Rockbridge Academy is very proud of its alumni and their continued success following graduation.  Our alumni frequently return to the school, participate in classes, join us for lunch,  mentor our students, and invest themselves in our activities and performances.  This generational approach to education is part of what life-long learning is all about, and why we welcome back our alumni, pray for them, and send “care packages” to them at college to let them know they are still important to all of us.   While at college, our alumni are excelling in engineering, music, literature, and the liberal arts.  Most have earned significant scholarships and some have studied abroad.  God has richly blessed their lives, their families, and all of us here at Rockbridge through their efforts.

Graham to lead students on archeological trip

Andrew Aldrich,  Collegian Writer

   In a Grove City College first, associate professor of history Dr. Mark Graham will lead five students to northern Africa to help with the excavation of a Roman house at the site of ancient Carthage.
   The trip, which lasts from May 23 to June 10, includes two parts: archeological research and history coursework.
   “We’re dealing with a hybrid type of thing,” Graham said.  A grant from the Grove City College Swezey Scientific Instrumentation and Research Fund will pay for the research part of the trip, including airfare, ground transportation, lodging and meals.
   “The administration here has been wonderfully supportive,” Graham said.
   The coursework part of the trip, including tuition for three credits, entrance fees and afternoon and weekend excursions, will cost each student $1,000.
   The students, seniors Katie Miller and Justin Horst, juniors Kelly Anderson and Jeff Coleman and sophomore Andrew Welton, will clean and restore mosaics, identify and sort artifacts and register artifacts in a database.
   The work, some of which will take place in a Carthage museum, will begin in the early morning Mondays through Fridays until 1 p.m. The students may also join other excavations in the area, according to the course description.
   “This is going to be a great way to get field experience,” Anderson said.
   The ruin, originally an ornate house of the Roman elite, sits on Byrsa Hill at the center of the site of ancient Carthage. The Romans built it as early as the first century, and it lasted into the sixth century, Graham said.
   In the afternoons, Graham will lecture and lead tours around Carthage and the nearby city of Tunis. On the weekends, students will visit sites around the region, according to the course description.
   “I’m really looking forward to getting a new perspective on history, because Tunis is not a place one hears about very often,” Anderson said.
   Dr. Alicia Walker, assistant professor of art history and archeology at Washington University in St. Louis, will join Graham and the students.
   Walker worked with Graham when he excavated outside Carthage in the summers of 1996 through 1999. She first approached Graham with the trip idea, he said.
   Walker, who continued to excavate in Carthage after Graham left in 1999, volunteered to give six lectures in addition to onsite instruction on basic archeological techniques.
   “It’s a win-win situation,” Graham said.
   Graham and the students will prepare an archeological site report, including a catalog of artifacts, that they plan to publish in an archeological journal, he said.
   Additionally, Horst, the only electrical engineering student in the group of history students, will render a three dimensional model of the house with an AutoCAD program, Horst said.
   Though he has studied computer programming, Horst said he has limited design experience through civil engineering work.
   “I’m going to be learning a completely new process, in terms of modeling,” Horst said.
   Nonetheless, Horst has an interest in ancient history, a quality Graham said he wanted when he looked for an engineering student. Two of the four history students have had museum internships, and all have an interest in archeology.
   “I’ve always had a love for history, especially ancient history,” Coleman said .
   Graham and Horst said the trip will not only expose the students to archeology, but will also spread the name of Grove City College.

Newt Gingrich and Kevin Shaefer discuss election strategies!

"From the start, I was impressed with how the dean and staff of The Templeton Honors College are genuinely concerned with each student’s spiritual growth as well as his or her intellectual achievements. Honors colleges are designed to be intellectually challenging, but The Templeton Honors College is designed to shape and equip leaders with the knowledge and character to effectively serve the Kingdom of God."

--Emily Cusimano

Eastern University Templeton Honors Class of 2009

Ashley and Jen Dwyer send greetings from Ireland!

Rockbridge Academy's first engaged couple, from the classes of 2004 and 2005.

Congratulations, Janet and Gavin!

Soon to be Rockbridge Academy's first married couple, from the classes of 2006 and 2007.

Congratulations, Ashley and Brandon!