For Lloyd “Tony” Thomas, finding Church Farm School was as simple as clicking a mouse.

And that is probably the last time his name will ever appear in a sentence that contains the word simple.

The son of a Jamaican father and Panamanian mother who works for the United Nations, Thomas, who is trilingual, has lived in Jamaica (where he was born), Panama, Honduras, Peru, Virginia, and Nicaragua. After spending his first two years of high school in Nicaragua, he knew he needed to return to the U.S. for better educational opportunities.

“We Googled best boarding schools in the U.S. and Church Farm School came up,” he said. “We liked the people — everyone is kind — and the financial access.”

Thomas has only been at CFS for 18 months, but he’s already made a big impact — he’s the President of the DECA and M-Clubs, Honor Council President, Admissions Ambassador, cottage prefect, and member of Student Government. He even founded the Stocks, Business, and Finance (SB&F) Club. He is also an honors student, and was recently recognized by the College Board with a National African American Recognition Award.

“CFS has challenged me academically and socially,” Thomas said. “I love the healthy competition at the school. We all push each other to excel, and when someone falls, we pick each other up. I always wanted to be surrounded by motivated people, and I found that here.”

An entrepreneur at heart, Thomas said he has always been passionate about using his interests for business — reselling stickers, shoes, you name it. He thought he’d be interested in politics for a bit, but a summer program at Pepperdine confirmed it wasn’t suited to his personality. More recently, he’s been pursuing a modeling career.

“Ever since I was young, I was invested in my sense of style; I always wanted to be the best dressed in the room,” he said. “When I came to CFS, I had never dressed in business attire before. CFS helped me expand my closet.”

Over the summer, Thomas and 500 other models participated in a casting call for a runway show in Managua, Nicaragua, and he was one of 50 models selected. He said it was a very competitive process, and he was thrilled to be chosen to wear 10 designer outfits and learn the intricacies of runway walking (it’s not nearly as easy as it looks, he said).

“It was a great opportunity to network with international designers and models,” he said.

What’s next for Thomas? His goal is to attend New York University next year to study business and technology.

The Church Farm School is an independent boarding and day school for boys in grades 9-12 in the Episcopal tradition. Founded in 1918 and located in Exton, Church Farm School prepares a diverse group of boys with academic ability and good character to lead productive and fulfilling lives by making a college preparatory education financially accessible.

Learn more about Church Farm School.