Trinity College School NOTABLE ALUMNI

One interesting thing about boarding at Trinity College School is that while, of course, high school leads to deep friendships, I think living with your peers at all times leads to a depth of friendship that is amazing and has served me well. There are still friends from high school that I've kept in touch with during Covid, and we video chat each other. Now, I live in San Francisco, and whenever I return to Ontario, there are people that I'm keen to see. That experience of essentially having grown up together, and living on the same campus, really leads to some amazing friendships. That's something special about Trinity College School that might not be apparent from the outside.

I think not a lot of people can say they have this degree of friendship with their high school friends. I got to know my classmates so well that the person I live with right now is from TCS. I have two TCS people right now in my house. We are life friends; we have been friends for seven years now. And I've met so many other TCS people who I see in the streets, and we stop and say hi to each other. And that's a level of community that's hard to come by. I’ve graduated from UofT, and UofT has not met that standard.

TCS is very engaged with its alumni. There are branch dinners in major cities around the world and we are always excited to go and see one another. Parents are actively encouraged to be a part of the community and to visit for sports games, musical or theatre performances and debates. Some of my closest friends from TCS are still my closest friends as an adult. We attend eachother's weddings, visit when we happen to be in the same city anywhere in the world and talk on a regular basis. It is a community that continues to give.

Trinity College School shaped me in two main ways. One is definitely in terms of the opportunities that Trinity College School afforded me, which set me on a path that I'm really grateful for. ... I was lucky to attend an entrepreneur's dinner while I was at Harvard University, where I met all sorts of really amazing alumni from Trinity College School. I got my first tech internship through one of them. I ended up working at Strava, an app based around running and cycling in San Francisco. That opportunity got me my first tech internship, and from there, I was able to get an internship with Facebook and ultimately worked there full time.

Two years out, the things that I did at TCS are getting me executive positions at clubs at McGill. And I also just got hired at Deloitte, and the person who hired me told me a big reason he hired me was my research experience at TCS that differentiated me. If you're doing things that you love, if you find your communities, find people that are doing what you love, it's not going to feel like work. It's just going to feel like a place that you want to be.

I feel like there’s a sense of hope here, where if you have dreams, you can fulfill them. You can aim big and fulfill those dreams. When I graduated from the school, I felt hopeful that I could accomplish whatever I set myself out to do. I felt I could achieve that.

I will always say that going to Trinity College School is probably the best decision I've made in my life so far, and my parents would agree that that's the best decision that we've made together.

A reason I would recommend Trinity College School would be around the strength of the community, both while you're on campus and afterwards You get to know your peers and teachers really well. Coming back to Toronto each year for the holiday season, I always look forward to is the reunion that Trinity College School hosts every year for the alumni. I love seeing all of my friends, and the yearly cadence of the reunion speaks to the strength of the Trinity College School community.

I watched my son go off to university this year with so much confidence. It was awesome. His connection back into the Trinity College School community is amazing. He's come back this summer, and that's his world. He's reconnected with all these buddies, whether he's going on camping trips with them, visiting Toronto, out here in Port Hope. That's really cool, that he continues that sense of community, and I think the school really fosters that.

Any Trinity College School alumni I meet, everyone has that connection. You so easily connect with people who have been there. I think that speaks a lot to the community that really is fostered there.

I know that moving forward, I have a bunch of friends from Trinity College School who are from Bermuda and the Bahamas, so obviously I want to go there. I know that even though I haven't spoken to some of them in two or three years, if I call them up and say, ‘Hey, I'm coming.’ They will say, ‘Yes. Let's hang out. Let’s reconnect.’

While I was at Trinity College School, sports were a huge part of my life. I played soccer, squash, and tennis. So for me, those things were probably the biggest thing I liked about Trinity College School, and then the community aspect. Now that I've left, it's definitely the overwhelming community aspect, and really just the idea of being open-minded to a lot of new things is something that I really took away from Trinity College School.

I still have friends from around the world; close friends from Indonesia, China, etc. I had a roommate from Japan. That aspect is really neat.

