By Sophia Fulco

After eight years of worldly experience outside of the Collegiate bubble, Alex Neilson (‘14) returned to work as a staff member at the beloved school he once attended years ago. 

Returning to the campus in 2022, Neilson was a significant addition to the Development Office. Tuition covers 87% of the costs of running the School, so the Development Office’s job is to raise funds to help make up the remaining 13%, by reaching out to donors and alumni.

Neilson with alumni from the class of 2020 at their reunion in 2025.

When asked about his first few years working with the Development team, Neilson described himself as the “gift processor.” When fundraising, the money received by Collegiate from different grantors must be put somewhere. The Development Office has a database to hold the records of past grants. “It is my job to manage…and process the gifts,” said Neilson.

When the Development team gets mailed a check, Neilson said, “it is my job to put it in the system and make sure it gets applied to the right funds.” At Collegiate, there are three different funds for donations. Firstly, the Annual Fund “directly supports the budget of the School,” Neilson said. Then, endowment giving expands the School’s savings account, and capital giving provides the School with funds for buildings and potential new construction.

Eventually, Neilson started working more with alumni and landed his new role as Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement. Neilson connects alumni to the School, as well as to the students. This past summer, for example, Neilson accompanied a group of students, including myself, on the Trailblaze trip to New York to link alumni in the professional workforce with students. 

Neilson and the 7th Grade football team from 2024.

Besides working in the Development Office, Neilson also coaches two teams at Collegiate. As a new member of the Collegiate staff, Neilson was hesitant at first to coach Cub football when first approached by Director of Athletics Andrew Stanley. After weeks of debating and an interaction with varsity football assistant coach (and Middle School P.E. teacher) Trip Featherston (’87), Neilson signed on to coach Cub Green football. Neilson picked up coaching JV lacrosse as well in the spring season in 2022. 

Despite his many responsibilities and his work in the development office, Neilson is not a new face to the Collegiate campus. Neilson was at Collegiate from the time he was in Kindergarten to when he graduated in 2014.

As a student at Collegiate, Neilson fondly remembers, “getting started with Cub sports and being able to play sports for Collegiate for the first time.” Moreover, Neilson fondly remembers Upper School history teacher Shep Lewis. When Neilson was a student, Lewis was a Middle School history teacher: “he taught every 7th Grade boy history.” Upper School English teacher (and Match advisor) Vlastik Svab also taught Neilson. Svab said, “I remember his sense of humor and positive attitude, and it’s been great to see him grow in his new roles at our school.” Outside of the classroom, Neilson played football, wrestled (through 9th Grade), and played lacrosse.

When faced with the college decision, Neilson said, “I knew that I really liked Richmond, and I kind of had a feeling I would end up back here.” With this in mind, Neilson went to the University of Alabama to experience life outside of Richmond. 

After college, Neilson worked for his father’s company, an auto repair store called Tuffy Auto Service. During COVID-19, his father was ready to sell the company, which propelled Neilson to accept a job offer at a financial technology company called Paymerang, which was his first real nine-to-five job. Neilson was in entry-level sales and was calling people to sell them their products. However, he left when, “they started this new partnership program that essentially just went defunct.”

Randomly, when Neilson was on the phone with his buddy Guido Scruggs (‘14), Scruggs mentioned working at Collegiate, their alma mater. When asked about this suggestion, Neilson said it was an “awesome opportunity.” 

Since Neilson has returned to Collegiate, he notices how it has changed in some ways, specifically how social media has impacted the Collegiate community. When Neilson was a Freshman in Upper School, Instagram had just come out. However, he realizes that it has a larger impact on students now than it did for his classmates.

Neilson has made an influential impact on the Collegiate community and his co-workers. Always bringing joy to other people around him, Neilson has an infectious smile that lights up a room. He always steps up to the challenge and puts his best effort toward anything he is working on. Another member of the development team, Director of Parent/Family Relations Anna Gray Siebert (‘97), said, “beyond his incredible work ethic, so many of our best ideas and favorite events here at Collegiate originated with him. He makes our team better every single day.” Even after all those years away from Collegiate, Neilson predicted that he would return to Richmond. Coaching on the same fields he played on and walking the same campus he did throughout his childhood, Neilson has both received and given back to our community.

Above photos courtesy of Alex Neilson. Featured photo courtesy of Collegiate School.