All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
News Detail
A Posse ad Esse at Last
Reprinted with permission from The Oracle, Woodberry Forest School's student newspaper.
McGregor Joyner '13
McGregor Joyner '13
Oracle Editor-in-Chief
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, Spring Break 2012. “Excuse me, do you go to Woodberry Forest School?” I look down at the “WOFO” label on my front pocket before turning to meet George Marshall Peters '90, now making his name as an artist in Manhattan. We all have stories like this. Woodberry alumni stay connected to the school long after they graduate and form a network of successful, adventurous individuals who go out into literally all corners of the Earth. But as we celebrate graduation, we ask ourselves, “Where will the class of 2012 be next year?”
They might be halfway around the world. Bryce Peppers and Walker Wiese '11 are taking a gap year and touring Europe now, and Henry Copeland '12 is going to visit Cambodia. Teddy Corwin will be teaching English as a volunteer in India and taking a month-long NOLS hiking trip in Australia or New Zealand.
Of course, once the fall comes, many grads will be facing college. Many will be attending UVA, UNC, and other southern universities, with Damien Chang at Columbia, Wilson Kuhnel at Harvard, and Nick Joynson at Cornell. Thomas Eden will cross the puddle and attend Cardiff University in Wales.
What will the class of 2012 bring from Woodberry to college with them, and what will they leave behind? Sixth-former Shep Hardison said it's the community that he'll miss the most, like his solid group of friends who will be attending the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race to kick off the post-graduation festivities. Jason Hill '12 agreed, thinking towards the bittersweet Senior Shake, but admitted that he's excited to bring with him the “new person” that Woodberry has made of him and explore an entirely new community.
And Jason feels that his experience here is ending at just the right time; the strict schedule and daily stresses have prepared him for college, but he'll miss them least when he gains an independent life there. “It's definitely scary,” he says, “but I think I can handle the freedom.”
So what does graduation mean to the seniors? Although Shep is sure that “there will be crying involved” on the part of the mothers, we know the boys will keep their cool. However, even Will Monk, the king of cool himself, admitted that the ceremony- the bagpipes, the flowers, the band, the pretty pamphlets -- are just as sentimental to him. Jason agreed, and Shep pointed out that it all helps him “remember just how big a deal that slip of paper is.”
The school arguably looks the best it ever does. However, it's always tentative where the ceremony will be held, a question which is tremendously significant, considering the massive amount of seating, landscaping, and equipment; for the past two years, Amici Night has been in the Barbee with Graduation at the Residence. And our graduation ceremony is unique. For example, we celebrate an Amici Night, we don't wear robes, we have a bagpipe-led procession, and the whole community is there. Mr. Guldin pointed out that until Dr. Campbell arrived, it was held after exams, without the underclassmen.
Regardless of where or how the ceremony is held, Jason Hill pointed out that it's not really about the present. “It's about what you have done and learned in your past here, and what you will do in the future wherever it is that life takes you,” he says. And whether that puts them in New York City talking to some fifth-former at the Metropolitan or teaching him in class right back here, the class of 2012 will always hold the unique and distinguished title of Woodberry Forest School Alumnus.
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
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Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.