When I reflected on my time at TCS, since graduating 25 years ago, what sticks out is that aspect of being very well-rounded — and actually having a firm understanding of what it means to be a citizen; a contributing citizen; not someone who's passively living life, but an active citizen; and feeling very well-rounded, and feeling equipped, actually. That feeling I had: when I thought about my children, I thought, ‘There’s no other alternative’ than TCS.

I loved Trinity College School, and most of my friends loved Trinity College School. My dream would be to one day, if I have a child, to send them there. My second dream would be to name the building after myself, but that's a slightly more unrealistic one. I would recommend new students see Trinity College School for yourself, and meet the people, because that's what convinced me. Meeting one parent and their kids, seeing how much they loved it and seeing that I connected with them. That was enough, and I didn't regret that choice because that impression connected with my family and me. I think there's only so much you can read about a school and only so much you can see in interviews or videos online.

The alumni community of TCS is like no other I have seen, remaining strong in many parts of the world. From Toronto to London to Bermuda to Hong Kong, the community stays tightly-knit to their roots and events are held on a regular basis. This offers fantastic opportunities for networking, developing business relationships, and mentorship programs. At the school, parents are more than welcome on campus, often found wandering the halls looking at historic cricket team photos, or admiring the architecture. Further, groups like the "Guild" offer opportunities for parents to be involved in the running of school affairs and events. The alumni newsletter is one that almost everyone is excited to receive in the mail, updating everyone on life achievements and developments that go far beyond what facebook can provide.

The Alumni network is extremely strong and the school manages, leads, encourages and supports those efforts to stay connected to TCS after graduation. My husband and I are now TCS parents. The school welcomes parent and guardian involvement in the life of the school. They do an outstanding job to reach out to parents and guardians and to communicate those opportunities. The Parent Guild is a long-standing and dedicated organization to support parents and students while attending the school. Even during the COVID pandemic, the Parent Guild is connecting and encouraging parents.

I think the sense of community is really emphasized at TCS inside and outside of the school. I have kept in touch with all of my friends I was close with at my time there even after they have graduated. Many of them come from the same country as I do and every time I go back we would meet up. After my graduation, I also am still in touch with students that are still there; we keep up with each other through text messages and social media. Parents are very welcome to be part of school life. Events like the bear fair encourage them to visit, and my parents are both Global Ambassadors and they love the experience. I think the alumni network could be improved to promote the interconnection of people that have graduated, but I do see the hard work the alumni office puts in, such as the monthly alumni update.

TCS is all about establishing community with students, parents and alumni. The week prior to our youngest son starting school, we were invited to a get together with other Toronto TCS families. This was a lovely introduction for him to meet other new students from our area, not to mention an opportunity for parents to connect. At the start of the year, parents can join the Parents Guild which holds various meetings and get togethers. Parents of course are welcome to attend sports games and events and cheer on the Bears. As parents, our favourite events are the annual Christmas service and the Oxford Cup. The Christmas service is a beautiful evening hosted by Father Don with Christmas carols sung in candlelight, followed by a festive dinner in Osler Hall for all families. The Oxford Cup is a yearly cross country race that all students participate in and which also attracts families and alumni. This race has been held for over 150 years. There is always such great energy at the start of the race as each House shouts out their House cheers. Both my husband and oldest son are alumni and there is a strong alumni community with dinners, newsletters and class reunions.

There is an excellent extended TCS community and I can say that as an alumna and as a parent. As an alumna, there are often "Branch Dinners/Receptions" where alumnae get together, sometimes annually. Every year the school hosts reunions for five-year grads, 10-year grads, 15-year grads. It's a fun-filled weekend of sports, class dinners and catching up with old friends. Alumnae are often welcomed back to the school to speak with students about their careers. This provides students with the opportunity to ask questions about careers they might be considering. As a parent, it really depends on how involved you want/can be. The Parents' Guild organizes events like The Bear Fair and other events like care packages during exam season and many more. Pre-Covid The Guild organized a fabulous wine tasting event at the school and during Covid, organized a virtual flower arranging workshop.