Rockbridge Academy Blog
Reconnecting with Rockbridge in Costa Rica!
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:16
For those who don’t know me, my name is Noelle. I graduated from Rockbridge Academy in 2022 and am now studying Philosophy at Princeton University. This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to reconnect with part of the Rockbridge community by serving as staff on a 5-week mission trip to Costa Rica. My trip was organized by Royal Servants, a mission organization for high school students that focuses on discipleship and equipping students to serve the church and share the gospel in their communities back home. Our team was being led by Mr. Matt Swanson, upper school Bible teacher at Rockbridge. I came on the trip as a college-age leader, so my main role was to mentor a small group of girls throughout the trip. As a team, we studied the Bible together, we prayed together, we worshiped together, and we did outreach together. Throughout the summer, I was encouraged to see how God had been preparing me for this experience and was teaching me to trust in Him and His plan for me.
Mr. Swanson continually stressed to the team that we were not bringing Jesus to Costa Rica. We were there to join in the work that God was already doing there. Each day we would head out to do gospel-centered outreach alongside students from our hosting church. We also visited schools to teach English, play games, build relationships, and talk to students about faith. Certain days of ministry were fast-paced and encouraging; other days were slow or frustrating.
There were definitely times when I wondered why I had even come on the trip. Even after sharing the gospel with strangers and having many spiritually-oriented conversations with the girls in my small group, I wondered whether I would really make a life-long impact on anyone’s heart this summer. As I wrestled with these thoughts and feelings, God answered my unspoken questions through the encouraging words of my leaders and, towards the end of the trip, through the testimonies of girls in my small group who spoke of how they had been inspired by my example to live out their faith in Christ.
Throughout the summer, I saw God redeem discouraging situations for our good and His glory.
Throughout the summer, I saw God redeem discouraging situations for our good and His glory. One afternoon our team arrived in the nearby town of Paraíso and it immediately began raining. We went out in groups looking for people to invite to our outreach activities, but we eventually all ended up back under the big tent at the park. We didn't end up doing our presentations that day because no one came. The team was pretty discouraged. While we were standing around with our games and equipment wondering what to do, a middle-aged man named William happened to pass by and stopped under the tent to get out from the rain. One of my teammates and I managed to engage him in conversation, and we ended up talking about everything from sports and culture to Jesus and heaven. William was a Christian and reminded us that we were family in God even though we didn't have much else in common. We talked for probably half an hour and had the opportunity to pray together (in a mixture of English and Spanish). What strikes me with gratitude and wonder is that none of that would have happened if it hadn't been raining! And this was only one of the many stories I could tell of how God used difficult circumstances for His pre-prepared purposes.
God also encouraged me throughout the summer by making it clear that He had placed me on this particular team. I only discovered the opportunity to go to Costa Rica with Royal Servants after a number of other summer opportunities fell through. When it seemed like I had exhausted every avenue to find funding from my school for the trip, I was finally able to qualify for their service internship program, which, along with the generous support of the family of God, made it possible for me to go on this mission trip. God had been working for months and honestly, years before I ever left the country to place me on that airplane.
Another way in which God confirmed that He was using me for His purposes was through a small contribution I brought to our team: Spanish. At the beginning of the trip, I was daunted but also pleasantly surprised to discover that my early-intermediate Spanish skills were the best we had to work with. This turned out to be useful (and fun!) for communicating with people at our host church and also with those we met during outreach activities. I was thrilled that many previous hours of language study were proving fruitful in ways I hadn’t previously foreseen, but God had preordained.
Most importantly, however, God opened my eyes to see the work He was doing in my heart throughout the entire experience. I was being stretched in my listening, encouragement, and conflict resolution skills as I helped young teen girls learn how to live in a community together. I was being humbled as a young adult as I submitted myself to an unusual amount of restriction over my personal life for the well-being of the entire team. I started noticing an increased desire in myself to read and study the Word of God. Like Rockbridge, Royal Servants emphasizes the importance of reading, studying, and memorizing Scripture. Each day we would have an hour set aside in our schedule for individual quiet time with God. We also had daily teachings and discussions about our readings in addition to ambitious Scripture memory assignments each week. I was pleased to realize how much Scripture I still had tucked away from my days in Rockbridge grammar school! Through the daily practice of these spiritual disciplines, I grew closer to God and even became excited to continue Bible memory work after I returned home.
