Alumni Update: Tony
For Tony Romano, Carrollwood Day School was more than just a place of learning, it was a second home. “We had an extremely small class in '98 so we were all very close,” he shared. Surrounded by his older brother, younger sister, and their friends, Tony was immersed in a tight-knit environment where leadership, teamwork, and lifelong memories were all part of the experience.
In 1998, when CDS graduates were still 8th graders and the school had not yet expanded to include a high school, Tony completed his time here and went on to achieve remarkable things. When he was 17 years old, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He trained as a radio operator for artillery and was deployed overseas with the military police unit in December 2004. His ship was the first American vessel to respond to the devastating Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia. He couldn’t tell his family where he was at the time, but his father happened to see a photo of him receiving a presidential award in the Tampa Tribune.
From Indonesia, Tony’s journey led him to Iraq by early 2005 where he supported special operations, lighting up the night sky for their missions. He returned in July of that year, later deciding to stay in California to train other Marine units instead of deploying again. His team of six trained thousands of reservists in everything from artillery to medic response, running simulations every Saturday to prepare them for real-world missions.
After completing his service, Tony transitioned back to civilian life. He worked as a server, pursued his degree in criminology at HCC and USF, and aimed for a future in federal law enforcement with the dream of becoming a Secret Service Agent. That path led to a role with the TSA and, eventually, to what he described as “the most fun job” he ever had, working undercover at Nordstrom, catching shoplifters as an undercover agent.
In 2014, Tony joined RIPA & Associates, starting in the field and eventually moving into the office. One year later, he met his wife Sarah. When the Secret Service called to offer him a long-awaited job, he paused. “I knew Sarah was the love of my life and I wanted to see it through,” he said. He turned down the opportunity he had dreamed of to build the life he knew he wanted. Today, he and Sarah, our cherished school nurse at CDS, are happily married and raising their children, both of whom are proud students here at CDS as well.
Today, Tony works as an estimator at RIPA and serves as president and board chairman of the Post 9/11 Veterans Corp, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting fellow veterans. He looks back on his time at Carrollwood Day School with gratitude, crediting the school’s leadership culture for helping shape his path. From serving in the Marine Corps to raising a family and leading a nonprofit, Tony Romano continues to live a life rooted in service, guided by the values he first discovered at CDS.
We love sharing our alumni achievements with the CDS community. If you are a CDS Alumni and would like to share your accomplishments, please contact our Alumni Engagement Coordinator, Carli (Gauthier) Mianne '16 at cmianne@cdspatriots.org and let us know what you have been up to since leaving CDS. We look forward to hearing from you!