Since graduating in 2009, Tony Barreto has truly gone on to light his world. From home in Illinois to Slovakia to the Southern United States, Tony and his family have lived a legacy of faith and service. We caught up with Tony as he filled us in on his life and travels since graduation.
“I graduated from Nazareth Academy in 2009. Naz is a huge part of my family as my brother, Andrew, graduated in 2014 and my dad, Jose, works in the Maintenance Department. I think the most impactful experience for me at Naz was being part of Coach Milano’s baseball program for four years. That experience built the foundation for what would become my vocation.
After graduating from Concordia Chicago in 2013 and getting married, my wife and I moved to Slovakia to work at a Christian school. In addition to teaching English, Math and Science, I also coordinated athletic events for the school. This led to the opportunity to partner with the Slovak Baseball Federation to coach the 18U, 23U and Men’s National teams. I was also fortunate enough to play for BK Apollo, a baseball and softball club that’s a member of the Euro Baseball League.
After four years overseas, my wife and I moved to Houston, Texas for four years where I served as the Athletic Director and Dean of Students at a private Christian high school. Since then, we moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida with our two children, daughter Zoya (4) and son Izaias (2) (and another on the way!) where we are settled for the time being – though we still travel quite a bit! We have been to nearly 50 countries and are currently planning another trip to South America in the winter.
I now work in sales/consulting with BSN Sports and work with all schools in St. Lucie and Martin County to optimize their athletic programs. My wife is currently an online adjunct theology professor for Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota and an online high school theology teacher for Orange Lutheran in California. She also consults for Lutheran Hour ministries and serves on a leadership committee for a Christian school in Madagascar and has been a keynote speaker at events around the country.”
We love to see Tony continuing to live out his passions and representing Nazareth Academy around the world.