Most importantly, however, God opened my eyes to see the work He was doing in my heart throughout the entire experience. I was being stretched in my listening, encouragement, and conflict resolution skills as I helped young teen girls learn how to live in a community together. I was being humbled as a young adult as I submitted myself to an unusual amount of restriction over my personal life for the well-being of the entire team.
There were definitely days this summer when I felt discouraged and wondered what I was doing on this trip. In the midst of those moments, God was slowly teaching me that He sees me and knows me and had a plan for everything I was going through. I was especially encouraged by Psalm 139, which describes how God knows us better than we know ourselves. He is intimately aware of our thoughts and habits and feelings. He has authored our lives, down to each day.
God placed me on my mission trip this summer to stretch me in new ways and use me for His purposes. How was God working in and through you this summer? You might not have gone on a mission trip or done much out of the ordinary, but you can be confident that God has been at work. Take some time to reflect on what He’s been up to. Don’t forget: God knows you better than you know yourself, and He has woven each day of your life into His master story.
Education Must Be More Than Just Classical
"Virtues are hard things,” quipped National Review writer Daniel Buck in a recent opinion article entitled “The Virtues of Classical Schools.” Buck continued: “Fail a test of courage or act unwisely and virtue will demand justice or forgiveness. Values are subjective, virtues objective. The former is a preference, the latter a firm statement of right and wrong, true and false, good and evil.”
Examining one Hillsdale-launched classical charter school, Lake County Classical Academy (LCCA), Buck argues that although classical schools bear some similarities to their public counterparts, classical educators stand apart from our culture in that they are not afraid to incorporate structure and objective values into their pedagogy, policies, and classroom life.
As a graduate of a K–12 classical Christian school and a current teacher at another classical Christian school, I appreciated much in Buck’s article. Indeed, while much of public education rests on slippery, subjective foundations, classical education can rest on objectivity and uphold structure and hierarchy in the classroom in a way that benefits students and prepares them to comprehend truth and virtue.
Yet, as I finished Buck’s article, I couldn’t help feeling that he failed to explain significant attributes of the school he profiled and the classical-education movement in general. For instance: Who gets to define what virtue is, what “right and wrong, true and false, good and evil” are? What is the foundation from which these schools draw the objective truths they teach? For public charter schools such as LCCA, these questions cannot be fully answered, since such questions require a religious framework. One cannot define goodness and truth apart from an ultimate source of goodness and truth.
One cannot define goodness and truth apart from an ultimate source of goodness and truth.
Classical charter schools like LCCA have bloomed around the country, thanks to Hillsdale’s Barney Charter School Initiative and to the success of programs such as Great Hearts Academies and Valor Education. But the origins of today’s classical-school movement — origins that Buck did not mention — lie in a distinctly Christian understanding of classical education. As Emma Green documented in an extensive New Yorker article published earlier this year, today’s classical-education movement began with four Christian schools inspired by the vision of education held by Dorothy Sayers, a Catholic, and launched in the 1980s. In the 21st century, classical education has grown more pluralistic, thanks to the rise of classical charter schools and private classical schools without religious affiliation.
But classical education without Christ is not only oxymoronic, it is futile in an ultimate sense.
This portion of the article was republished with permission. Click HERE to continue reading Sarah Reardon's article in the National Review.
Sarah Reardon (class of 2020) is a graduate of Grove City College with degrees in English and classical studies. She wrote for GCC's newspaper, The Collegian, and the cultural magazine, Cogitare Magazine. She has contributed articles to Front Porch Republic, The American Conservative, National Review, and several online literary magazines.
Ancient History and the Modern Student
To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain forever a child.
~Marcus Tullius Cicero
Roman statesman, philosopher, and orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, said, “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain forever a child.” If we do not know who and what came before us, we cannot learn from the mistakes and successes of others, and will, therefore, remain foolish in our thinking and actions. One of the primary goals of a good education is to produce morally responsible men and women who understand and value their civic duties for society to function well. Additionally, education should form the affections to love the Biblical standards of truth, goodness, and beauty so that the student desires to imitate God. Studying ancient history within the classical framework viewed through the lens of Scripture is a valuable pursuit for the modern student.
