TateTough

Tate Prezzano is a student and lacrosse player at the University of Georgia. A first team all SELC Lacrosse Player at Georgia Southern, 2019 Defensive Captain Award at UGA, MVP and Captain of his Cambridge High School Lacrosse team and defensive leader on the Cambridge Football team are well earned, but not what defines Tate.

A quiet leader that people of all ages look up to, Tate is revered by his peers, mentors and all that meet him.  Tate, an Eagle Scout recipient, represents himself, his family and friends in the highest regard in the classroom, athletic fields and in the community.  On April 22, 2019, Tate was shot multiple times in the head, neck and shoulder while waiting for a bus to class at 7:21 A.M. on a Monday morning.

 Tate’s regimen of college academics and athletics has been replaced by physical therapy, occupational therapy, aquatic therapy, counseling and of course legal obligations.  His regimen of therapy has taken Tate out of an important internship process in the FinTech / Payment space this summer that will set him back a bit academically. 

 With all of this in mind, Tate has a remarkably good attitude and has an “Attack The Day” attitude towards making a full recuperation. While he has made good progress, he has a long way towards the elusive recovery.  Recent appointments with neurosurgeons give Tate a very good chance to get to the coveted recovery he is working towards; but may still have lifelong consequences of this incident. 

Tate and his team are creating a foundation called The TateTough Foundation and will have a tiered approach:  The initial purpose of this fund is to assist in Tate’s goal towards full recovery through his continued treatment, rehabilitation and possible future surgeries.  The Foundation will also develop a scholarship fund that will focus on Tate's core values of toughness, integrity and leadership. Additionally, Tate and his support team are creating a Foundation to assist and benefit universities in augmenting safety and security on campus.  The TateTough Foundation will release a full plan in the near future to detail the strategy of this commitment. 

 Lastly, Tate and his family want to thank the incredible network of support that has been realized through this process.  We always knew how blessed we have been to have such incredible family and close friend groups.  We have been overwhelmed by the outpour of support from our local and immediate communities, schools (college and high school), church, athletics (football and lacrosse) and even those of you we don’t know personally.  Thank you for your prayers and support and keep them coming; they are working.