Although Arizonans may think of prestigious East Coast universities — with their Einstein-brained students and Abominable Snowman-invoking weather — as immensely foreign, it turns out that these universities are much closer to home than we realize. They are especially so when considering the number of TPA alumni attending those schools. Over fall break, I had the opportunity to journey along the East Coast with my mom (aka Mrs. Moffitt, the College Counselor) and visit a few of our many Tempe Prep alumni currently attending undergraduate and graduate programs all along the East Coast.

Our first stop was Benjamin Franklin’ s University of Pennsylvania where we met with Justin Wang (TPA’ 2012). Although I expected to see someone who resembled the “ Fiddler on the Roof” I remembered from seventh grade (yes, he was the guy shredding on the fiddle), he walked up to us in purple frat-style Euro-swag shorts and I knew Penn had become his new home. Justin then took me to his Classical Chinese class. I was amazed to see how similar this Ivy League college class was to TPA’ s Greek and advanced Latin classes. His class worked together to translate an original ancient text — exactly what we on the Classics track do at TPA.

We then drove forty-five minutes to Princeton University in New Jersey. After walking through the almost transcendent beauty and serenity of the Princeton campus, we had a dorm dinner with our two TPA alumni studying there: Caleb Peckham (TPA’ 2013) and TJ Smith (TPA’ 2014). While eating, we began talking about what they loved most about their school. Caleb said, “ I love how Princeton really focuses on developing its students in community. The academic programs, the clubs, the athletics, etc. are more than just the activities — more than ‘ things to do.’ They’ re about making awesome friendships, meeting new people, and really growing holistically.” Of course, as the old De Equitibus Editor-in-Chief, Caleb was sure to also mention the benefits TPA gave to his education saying, “ TPA’ s focus on the humanities and the Western Tradition has equipped me with the skills to hold my own in any discussion or conversation, along with giving me the confidence to be an articulate and personable engineer.” Feeling confident about our TPA experience and excited about college life, my mom and I then said goodbye to our Princeton friends and prepared for our next day.

We traveled on to Connecticut to have a tour and lunch in the dining hall at Yale University where Hannah Peckham, TPA Class of 2008, is pursuing her Master’s in Religion with a concentration on the History of Christianity. Yale had the classic Hogwarts-style residence halls and the best grilled cheese sandwiches of all the colleges, but our dinner at Williams College in Massachusetts took the prize for organic foods in a picturesque village.

We next drove through forests of stunning fall colors in Vermont and arrived at Dartmouth University in New Hampshire. TPA also has two alumni studying there: Alexander Agadjanian (TPA’ 2014) and Rachel Matsumoto (TPA’ 2015). Alexander has taken his TPA De Equitibus reporting skills to work on the newspaper staff at Dartmouth. As a new freshman, Rachel seemed to be literally bouncing off the Dartmouth colonial-style walls with an unconstrained happiness at the home she had found there. She seemed to know every other person we passed. When asked about her college choice, she said, “ I just love the community that I have found here. People care so much about each other and are willing to go out of their way to help others.” Rachel also acknowledges the help TPA has given her saying, “ TPA taught me the value of a sense of wonder and depth of inquiry. Even though in high school those terms became a little old after a while, I am truly starting to see how valuable it is to have that background for college classes and choosing a career.”

Our next stop was Tufts University overlooking Boston to enjoy a tour and dinner with another recent TPA graduate, Victor Dinh (TPA’ 2015) who is majoring in Computer Science. Victor attends Tufts on an incredible full-ride QuestBridge scholarship thanks to his hard work at TPA. Considering this and his many other successes, Victor told me something profound. He said, “ One thing I like [about] college in general, is that it feels so much better to succeed because you are totally responsible for your own success.” If successes in high school feel great, just imagine how good they will feel in college. Victor also mentioned one specific attribute of Tempe Prep that helped him succeed as a college student: “ Tempe Prep has a classroom atmosphere that makes it easier for students to ask questions about anything.” Understandably, this is a skill that is vital for college success.

Our final stop was Columbia University in the middle of New York City where we got to meet with TPA’ s very own Ivy League basketball star, Camille Zimmerman (TPA’ 2014). Her height and athleticism made it very easy to find her. She showed us her surprisingly large dorm room overlooking Manhattan and then took us to her kitchen. Though a mere sophomore, Camille makes use of her valuable independence to save money by cooking her own meals with ancient grains from her sister’ s own Hayden Mills flour business. Camille has taken control of NYC as well as the basketball season that is just beginning.

As we were flying home from our adventure, I couldn’ t help but notice the gleam in my mother’ s eye. I asked her about it and she said, “ It was just such a fun trip and a thrill to see so many Tempe Prep students that were happy and completely engaged in their college adventures. Isn’ t it exciting to know that our curriculum and teachers at Tempe Prep prepare our students to be so successful and soar in such highly regarded international universities?”

It sure is. And it is just as exciting to think what our upcoming TPA graduates will experience in their own unwritten futures.