Building upon what the student already learned in the grammar stage, the Rockbridge seventh grader learns ancient history—from Creation to the fall of the Roman Republic. By studying the past, the student begins to have a greater understanding of how our present age and worldviews were shaped, how lessons of the ancients are relevant today, and how studying history leads to a deeper knowledge of oneself and of God’s sovereign plan.
By studying the past, the student begins to have a greater understanding of how our present age and worldviews were shaped, how lessons of the ancients are relevant today, and how studying history leads to a deeper knowledge of oneself and of God’s sovereign plan.
For the modern student who wonders about why the world is the way it is today, the classical teaching methodology of ancient history will answer his question. By 7th grade, the student has already formed certain presuppositions that determine how he makes decisions and interacts with reality. By studying the past, the student gains a greater understanding of how our present age was shaped. Ideas of the past have consequences. For example, the Athenians argued against the Melian idea of freedom and justice, that “the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must” as they attempted to expand their empire. This idea, “survival of the fittest,” had tremendous consequences throughout history which points to how our present age was shaped. The student considers this idea by reading the Melian Dialogue, identifying and analyzing arguments on both sides, and contrasts it to Scripture which teaches us to care for the weak and oppressed and offers a different idea of freedom and justice. If the student understands the problems of the past and their attempted resolutions, it helps him understand today and where we may be headed in the future.
As the modern student of ancient history learns how our present age was shaped, he also wonders about what lessons he can learn from long-deceased men of ancient times. After all, haven’t we “advanced” as a society and as human beings since then? Through the classical methodology, time-tested vices, virtues, beliefs, and practices are taught. Civic and moral codes of the ancients reveal how decisions and actions have consequences and can be used today as either “base things to avoid or fine things to imitate” (Livy). The student learns to be civically and morally literate by judging past actions and applying those lessons today.
Our founding fathers continually turned to the ancients for lessons in vice and virtue. For example, the founders studied the lives of men like Julius Caesar, who sought to advance his own power, and Cincinnatus, who willingly gave up his power. To the founders, one was a villain, the other a hero. These vices and virtues are the same today as they were then. They are time-tested. Have we “advanced”? Our sinful human nature says, “No.” This is what we have in common with all mankind throughout history. The modern student realizes this as he studies the ancients and learns of vices to be aware of and virtues of men and women upon whose shoulders we can stand.
Finally, the modern student of ancient history wonders how he can come to a deeper knowledge of himself and God’s sovereign plan of salvation for fallen human beings. First, classical Christian education considers the framework of the student and how he was designed by our Maker. In the dialectic stage, the student begins to distinguish between good and evil and make judgments. In making these moral distinctions, he gains a finer understanding of himself and the world. Age-appropriate examples of good and evil throughout history are taught and confront the student with his sinful nature, the need for repentance, and the need for a Savior. The modern student who examines his life honestly will see himself in others who have gone before him and create a desire in him to love God’s standards of what is true, good, and beautiful and make the right choices.
Furthermore, history finds its existence and relevance exclusively in God and His will for His creation. History cannot be known apart from the knowledge of God and His relation to the universe. History begins at Creation. After the Fall, in times of darkness, before Christ, the modern student learns how God is setting the stage to reveal “a light for revelation.” The light for which man has been searching. Christ, the light, who comes during turmoil and uncertainty, transforms the world. For history to make sense and why it matters to the modern student today, it is imperative that he or she understands the magnitude of this transformation, its effect upon humanity, and that every single event is the manifestation of God’s providential plan. All of history before Christ points to the cross and therefore, should be studied.
For history to make sense and why it matters to the modern student today, it is imperative that he or she understands the magnitude of this transformation, its effect upon humanity, and that every single event is the manifestation of God’s providential plan. All of history before Christ points to the cross and therefore, should be studied.
Through studying ancient history, the modern student learns about western heritage and man’s quest for justice and freedom—out of which comes true justice and freedom in Christ. Ultimately, by studying ancient history, it is the hope that it will lead the modern student to deeper and richer worship of Christ and equip him to be a light to the lost. People and events of ancient history are just as relevant as the issues we face today—both have something in common—sinful human nature. The Apostle Paul writes about examples of men who were written down as warnings for us, men who were idolaters, and perished for it. Let us not be as children who do not heed the lessons of the past, rather let us learn from those who have gone before us to teach us what we ought to do.
