August 19, 2025
Greetings, fellow Panthers!
On behalf of the Alumni Association Board, we welcome you to the 2025-2026 academic year and offer our sincere hopes that you have enjoyed your respective summers, dreaming big, doing right, and finding time to unplug and relax.
Whether you are soon returning to campus as an alum who is also a Panther parent, you recently joined us at Target Field for MPA Alumni Night, or you continue to keep in touch with MPA from hundreds or thousands of miles away via personal updates or financial support of the school, we hope to see your face or hear from you in the year to come.
As the school enters its 43rd year under the new head of school, Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon, you remain an important part of MPA’s legacy and influence. Our Panther alumni network of roughly 2,500 continues to grow with each graduating class.
This year, the alumni association board is growing as well, with the addition of four new members and an association body that represents Panthers from the graduating classes of 2000-2022! It is a dynamic group that will bring great energy and ideas to MPA throughout the year!
Whether you graduated from MPA in the 1980s or just recently drove away from campus with your diploma as a member of the Class of 2025, we hope you know that MPA will always be a place that you can call home and be treated as a valued member of our community.
As the year moves along, please feel free to engage with MPA as a volunteer, offering your career expertise as a mentor, sharing an update via our social channels, and considering a financial gift to MPA to further the school’s mission and values.
Standing on the shoulders of the exemplary work of past alumni board presidents, James Cordon ’97, Mike Velin ’06, and Amanda Magistad ’12, and the MPA alumni board members of years past, the Panther alumni network has never been in a stronger or more exciting position. We seek to continue the growth of our alumni bonds via your participation in any number of ways and initiatives, à la carte, in the manner that best suits you at your respective point in post-MPA life.
Once upon a time, I spent 13 years at MPA as a “Lifer,” only to spend the next 17 years disconnected from the school. Upon my return as an MPA PreK parent in 2021, I quickly wondered what had taken me so long to revisit this unique and forward-thinking community.
If it has been a while for you, too—hey, I can relate. Consider taking the first step of sharing your story to further bolster and grow our flourishing alumni network. I promise you will feel the MPA warmth when you receive a reply from the development and alumni relations staff, Ashley, Angie, Michelle, or a member of our alumni board.
In a world that often seems to shrink from solving problems and doing right by the day, you are one of 2,500 in this mighty Panther alumni community. By connecting with one another, learning from one another, and collectively supporting the future of MPA for current Panthers, our community will achieve its big dreams while doing right.
Go Panthers,
Tim Koerner ’03
Alumni Association President
MPA Parent, Classes of 2036 and 2039
Maya Merchant ’22 recently completed an incredible semester abroad with the School for Field Studies at their Center for Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Throughout the semester, Maya engaged in coursework and conducted fieldwork in Tropical Coastal Ecology, Tropical Forest Ecology, and Environmental Governance and Development.
We are getting ready for the 2025-26 school year, and we hope that you are as excited as we are! Below you will find all of the details about each Back To School event. If you have any questions, please reach out to your 
from Dr. Lori-Anne Brogdon, head of school
Mounds Park Academy’s speech team delivered an extraordinary performance at the 2025 National Speech and Debate Tournament, showcasing the power of dedication, collaboration, and Panther pride on the national stage.
from Rudy Ford, director of extended day and summer programs
The MPA Alumni Association is pleased to announce the 2025 MPA Alumni Association Award recipient, Mason Ferlic ’11! This award honors alumni of outstanding talent pursuing their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations while embracing the spirit of MPA’s commitment to community and social outreach. Award recipients are real-world inspirations for both current students and fellow alumni to dream big and do right.
Faculty And Staff Appreciation Round Up!
from Dr. Bill Hudson, head of school
Upper School students at Mounds Park Academy dedicate tremendous time and energy to their work, embodying the values that make our community proud. In recognition of their accomplishments, MPA held the Upper School Awards Assembly on Friday, May 23 in the Nicholson Center. The event celebrated students who earned distinctions in areas such as Academics, National Merit, Scholarships, Yearbook, Choir, Band, Orchestra, Visual Art, Math, English, Science, Social Studies, Forensics, French, Spanish, Drama, Athletics, the Spirit of ’86, Certificates of Distinction, and the Alumni Association. Join us in congratulating these outstanding students!