Skip to main content

Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall Welcomes 2014 Kobe Basketball Academy

Santa Barbara, CA – July 10, 2014 – Tropicana Gardens is happy to welcome Kobe Basketball Academy for the 2014 summer session. Tropicana will be housing over 800 participants, aged 8-18. Tropicana Gardens is located adjacent to UCSB’s main campus and the Thunderdome. The close proximity, suite-style accommodations, and on-site café make the experience easy and fun for campers; many of which are having their first overnight camp experience.

Damon Haley, Kobe Basketball Academy Camp Director, says, “We look forward to another great year at UCSB and Tropicana Gardens.Kobe Basketball Academy was founded in 2006. For more information, see the Kobe Basketball Academy website.”

Tropicana Gardens residence hall is just blocks from UCSB’s main campus. During the academic year, Tropicana Gardens provides Santa Barbara City College students a campus residence hall living experience with furnished suites, and an unlimited dining plan and a direct bus to SBCC. Tropicana Gardens is known for its exceptional student life programs, its lush resort-style setting and amenities such as a heated pool, fitness room, rec room and 24-hour study lounge.

 “Being a basketball fan myself, I am excited that Tropicana Gardens is again hosting Kobe Bryant’s amazing camp this summer,” said David Wilcox, Executive Director. “The kids love that they get to meet Kobe and get a signature from him while attending the camp.”

Tropicana Students Feed More than 7,500 Hungry Children

SANTA BARBARA, CA – April 17, 2014 – For several hours on a sunny Thursday afternoon, more than 75 Tropicana Student Living residents and staff  along with UCSB Lacrosse, UCSB Field Hockey, and local youth soccer teams came together to prepare meal packets for Stop Hunger Now. Tropicana Gardens Café turned into an assembly line to create 7,500 meals of rice, soy protein, dehydrated vegetables and nutrients.  

Isla Vista hasn’t been seen in the greatest light the last couple weeks, and we want to show that our students are doing great things here at Tropicana Student Living,” says Dave Wilcox, Executive Director of Tropicana Student Living.  “This is just an example of something that they’re doing that’s great for the community and great for the world.” The 7,500 meals that the Tropicana students and staff assembled will be distributed to Guatemala through Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief agency that ships them to school feeding programs in developing countries.

Stop Hunger Now coordinates the distribution of food and other life-saving aid around the world, with a mission to end hunger in our lifetime. Stop Hunger Now’s meal packing program began in 2005, and since then, more than 100,000 volunteers have packaged nearly 30 million meals to feed the world’s impoverished.

About Tropicana Student Living

Tropicana Student Living operates private residence halls and apartments for students attending the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) in Santa Barbara, California.  Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall (www.tropicanadelnorte.com), conveniently located adjacent to UCSB’s Main Campus is a small and friendly community with spacious suite-style units, an unlimited meal plan and resort-style living. Tropicana Villas (www.tropvillas.com) is an Isla Vista apartment community that caters to upperclassmen with furnished apartments and flexible leasing options. Tropicana Gardens (www.tropicanagardens.com), located an express bus ride away from Santa Barbara City College, is a private residence hall that provides an attractive alternative to apartments for SBCC students with its suite-style units and social and recreational activities organized by its large team of energetic RAs. For more information about housing options for UCSB and SBCC students, please call 805-968-4319.

###

Tropicana Student Housing Welcomes Michael Jordan Flight School

Santa Barbara, CA – August 1, 2013 – Tropicana Student Housing is proud to welcome Michael Jordan Flight School 2013 basketball camps for the 18th year.  Campers, who range in age from 7-18, will be staying at Tropicana Gardens and Tropicana Del Norte residence halls. With its convenient proximity to the UCSB Thunderdome, Tropicana’s residence halls are within easy walking distance for the campers, with suite-style accommodations and an on-site Café for meals.

“Every year, I am so excited to work with the Michael Jordan Flight School and their staff.  They are so professional, organized and they really work hard for all their participants to have such a great experience.” said David Wilcox, Executive Director. “I believe this is why they have so many participants that come back every year!”

Mark Raveling, Michael Jordan Flight School Camp Director, says, “We have been hosting the MJ camp at Tropicana and UCSB since 1995 and always look forward to coming back each year. We are excited for our 18th year.”

Michael Jordan Flight School is among the world’s finest youth basketball camps, where girls and boys can learn the fundamentals of shooting, dribbling, rebounding, passing, and defense from NBA great, Michael Jordan, and his first class coaching staff. For more information, see the Michael Jordan Flight School website.

About Tropicana Student Housing

Tropicana Student Housing offers residence hall and apartment living to more than 1,000 students attending the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC). Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall caters to UCSB freshmen; Tropicana Gardens offers SBCC students a college residential living experience and the Villas at Tropicana is an upperclassman apartment community. Tropicana is the Official Student Housing Sponsor of UCSB Athletics.

Tropicana Student Housing provides accommodations for more than 90 summer camps annually. Camp directors love Tropicana’s convenient locations to the UCSB campus, including the Thunderdome, pools, gyms and baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse fields. Summer campers enjoy furnished suite-style accommodations with meals included at a dining hall right on the premises. For more information on hosting a summer camp, contact Dave Wilcox, Executive Director at (805) 968-4319 or dwilcox@tropicanastudentliving.com.

Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall Welcomes Kobe Basketball Academy

Santa Barbara, CA – July 10, 2013 – Tropicana Gardens is proud to welcome Kobe Basketball Academy for its 2013 summer camp. This year, Tropicana will be providing housing for over 600 participants, who range in age from 8-18. With its convenient proximity to the UCSB Thunderdome, Tropicana Gardens is in easy walking distance for the campers, with suite-style accommodations and an on-site Café in its residence hall.

“Being a basketball fan myself, I am excited that Tropicana Gardens is again hosting Kobe Bryant’s amazing camp this summer,” said David Wilcox, Executive Director. “The kids love that they get to meet Kobe and get a signature from him while attending the camp.”

Zellie Hudson, Kobe Basketball Academy Camp Director, says, “We look forward to another great year at UCSB and Tropicana Gardens.”

Kobe Basketball Academy was founded in 2006. For more information, see the Kobe Basketball Academy website.

Tropicana Gardens residence hall is just blocks from UCSB’s main campus. During the academic year, Tropicana Gardens provides Santa Barbara City College students a campus residence hall living experience with furnished suites, and an unlimited dining plan and a direct bus to SBCC. Tropicana Gardens is known for its exceptional student life programs, its lush resort-style setting and amenities such as a heated pool, fitness room, rec room and 24-hour study lounge.

Tropicana Student Housing Announces Apple iPad® Sweepstakes Winner

Isla Vista, CA – June 25, 2013 –Tropicana Del Norte announced the winner of its Apple iPad sweepstakes this week.  The lucky winner was Edward Gaspar of Huntington Beach, California, who entered for a chance to win an Apple iPad after taking a tour of Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall  for UCSB Students. Gaspar is a Group Lead for Logistics at JC Penney. His daughter, Cynthia, a Southeast High School graduate, will be the first member of the family to attend UCSB as a freshman next year. She is undecided, but may major in Biology.

“We were delighted to give Mr. Gaspar and his family a tour of Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall,” said Dave Wilcox, Executive Director , “and we hope that he enjoys his new iPad.”

Winner Gaspar said he will share the iPad with his family. “I am so surprised; I never win anything!”

Tropicana Del Norte Residence hall, at 6525 El Colegio Road, Goleta , is located directly adjacent to UCSB’s main campus.  Tropicana provides UCSB freshmen and continuing students with suite-style living and an unlimited dining plan. In addition to the onsite café, rec room and 24-hour study lounge, Tropicana Del Norte offers UCSB students amenities not found in a typical dorm: an onsite   fitness center, private movie theater, heated pool and a tanning lounge. To schedule a tour, visit www.tropicanadelnorte.com/home/schedule-a-tour.html or call (805) 968-0351.

Tropicana Student Housing Announces New 2013-2014 Residence Life Staff

Exceptional UCSB and SBCC Students to Lead Residence Hall and Apartment Communities

Isla Vista, CA – April 8, 2013 – Tropicana Student Housing is proud to announce its student Residence Life staff for the 2013-2014 academic year.  After an intensive 5-week interview and training process, twenty-six UCSB and SBCC students were chosen to provide leadership and build community at Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall, Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall and the Villas at Tropicana Upperclassmen Apartments.

“We are looking forward to using the unique talents of all of our student staff next year,” said Anna Rogers, Associate Director of Residence Life. “The candidates we selected are leaders who can inspire our residents and are crucial for creating a tight-knit community at Tropicana.”

Jacob Staines, a UCSB junior from Sacramento, will be the Residence Director at Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall for UCSB students. Erika Bellitt, a Westmont student from Pleasanton, and McKinley Mathon, a SBCC student from Atherton, CA, will be the new directors at Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall for SBCC students.  Alex Markovich, a UCSB student from Corona, CA, will be the new Director of the Villas at Tropicana Upperclassmen Apartments.

New Resident Assistants for the 2013-14 school year will be Martin Brambila (UCSB) from Santee, CA; Zachary Clark (SBCC) from Tehachapi, CA; Tanaya Deshmukh (UCSB) from Pune, India by way of Mission Viejo, CA; Yoli Gavaldon, (UCSB) from Irvine, CA; Hannah Guillies (SBCC) from Thousand Oaks, CA; Harmony Hartley (SBCC) from Ojai, CA; Kodie Hebert (SBCC) from Portland, OR; Nico Hernandez (SBCC) from Salou, Spain; Yarim Jalomo, (SBCC) from Fresno, CA; Jenny Nguyen (UCSB) from Santa Clara, CA; Gladiola Pelayo, (UCSB) from Glendale, CA; Tracy Pfister (SBCC) from Napierville, IL; Eric Rouse (UCSB), from Placerville, CA; Matthew Ruth (UCSB) from Valley Springs, CA; Morgan Ryan (UCSB) from Salt Lake City, UT; and Johnathan Sokol (UCSB) from Thousand Oaks, CA.

Returning Tropicana Resident Assistants include Francisco Escobedo, a UCSB student from Cerritos, CA; Austin Fekete, a UCSB student from Chino, CA; Betti Guerrero, a UCSB student from Greenfield, CA; and Sean Tanabe from San Francisco, a current SBCC student who will transfer to UCSB next year. Ryan Fluence, a native of New Orleans who is transferring from SBCC to UCSB next year. Carolyn Burt, a SBCC student from Palo Alto, CA, will be Tropicana’s Program Coordinator.