Jean Grev has taught dialectic Ancient and European History at Rockbridge Academy since 2012. She graduated with a BA in communications arts and sciences with an emphasis on public speaking and rhetoric and a minor in business management from Michigan State University. She resides in Annapolis, Maryland with her husband; her three children are in the Rockbridge Academy classes of 2020, 2021, and 2025.
On Veterans Day
Sixty years ago, President John F. Kennedy, while honoring a different occasion, spoke something that is relevant here:
“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.”
The tradition of setting aside a particular day to honor American veterans extends back to the end of the First World War, which concluded at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Dubbed “Armistice Day,” it was an occasion to honor the veterans of that great conflict. But because the War to End All Wars didn’t, in 1954 Congress amended the commemoration by changing “armistice” to “veterans” in order to honor all military personnel who have worn the uniform of the nation, whether in war or peace.
However, Veterans Day is just one of three holidays honoring our military. Correctly distinguishing between them is important, if sometimes confusing. Definitions help. Per US Code, a “veteran” is one who served in the US military and was subsequently released on conditions other than dishonorable. The past tense is important. Armed Forces Day, probably the least well known of our martial holidays, honors those who are currently serving. Memorial Day, as the name ought to imply, is for remembering those Americans who gave their lives while serving the nation. Though Veterans Day carries a dimension of this memorial component in that it officially honors all veterans, whether living or dead, in practice the day is largely devoted to thanking living veterans for their service.
So, on this day, Americans of all faiths or none take a moment to remember that we—the many—live under debt—to the few. Christians should be the first to do so. While the “few” we honor today are not specifically the fallen, everyone who has put on the cloth of the nation knows that in the performance of their duty they may be called to sacrifice everything. If we’re right to believe there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend, then, clearly, the willingness to do so is not far off. Veterans Day, therefore, is an opportunity to fulfill, in a modest way, the obligation to pause, recognize, and reflect upon the fact that we are a free people free to enjoy the fruits of a free society because since the birth of our nation, some men and some women have willingly stood on freedom’s wall and fought and killed and risked death to keep us safe. In response to such service, gratitude is appropriate.
My own consciousness of this debt is continually reinforced in two primary ways. First by the friendships—both deep and wide—that I have forged with active duty, retired, and former servicemembers through my professional work as a teacher, scholar, and ethicist who focuses on the moral dimensions of war. Their presence in my life reminds me that freedom isn’t free. Second, there is a photograph I have of my paternal great-grandparents standing near a collection of framed portraits of their four sons and daughter, my grandmother. All the children are in military uniform, save one—he died as a toddler of a botched tonsillectomy. One among the others, and bearing the uniform of the Army Air Corp, is my great-uncle Edward, from whom I received my middle name. Uncle Ed was a gunner assigned to the 783rd Squadron of the 55th Bomber Wing. He died on takeoff over the airfield in Pantanella, Italy, when a device placed by an Italian saboteur detonated, killing him and the rest of his B-24 Liberator’s crew. As providence would have it, Uncle Ed died during the squadron’s first (and only) mission to Slovakia, where their objective was to hit a marshaling yard in Devinska Nova Ves, a suburb of Bratislava. As it happens, I lived in Bratislava for more than a decade. While there, among other things, I helped build and run a sports and recreation program in Devinska. We built a baseball diamond not far from the main railway station, presumably, my Uncle’s intended targeting point. I knew nothing of Uncle Ed’s attempted mission while living there. And while it’s silly, the fact of it all makes me now feel somehow connected to him—as if I managed to get to where he was trying to go. Of course, and even better, I got to throw baseballs when I got there, not bombs (My guess is Ed would have liked that better too). This anecdote touches on something that mustn’t be missed: Veterans Day reminds us that bombs must sometimes come before baseballs. This is to say, war is sometimes required to make the conditions for peace possible. The good work that was done on that baseball field—the simple joys of kids playing games with strong and healthy bodies in a free and self-determining society and with aspirations for a meaningful future—was purchased at the cost of men like my Uncle Ed being willing to stand and risk everything to resist those who crossed borders without cause in order to subjugate their neighbors.
