The Arrow Fall 2023

Oak Hill Academy Creates New Girls’ Gym Facility in Hough Dorm As a boarding school, our commitment to educating the whole student extends well beyond the classroom. Thanks to the great work of our Residential Life program, Oak Hill Academy creates an environment in which students can grow and flourish in all aspects of their lives, around the clock. That’s the great value of a boarding school—everything we do is part of the curriculum! This year, our administrators have dedicated additional resources to meeting the needs of our female students. We formed a working group to discuss these needs and to connect with our Lady Warriors themselves—to hear firsthand what types of resources they could use on campus. It soon became crystal clear to our working group that dedicated athletic and workout facilities would be much appreciated by our female students—something designed for girls and by girls. We quickly identified that the rarely used basement room of Hough Dormitory would be an ideal space for a new and modern girls’ workout facility. Thanks to two timely and unrestricted gifts to Oak Hill, we got to work revamping the

basement space right away. The team first met with a professional who designs and equips gym spaces and then contacted a local health facility for additional tips and advice, before ordering fitness equipment. Work on the new gym is now complete, and it is thanks in part to the hard work of our female students. They led the way in redesigning the space, from choosing the paint color to getting their hands dirty and painting the walls themselves! Now our female students have access to the gym, which is fully equipped with ellipticals, yoga mats, Airdyne bikes, BOSU

balance balls, jump ropes, resistance bands, dumb bells, medicine balls, kettle bells, smart TV’s, and speed ropes. Oak Hill places immense value on the overall health and well-being of our students. Responding to student needs and providing additional resources to make it possible for them to thrive comes naturally and is just one reason why our students call Oak Hill their home away from home.