Oak Hill Academy is a small boarding school located in the rural, Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. These two facts lead to a campus that is extremely tight-knit. Since 1878, Oak Hill Academy has done “community” exceptionally well. Today’s homeroom devotion, delivered by our Head of School, Dr. Michael Groves, reminded us all of our school’s long-standing mission and our place in this tradition. I asked him to share his thoughts from this morning in our blog.
“Wow, look at that cool blazer!” Such were the words coming my direction this morning as I walked to homeroom assembly. In honor of our final chapter of this year’s Spirit Days here at Oak Hill Academy I decided to wear an old (1960s?) mustard yellow OHA blazer. Instead of the students laughing at the slightly too small, old-fashioned, polyester jacket … they loved it. “Can we wear those jackets to church?” “Where can I get a blazer like that?”
In our morning devotion today (while wearing the vintage blazer) I shared with the students that at Oak Hill Academy we always need to be aware that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. I keep this old jacket hanging visibly in The President’s Office for just such a reminder. For 140 years this boarding school in the mountains of southwestern Virginia has served as a “Turning Point” for students from across the United States and from all over the world. As members of the faculty and administration we are blessed to play a small role in this tremendous legacy of supporting students. Today, it was an antique and ill-fitting blazer that reminded me of the charge before us in this timeless and important community … Oak Hill Academy.
Michael D. Groves, Ph.D.
President