This isn’t to make a fetish of either war or nation. But it is to acknowledge the realities of human life. Wars are terrible things. But sometimes they are necessary to prevent or end things that are more terrible still. The Christian tradition of just war takes seriously two truths. First, it recognizes, as the beginning of Genesis teaches us, that human beings, made in the image of God, have a responsibility to exercise stewardship, or care—dominion—over all the earth. It also recognizes, second, that dominion in this world will be exercised in light of the reality of human sin. There are some people, and some nations, that have no interest in loving their neighbors but only in dominating them. Therefore, and however lamentable, the just war moral framework insists that there may be times when a political sovereign—that person or body over whom there is no one greater charged with the care of the political community, determines, in the last resort and for the aim of peace, that nothing other than the proportionate and discriminate use of military force will retribute evil, take back what has wrongly been taken, or protect the innocent. In such cases, and only such cases, war is required to restore order, justice, and to make possible the conditions for reconciliation.
Veterans Day reminds us that the political conditions necessary for human beings to flourish cannot be had for a trifle. They are secured at a cost—sometimes a very great cost. This cost isn’t merely the physical risks our warfighters take. It includes the moral risks, the spiritual bruising, great and small, that comes from doing terrible things—even if justified and necessary—to our enemy-neighbors. Veterans Day, therefore, also reminds us that while there is nothing glorious about war in and of itself, there is surely something glorious about being a nation composed of men and women who are willing to stand on freedom’s wall, in service of their neighbor and just cause, and to justly fight those wars that are necessary and just to fight.
Why Our Mascot Matters
A culture that plans for, prepares for, and carefully nurtures the principles of faith, family, and freedom over long generations will in the end prevail.
What comes to mind when you think of the Scots? Until recently the cheer “Go Scots!” did not resonate with me. It resonated because of repetition but had little connection to anything deep or meaningful. This was strange considering I spent twelve years in school at Rockbridge Academy and played soccer at the time our mascot was introduced. My desire to understand why the Scots are a fitting Rockbridge mascot was fueled by the realization others were asking the same question. I have coached the middle school girls’ soccer team for two years now, and if the chatter on the sidelines is any indicator, I do not think we know what we mean when we say, “Go Scots!” It does not refer to the Scottish terrier, and it is spelled with one ‘t’ not two. Time and tradition have ingrained the Rockbridge Scots into our collective memory, but if pressed could you give an answer for who the Scots were and why they are a fitting mascot for our school?
When I played soccer for Rockbridge in middle school, we did not have a mascot. “Go Rockbridge!” was our cheer. However, by the time I entered high school, a mascot was bestowed upon us: the Scots. My class, the class of 2011, boasted our very own bagpiper, Rob Schonthaler. He often played his bagpipes at soccer games. This made quite the impression on visiting teams and fueled an initial tidal wave of excitement for our new mascot. Rockbridge was finally like all the other schools…or was it?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a mascot is a “person or thing that is supposed to bring good luck or that is used to symbolize a particular event or organization." From the French mascotte, the term was popularized by composer Edmond Audran’s comic operetta, La Mascotte, in 1880, a story in which a household fairy brings good luck to an Italian peasant. However, a mascot should be more than a talisman. I suggest in the context of a Christian school, the mascot should represent a standard to which the school holds. At Rockbridge Academy our standard is Christ. Our aim is to help students see Christ in every subject so they may serve Him wholeheartedly in thought, word, and deed. What is a fitting image for this standard? The Scots, a people captivated by the glories of Christ.
A focus on faith, family, and freedom contributed greatly to the Scots’ success and influence on Western civilization. These characteristics were especially notable between the end of the 5th century through the end of the 8th century AD. The Celtic church was established during this time due to vibrant missionary work. The Scots were few in number and occupied a small geographic area, however their faith in Christ proved to be a solid rock on which their culture flourished. Their faith informed all spheres of life. The church was synonymous with the local gathering place, a center for worship and dialogue on societal matters.
For the Scots, catechism and discipleship were the means by which the younger generations were trained in the faith. The family was the wellspring of society. Families were organized by clan. The clan structure produced fierce loyalty and a sense of belonging. Bagpipe tunes were used strategically as a gathering tool for clan meetings and in battle. Each clan was identified by a unique tune and tartan. In keeping with the Scots’ traditions, Scotland the Brave has always been played at Rockbridge graduation ceremonies. While the song was written in recent years, it harkens back to the gathering tunes of old.
