Earlier this week, I had a pleasant exchange with Ted (Paul) Hewitt, who attended Oakwood schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade and is a proud graduate of the Class of 1952. 

Ted reached out to me to tell me how essential and valuable his education at Oakwood has been during his adult life. Following graduation from Oakwood where he was a contributing athlete in baseball and basketball, Ted attended and graduated from Lafayette College with a BA in Economics.

Ted enjoyed two successful careers. Following graduation from Lafayette, Ted was selected for the Navy’s Aviation Officer Candidate program. He went through flight training and received his Navy Wings in 1959. Ted went on to serve over 29 years, flying multi-engine patrol aircraft in two different squadrons and holding a number of management positions. Ted rose to the rank of Captain and retired in 1985. 

Ted’s second career was in banking. He was selected for a branch manager position at a large Credit Union in Jacksonville, Florida. For the following 12 years, he served in several management positions until his retirement in 1997. In 1998, Ted was invited to return to the Credit Union to serve on the Board of Directors and continued in this capacity for the next 20 years until his final retirement in 2018. 

Ted provided me with this update to credit a great deal of my success to the excellent education he received in the Oakwood Schools. He cited many demands placed on me during high school, particularly in Math and English. He can still remember to this day the demands placed on him in Math by Coach Hummon and the challenging assignments in English throughout high school. His tremendous teachers included Mrs. Brown, Ms. Page, and Mrs. Bender. 

Although he did not realize the importance of their support, encouragement, and teaching at the time, he had mentally thanked them on numerous occasions for the skills they developed in me at Oakwood over the years.  In particular, when he wrote his thesis at The Naval War College, he drew upon the creative writing skills so effectively taught by those ladies.

I am thankful for Ted and other graduates who have taken the time to pause and reflect on their Oakwood experience.  There are certain seasons in life when we take the time to express gratitude and express our appreciation for the people who’ve impacted our lives.  I love hearing stories like Ted’s and hope they continue to serve as a positive reflection of the fantastic staff we have in Oakwood Schools and reminders of our impact each day.