TA Alumni News - Autumn 2026
October 2026
October 30, 2026 - Fall Edition
From the Principal's Heart
Greetings, Takoma Academy Alumni!
What an honor and privilege it is to serve as principal of Takoma Academy under the leadership of our Lord and Savior!
Our theme this school year is "Following Christ Together," and that invitation extends beyond our current students, staff, and families to include YOU—our beloved alumni!
Each of you is an important part of the TA story. You once walked these hallways, cultivated friendships, pursued your dreams, and left your own unique mark on our school's rich history.
We are eager to strengthen our connections, celebrate our shared legacy, and explore new opportunities to advance Takoma Academy together in this next chapter.
There are so many reasons to give God praise and so much to look forward to!
🎓 Save the Date: Alumni Weekend 2027!
Mark your calendars for April 22–25, 2027! We will especially honor our milestone graduating classes celebrating anniversaries in multiples of five years, from 5 to 75 years! Of course, ALL alumni are warmly invited to join the celebration. Expect delicious food, dynamic programming, meaningful fellowship, and joyful opportunities to reconnect, reminisce, and give thanks to God for all He has done!
💻 Let's Connect: Virtual Alumni Meeting
Join us on Tuesday, November 17, from 7:00–8:00 PM EST for a special Alumni Zoom Meeting! We'll share updates about TA Today, gather your ideas for Alumni Weekend 2027, introduce our inaugural Principal's Alumni Cabinet initiative, and explore exciting ways to stay connected and involved.
Join us on Zoom via: https://bit.ly/TAAlumniMtgNov17
🛍️ Support Our Alumni Businesses!
As the holiday season approaches, we invite you to explore and support some of our very own alumni-owned businesses featured in this newsletter and beyond! We look forward to highlighting even more of the remarkable talents, ventures, and resources within our alumni community in future editions. Please feel free to email our team if you have any specific alumni business recommendations: schooladmin@ta.edu.
❤️ Giving Back: Time, Talent, Treasure & Testimony
We are excited to launch an Alumni Generosity Challenge soon! In the meantime, we invite you to consider how you might invest in the next generation of TA students towards our Worthy Student Funds and/or various Facility Improvement projects.
Your generosity can take many forms. Consider making a tax-deductible financial contribution directly through our Support TA page OR AdventistGiving (Select: Potomac Conference >Categories, Conference Offerings >Takoma Academy Endowment). You can also share your time, talent, or testimony. We have already been blessed by alumni returning to campus to speak with students, share their experiences, and inspire the next generation. There is room for everyone to make a difference!
As we look ahead, my prayer is that every alumnus feels connected, valued, and inspired to remain part of the Takoma Academy family of faith. Our history is rich, our present is full of promise, and our future is brighter when we move forward together.
I hope to "see" you on November 17 for our alumni collaboration! Happy Sabbath!
With gratitude and blessings,
Dr. Jasmine Brann
Principal, Takoma Academy
Celebrating our Alumni!
Our Takoma Academy family is delighted to celebrate Dr. Ernest Ponraj, Class of 2000! A dentist, artist, and entrepreneur, Dr. Ponraj is a wonderful example of pursuing excellence while embracing multiple talents and passions. His private dental practice also includes an public art gallery for the community.
Reflecting on his TA experience, Dr. Ponraj fondly remembers the foreign language, band, and class trips, along with the school's emphasis on academics, music, and athletics. He credits TA with providing a well-rounded education that helped shape his future and instilled the importance of community, service, and using his God-given gifts to make a difference.
Interestingly, Dr. Ponraj shares that he never took an art class while attending TA! Yet, his journey reminds us that our interests and talents can continue to grow and evolve throughout life.
His encouragement to today's students is powerful: “You don't have to give up on your creativity and passions to be successful in what you do.”
He challenges students to resist limiting themselves to others' expectations, think outside the box, and chart their own paths.
Congratulations, Dr. Ponraj! We celebrate your accomplishments and the inspiring example you set for the next generation of TA students!
Learn more:
Student Voices Today
Michael Nwanguma is a current senior at Takoma Academy. He is the founder of the SY26-27 Creative Writing Club. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, making comic books, and going on nature walks. His post-secondary plans are to major in chemistry and minor in creative writing. He desires to use his life to inspire others not to conform to what they fear.
Here is Michael's original narrative below.