Alongside faith and family, the Scots held freedom in high esteem. The Arbroath Declaration of 1320 was the first legal document of its kind to uphold notions like an individual right to life and liberty, separation of powers, and checks and balances. The United States owes much to the Scots as forerunners in the fight for freedom. A people committed to following God and taking the task of stewarding their time and talents well produced generations of believers whose impact on Western civilization is beyond measure. As Dr. George Grant says in his lecture, Why the Scots?, “a culture that plans for, prepares for, and carefully nurtures the principles of faith, family, and freedom over long generations will in the end prevail.”
The Scots—this is our mascot, our standard. We are a small school, but our hope is to make a worldwide kingdom impact. We are unashamedly Christian, come alongside the family in training their children, and seek to lay a solid educational foundation for future generations. We train our students for greatness.
The Scots—this is our mascot, our standard. We are a small school, but our hope is to make a worldwide kingdom impact. We are unashamedly Christian, come alongside the family in training their children, and seek to lay a solid educational foundation for future generations. We train our students for greatness. Now, when you think of our mascot, I hope you think of the cloud of witnesses, especially those faithful Scottish saints who have gone before us. May the principles of faith, family, and freedom be our tune and our standard as we look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Go Scots!
Skills that Matter—How My Education Paved My Way
When I graduated from Rockbridge Academy in 2012, I had no idea how much my education would help me advance in the professional world. Now, 10 years on, I serve as chief of policy for the best governor in the country, Kristi Noem in South Dakota, and it is clear to me how much my education uniquely prepared me for this job.
For starters, since graduation I have spent my time working in and around the political world, and that means public speaking. In school, I struggled immensely with public speaking and got very nervous every time I had to speak. But in almost every class, my teachers found opportunities for all of us to practice, and slowly but surely—over the course of many years—I started to become comfortable speaking to groups and even developed tips and tricks to make my speeches effective.
I struggled immensely with public speaking and got very nervous every time I had to speak. But in almost every class, my teachers found opportunities for all of us to practice, and slowly but surely—over the course of many years—I started to become comfortable speaking to groups and even developed tips and tricks to make my speeches effective.
Today, I frequently testify in front of legislative committees, provide policy updates at state cabinet meetings, and speak on behalf of the Governor to legislators, lobbyists, and local leaders. I entered my career with a level of public speaking ability that I could never have imagined when I started high school, and I am thankful on a regular basis for this unique component of classical education.
Secondly, my education honed my writing abilities, teaching me to write concisely and make my points clear and easy to understand. My teachers insisted that we create an outline before we started writing to make sure our arguments were well-structured and supported. To this day, I still outline my thoughts before putting pen to paper. Now, I write memos about complicated subjects in a way that is easy to understand. I draft testimony, letters to elected officials in Washington, and even emails that make my ask or argument clear.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my classical education made it possible for me to both develop—and advance—a clear and consistent worldview. Through our philosophy, logic, and rhetoric classes, we learned the different ways of looking at the world and the assumptions that are built into any perspective. During our senior year, we took a class on current events that allowed us to start applying these ideas to what was actually happening in the world. This gave me a huge head start in understanding not just what was going on, but why it was happening—and the philosophical foundation behind different proposed solutions.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my classical education made it possible for me to both develop—and advance—a clear and consistent worldview. Through our philosophy, logic, and rhetoric classes, we learned the different ways of looking at the world and the assumptions that are built into any perspective.
In South Dakota, state government consists of 20 different agencies that cover areas like agriculture, education, finance, healthcare, and public safety. Part of my job is to ensure that everyone is rowing in the same direction. There’s no way I can be an expert in all of these different fields … but my classical education has helped me develop and articulate clear, consistent principles that I can apply in a range of situations. This helps me ask the right questions and provide the right guidance to make sure we’re leading a government that respects the rights of the people and gets out of the way as much as possible.
I am thankful every day for the opportunity to wake up and do the job I’m doing. And I know without a doubt that I would not have had this opportunity without the skills my education taught me.
Rachel Wallen Oglesby serves as Chief of Policy in the South Dakota Governor’s Office and is a member of the Governor’s executive team. She oversees the implementation of the governor’s agenda across all policy areas and state government agencies. She grew up in Maryland, graduated from Rockbridge Academy and Wake Forest University, and holds a master’s in public policy from George Mason University. This article was published in the winter 2023 issue of The Classical Difference magazine.