As a new feature, our 21st-Century Journalism Class will be submitting guest blog posts throughout the school year. The first in this series is from Ian R. who shares his impressions of the first few days as an Oak Hill Academy student. It may resonate with your student, as the thought of boarding school can be intimidating or even downright scary. We look forward to sharing our students’ perspectives with you through this forum!
— Admission Department
Upon moving to Oak Hill from my hometown of Oxford, North Carolina, I was nervous at first. This was my first time attending a boarding school. I was completely unaware of what my experience was going to be like. I had previously attended a small private day school for about five years. My parents and I decided to have me attend a boarding school because we thought it would be a great way for me to transition to college. I actually was open to this idea, partially because I wanted to get out of my old school.
I actually stayed at OHA for the first time in the summer of 2018 for the short, 5-week summer session. When it was over, I stayed home for about a month before coming back to OHA for the fall. The drive here was relatively long, over three hours. I was actually very nervous about being away from my home and my family for such a long time. During my first few days here, I was surprised to discover how friendly the kids were. Students said “hello,” introduced themselves, and asked me how I was doing.
This was something that I had never experienced before to this extent in my previous schools. I was rather impressed with how polite all the other students seemed to be. I was also really impressed with the leadership here. All the teachers and staff at Oak Hill take a strong stance against drug and alcohol possession. I was also glad they take a strong stance against smoking and sexual harassment. I now believe I am very privileged to attend OHA. It has turned out to be far better than I had first imagined.