Alumni Update

I came to Fayetteville Academy in the 10^th grade. My three years here impacted my life so much. I had to re-learn how to study, and I was challenged academically.  Fayetteville Academy was my foundation in preparation for what was to come – college. I knew how to study; I knew how to be responsible and do the work required; and I knew how to balance my academic and social life. I realized how much this foundation benefited me when I was in nursing school at East Carolina University. The awesome part is that after 11 years as a nurse, my path led me back home – right here to Fayetteville Academy!

 

I LOVE this school so much! The life long friendships that I made here are what I remember most about my Academy years. We were blessed to have a class that was close, and we truly care about each other. We will always cherish the memories we made with two of our classmates and dear friends who are no longer here with us, Ryan Kishbaugh and Jackson Vogel; they live on in our hearts forever! Some of us have spread our wings and moved away, and some of us have stayed close to home, but the memories we made together during our time at FA will always be close to my heart. 

 

My most memorable faculty member is Mrs. Ellen Brooks. She taught me English all three years I was at the Academy. She used to joke that she loved our class so much each year that she would advance in grade level just to be with us! When you walked into her class, it was as if you were sitting in front of a college professor. Her passion for writing and literature was contagious. She pushed us to dig deeper and use critical thinking skills that we never knew we had. Thinking outside of the box was an expectation in her class, and I learned how to truly express myself through written words. Hands down, after three years with her, I was prepared to write any paper in college!  

 

After graduation, I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from East Carolina University. I have been a pediatric nurse for 11 years. My nursing career has taken me in a few different directions. I have worked in the Pediatric Emergency Department at Cape Fear Valley Hospital; I have done case management for children with complex medical conditions; and I worked at Fayetteville Children’s Clinic in the primary care setting. This past year, I was blessed with the opportunity to come back to Fayetteville Academy to be the school nurse and assistant to Dawn Burt, Head of Lower School. My husband, Wyatt Jenkins (who is a FA Class of 2002 graduate as well), and I will be married for 10 years this September. We were high school sweethearts, and he and my education are the greatest blessings that I’ve gained from the Fayetteville Academy. I got out of my time at this school! We have two children Snyder, 7, and Avery, 5, who are current students at Fayetteville Academy, headed to 2nd grade and kindergarten in the fall. We love Fayetteville, and we love this school! It has all come full circle for me. My path has led me back home, and for this I am truly grateful.

 

Always think of Fayetteville Academy as your foundation. Fayetteville Academy does an amazing job of helping its students foster their independence. As you move up in grade level, you gain more freedom and earn privileges, all in preparation for college. Your hard work, involvement in school activities, and the relationships you make here

Lee Jackson Ammons-Prewitt, FA’86 (May 2018)

As a student at Fayetteville Academy, I had no idea about the quality of education I was benefiting from until I reached college. I had the unusual experience of landing in college classes with other students from Cumberland county during my freshman year. It was at that point that I became aware of the depth and breadth of knowledge that I had gained from FA. My level of preparedness for freshman English was far beyond those students who had attended high schools around me. It was at that point that I knew Fayetteville Academy had not only prepared me with a wealth of knowledge, but had also taught me to think critically rather than merely memorize and regurgitate information. 

 

I started at Fayetteville Academy in first grade and spent all 12 years there as a student. By far, the most memorable part of my years there are the people who became and still are my friends. My graduating class had 12 charter members, all of whom became my family away from home during our years spent together. I am privileged to have known them and to still have some of them in my life today. I met my late husband and fellow alum, Gene Ammons, Jr. ( FA ’83), while at the Academy. The Academy is not just a place of higher learning, it is a family of students, parents, and faculty who create bonds that last. It was for this reason that my late husband and I wanted our children to have the opportunity to attend the Academy, the best education available to them, and the chance to make lifelong friends.

 

It would be impossible to name just one faculty member who was my most memorable. I was influenced by so many of my instructors that I can not single out just one. Every faculty member I came in contact with during my years at the school had a genuine interest in us as students and individuals and a commitment to our success. For me, that started with Mrs. Ensley in first grade and carried on through Lulie Harry, Virginia Satisky, and countless others. 

 

After graduating from the Academy, I earned a B.A. in Communications and Mass Media. After college, I worked in our family business in accounting until my children were born. Since the death of my husband, I have continued to operate our hotel business, Sterling Hospitality Services, Inc., for the past 12 years while raising my two boys, Holden (FA ’14) and Chase (FA ’19). 

 

If there is one thing I could impress upon today’s students, it would be to not take the gift of a Fayetteville Academy education for granted. Your parents have made a decision to place you in an environment where you have the chance to grow and expand in ways that are not available to everyone. Make the best of that gift!