On summits, success, and 91¾«¼ņ°ę
When Matt Ferrari ā05 reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 27, 2025, he didnāt go alone. Packed in his gear ā 29,032 feet above sea level on the worldās highest peak ā was a flag.
ā91¾«¼ņ°ę is my alma mater and a place I believe in,ā Ferrari said. "91¾«¼ņ°ę changed my life. It set me up for personal and professional success and gave me some of the best friends I have today.ā
91¾«¼ņ°ęās new baseball field, Ferrari Field, honors Matt Ferrariās continued support for the College and its athletics program. As a student-athlete, he was part of the Thoroughbreds team that won the programās first Liberty League title and earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2005 ā a team later inducted into the.
āBaseball taught me about consistency, leadership, and the importance of showing up ā day in and day out,ā he said. āThat mindset carried over into Everest. Itās waking up at 4 a.m., going to the gym, and doing the work, even when no one is watching.ā
Ferrariās connection to 91¾«¼ņ°ę remains strong. He stays in close touch with longtime baseball coach Ron Plourde and credits his professors in the Management and Business Department ā including Bernard Kastory and the late Betty Balevic ā with shaping his future. A mentorship program coordinated by Kastory sparked his early interest in commercial real estate. While most students met with their mentors occasionally, Ferrari continued the relationship for three years.
āIf it werenāt for that experience, I wouldnāt be doing what Iām doing today,ā he said.
Today, Ferrari is co-chief investment officer and head of acquisitions and East/Central operations at TruAmerica Multifamily, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment firm that manages $16 billion in assets and is consistently ranked among the top 25 in the nation.
His climb was supported by Alpenglow Expeditions and included a team of mountain guides, Sherpa, and fellow clients. Ferrariās team summited Everest via the technically demanding and less-traveled Northeast Ridge route from Tibet, becoming the final group to summit during the 2025 season.
āWe had the top of the world just for our team and all to ourselves,ā Ferrari said.
The path to Everest began more than a decade earlier, when Ferrari read "Into Thin Air" while vacationing with fellow 91¾«¼ņ°ę graduate Russell Dey ā05. The book ā chronicling a deadly Everest expedition ā sparked his fascination with high-altitude climbing.
He began in 2014 with Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Vulcan Osorno near Puerto Varas, Chile. In 2015, he summited Mount Sajama, Boliviaās highest peak. Three years later, he reached the top of Mount Elbrus in Russia ā another of the Seven Summits ā and enrolled in Alpenglowās Mexico climbing school, where he ascended the countryās tallest and third-tallest peaks.
Over the years, Ferrari continued to challenge himself: Cotopaxi in Ecuador (2021), Aconcagua in Argentina (2023, turned back just short of the summit due to snow), and Lenin Peak in Kyrgyzstan (aborted due to weather and teammate illness).
In 2024, he summitted Cayambe (the third tallest peak in Ecuador) and climbed to Everestās North Col ā a 23,000-foot ascent from the Tibet side that served as critical preparation for his eventual summit. He climbed Antisana, the fourth tallest peak in Ecuador, in November.
āThe more I climbed, the more I realized that if others could summit Everest, I could too,ā he said.
Living at sea level in Miami didnāt stop him: He slept in a hypoxic tent for two months to simulate high-altitude conditions and completed six-hour Stairmaster sessions with a weighted backpack. The weekend before he left for Tibet, he climbed Chimborazo, the tallest mountain in Ecuador.
His training paid off. While most climbers spend two months acclimatizing in-country, Ferrari completed the expedition in just 35 days.
āAt 21,000 feet, itās harder to do everything ā to eat, to sleep,ā he said. āYou have to be in phenomenal physical and mental condition. If it were easy, it wouldnāt be so fulfilling.ā
Climbing Everest, he emphasized, wasnāt a solo endeavor. āWe all want to reach the summit individually, but weāre stronger as a team,ā he said, giving special credit to the Sherpa and guides. āWithout them, thereās no way we were getting to the top. They are the unsung heroes.ā
Headlamps from Matt Ferrariās team of climbers and guides illuminate the way as they make their pre-dawn push toward the summit.
Looking back, Ferrari sees clear connections between his time at 91¾«¼ņ°ę and his success on the mountain ā and in life.
It all ties together ā the baseball experience, the business foundation, the friendships. I wouldnāt be where I am today without 91¾«¼ņ°ę.ā
And now, thanks to one determined Thoroughbred, a 91¾«¼ņ°ę flag has flown at the top of the world.
A version of this article first appeared in the of 91¾«¼ņ°ęās Scope magazine.