about being on campus made the Back to School Happy Hour particularly enjoyable. “People are laughing, having fun and really enjoying themselves,” she says. “I think being back at school has a lot to do with that.”

Some of the attendees had not seen the latest renovations to Tampa Prep’s campus and were taken aback by the stunning additions. It was also a great opportunity to see old classmates and familiar faculty while meeting new Terrapins. Alumni Board member Ryan Muley ’11 says the main point of the event was to bring the School community together, and the mingling he observed on Friday night makes him confident that goal was accomplished. “I don’t think I saw one group of people just hanging out with each other,” he says. “Everyone was moving around the room.”

As a young independent school, Tampa Prep has quickly reached the point where alumni are taking the reins in important leadership positions. “The inmates have taken over the asylum now,” Board of Trustees President Matt Danahy ’79 joked to the crowd. Danahy said he was thrilled with the attendance and would encourage all Prep alumni to continue to stay connected and involved with the School. “One of the things I think everybody needs to keep in mind is you can be more involved in the School,” he says. “You can be the folks who are in charge of the forward progress of Tampa Prep.”

Alumni Holiday Mixer

2018 Event Recap

In 2018, Tampa Prep’s three main alumni events — the All School Alumni Reunion, Back to School Happy Hour and Holiday Mixer — saw a marked increase in attendance and lots of new faces. Alumni Association President Chelsea Nauta ‘07 estimates that while these events pulled 60 to 80 people previously, they averaged over 120 this year.

Most recently, the November Holiday Mixer brought downtown Tampa hot spot American Social to near max capacity with around 150 in attendance. But even with the increase in quantity, it is still all about quality.

“They are fun events, but they are also highly beneficial if you’re looking to connect with amazing people,” Nauta says.

2017 Event Recap

With a diverse range of interests and whole lot of ambition represented in every graduating class, it’s no surprise that Tampa Prep alumni take their talents around the country, and even the world. That’s why the holiday season, when many Terrapins return to Tampa to visit family, is the perfect time for Prep to host an alumni social.

This year’s Alumni Holiday Mixer was another success with about 90 Prep grads spanning the School’s 43 years enjoying music, drinks and the opportunity to reconnect with friends at Franklin Manor in downtown Tampa. Alumni Board President Chelsea Colwill ’07 also used the event as an occasion to gather members of her class for a 10-year reunion. She says she was thrilled with how many former classmates, about 25, showed up. “I thought it was really fun to reconnect with my class and get to know their spouses, friends or whoever was with them,” she says.

Alumnus Miles Vaughn ’07, who was attending a Prep alumni function for the first time, says he appreciated the convenient timing of the event because it gave him an opportunity to attend while in town for Thanksgiving. “It’s great to see people you haven’t seen a while, and it’s not just the classmates but the administrators and faculty,” he says, noting the relaxed atmosphere.

Now that he knows how great Prep’s alumni events are, Vaughn has no problem recommending them to all Tampa Prep graduates. “If you’re in town, there is no reason for you not to go,” he says. “You’ll see some familiar faces.

Alumni Spring Reunion

For the second year in a row the Tampa Prep All Class Reunion brought generations of Terrapins together to reconnect, reminisce and be reminded of the bonds Prep creates. “It’s a reaffirming of the depth of the Tampa Prep experience,” Faculty Emeritus Bob Bradshaw says. “For me, it’s uplifting.”

Bradshaw, who often finds himself in high demand at alumni functions, is just one example of the relationships that come to light when the Tampa Prep community gathers, and the reunion on Friday, April 6, at the Vault in downtown Tampa was no exception. In addition to one another’s company, former students and faculty enjoyed refreshments and live music. The Vault, with its 35-foot ornamental ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows and overall elegance, provided the perfect setting for the evening. “The atmosphere always is very positive,” Bradshaw noted.

Alumnus Daniel Abreu ’02 didn’t make it to the inaugural All Class Reunion in 2017 and is glad he was one of the approximately 150 attendees this year. “It was so much more amazing than I ever could have imagined,” he says. “The night made for an amazing opportunity to reconnect with old friends and faculty, and was the perfect chance for someone like myself to meet some of the newer faces in the TP family.”

Abreu added that spending such a fantastic evening with the Prep community got him pumped up to support and be involved with the School. Thank you to all the alumni and faculty who helped create this special evening. We hope you will continue to join us in celebrating the relationships that make Prep unique.

Spring Training Event

March 18, 2018, George M. Steinbrenner Field

Beautiful weather, ballpark hotdogs and America’s pastime set the scene for Prep’s latest alumni get together as dozens of grads gathered to watch the Yankees take on the Marlins at George M. Steinbrenner field. “I thought it was a blast,” Joey Bobo ’10 says. “It was great to catch up with old friends and the baseball game was a great backdrop for that.”

Not only was it an opportunity to bring Prep alumni together — the event was a reflection of our community’s commitment to the School. Thanks to Robert Molloy ’10, we were able to offer this afternoon of fun to our community. It’s occasions such as these that help strengthen our alumni community and Prep as a whole.