Have you ever awoken from sleep and felt like you shouldn’t have? Have you felt as if your purpose was nonexistent, and do the days that go by feel like nothing but stagnant water? No waves, no will, just a body in space, taking it up and wasting it completely. That is the way I feel, the kind of morning that I would always wake up to. Or at least, it was.
Bright and early, the doors of Takoma Academy open wide, almost as if they are reaching out to embrace me. When I rush to the doors, I’m greeted by smiling faces, bright beams of light that crack a smile out of my tired, lethargic body. When I’m used to being gazed upon with nothing but disdainful frowns from myself, an amiable smile is a breath of fresh air. Imagine seeing a hallway filled with laughter, not at me, but with me, enjoying the day that I wasn’t even guaranteed to have. Again, a smile escapes and plasters itself onto my face, like it was trapped in my body and was dying to be let go. But it wasn’t that fake smile you give when you’re uncomfortable where you are. It’s the kind of smile you give towards something you love, and the kind that only shows itself when you know there is love.
I take a seat in the classroom, a place that could only ever feel like prison to most students. Sitting in a classroom is a punishment worse than death. Flying words and complex concepts that you don’t know the meaning of suffocate the room like locusts in a field of, well, anything. This should be the worst part of the day, but not at Takoma Academy. In a room where it seems like you can do nothing but stare at drywall and watch the tree branches wave at you outside the classroom window, my posture is raised, eyes fixed towards the board and the instructor. The instructors don’t shame me for asking questions; they encourage it and constantly challenge me to think more, focus more, ask more. No matter the subject, no matter the topic, the instructors will implore me to seek knowledge, inside and outside the classroom. So, I raise my hand, unafraid to ask, because to attain academic integrity, the search of knowledge is required.
On a Chapel Day, where we all gather in our official uniform and enter the chapel to fellowship together. I take my seat in the maroon chairs, surrounded by friends of mine. However, even with my friends beside me, and the constant support that I get from my instructors, an abyss nestles itself in my heart and mind. Emptiness is a feeling that cannot simply be taken away; it is constant, unrelenting, and unforgiving. The more I add, the more it takes away and makes me feel like I have nothing. But when the first prayer is given up to God, the praise team enters the stage and invites God’s presence through song, and when the speaker goes up and reminds us to trust God and lean not on our own understanding, the darkness in my heart and mind is replaced with the illumination of God’s love for me. The emptiness is filled, not with anything this world reaches out its hand to give me, but with the God who gave His life to save me from my own sin. The worship experience doesn’t just give me good vibes, it refurbishes my faith constantly, and tells me to continue to seek God.
Each of these values are reflected in Takoma Academy’s Kingdom-Class Education. This lifestyle woven in excellence doesn’t begin with man, it begins with God. He is Who gives Takoma Academy its transformative and impacting power. His wonder-working power worked on me, and I’m sure if it worked on me, it will most certainly work on anyone who steps foot into this school.
TA Alumni on the Move!
Takoma Academy Alumni serving as educators in Potomac Conference Schools! Ministering through education!
TA Alumnus, Phil Riley, producer of the Hope Channel coordinated a "Let's Pray" episode with Principal Brann to highlight Takoma Academy
TA Alumnus, Dr. Tom Peterson, Professor at the University of West Georgia & the Founder/Director of the peer mentoring program, Spark, stops by TA on his way to present at a conference in D.C.
A History Tour & Facilities Visit with TA Alumnus & Long-Time Supporter, Mr. Borchers & Son!
Takoma Academy Alumni support our
Inaugural Back-to-School Prayer 5K! Thanks Lorianne and Lamont!
TA Alumnus, Dr. Scriven, Associate Director of Washington Adventist University's Honor College
visits and leads a student experience at the Model United Nations annually in the Netherlands
Mr. Brennwald (Class of 1977) spoke with our TA 100 - Freshmen Class about life and the legal profession!
TA Alumnus, Cecil Calliste, stops by the school with treats for staff!
TA Alumnus, Harry Knox, visits for Grandparents' Day & reminisces by reviewing his class' yearbook photos!
TA Alumnus, Dr. Todd H. Sterling (Class of 1995) and longtime TA parent, completed the IRONMAN California, a140.6 mile-race!
TA Alumnus, Pastor Alex Barrientos (Senior Pastor of Sligo SDA Church), shared his powerful and inspiring testimony with us during one of our Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations and chapel!
