President’s End of the Year Thoughts

Dear Hargrave family,

As the school year has come to a close, I wanted to provide a summary of highlights. I want to first congratulate our Class of 2019 graduates and post graduates!! They finished strong and reaped the rewards of their efforts. Here are a few statistics:

– Out of the 42 graduates and post graduates, all were accepted to a college or university
– 126 acceptances to 92 unique colleges or universities
– 41% of the class were offered a financial incentive with a median incentive of $22,000 per year
– As a class, they earned a total of $5.4 million in scholarships
– 2 are attending the United States Naval Academy adding to our 75 alumni who previously attended a Service Academy
– 9 were Honor Graduates
– 22 graduated with advanced studies diplomas earning college credit
– 16 have signed National Letters of Intent to play sports at the collegiate level
– 3 earned Eagle Scout distinction

Quite an impressive list of accomplishments!! We wish them further success as their life’s journey unfolds.

Hargrave’s athletic program continued to improve through all sport seasons. The cadets supported each other by attending many games and cheering each other on. Here are a few of the highlights:

– Our grapplers from Tiger Wrestling were the conference champions
– Postgraduate Basketball finished in the top 5 national ranking and made a National Elite 8 tournament appearance
– Varsity Basketball competed in their 3rd straight State Elite 8 appearance
– Swimming narrowly missed 1st place but finished in 2nd in the conference
– Rifle team produced the number one shooter in the State…Chandler Wilkie

Other individual accolades included:

– 19 Individual All-Conference Selections
– 12 Iron Tigers (Varsity Letter in 3 sports in one year)
– 5 Weight Class/Individual Event Conference Champions
– 3 Individual All-State Selections

Spiritual Growth- The year saw our cadets grow in faith. Our personal devotion time started out as a new opportunity for cadets to take time at the end of the day and reflect. Most cadets took this opportunity to heart and grew spiritually. One senior took the initiative and led a weekly cadet devotion where cadets sang, fellowshipped and had prayer together. During Spiritual Emphasis Week, we had cadet-led small group discussions after the chapel messages. Cadets opened up about their lives and perspectives were shared allowing cadets to understand that many of them face similar challenges. It was truly a bonding time.

Community Relations- This year saw our Cadets thrive in giving back to the community. They volunteered hundreds of hours at pet shelters, nursing homes, food banks and other charitable organizations. We are proud of how they represented Hargrave and themselves. They learned the value of citizenship and service by supporting others.

Guest Speakers- This year we invested in numerous guest speakers to come and provide inspiring messages to our Corps of Cadets. It was kicked off in September by a visit from the Honorable Sloan D. Gibson (HMA ’71). He spoke of the impact a Hargrave education and experience can have on a cadet’s development and life success. We followed with nearly monthly visits from Hargrave alumni and others who reinforced how Hargrave can position them for greater success in life. The cadets listened intently and these encouraging messages made an impact.

Hargrave continues to remain true to its founding core values and instill them into the cadets. We are building leaders of character prepared for lifelong success on a rock solid foundation. A sound mind in a sound body is more than a motto, it’s the objective we seek as we develop cadets. Hargrave will continue to graduate men who will go on to lead their communities, families and churches. We are blessed to have many faithful and supportive alumni who keep this noble and true pursuit available to many. Thank you all for your continued support.

We are excited about what next year will bring. We will send out additional information next month about some positive changes that will take place and update you on our renovation efforts. Until then, may God continue to bless you and the entire Hargrave family.

Michael Brown
President
Hargrave Military Academy