by Patrick Yuran

Oak Mountain Academy is truly blessed with many bright shining stars on The Mountain these days. Our student body shines the brightest of all. Academically, our current graduating class has already earned over $1.5 million in college scholarship offers and 100% of them have been accepted to a variety of top-notch universities including the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory, and the University of Alabama… just to name a few.

Nestled among these many bright shining stars on The Mountain are two graduating seniors – Anna Bartlett and Anjuli Vavrik – who graduated at the top of their class in 2022. Anna Bartlett is OMA’s Class of 2022 Valedictorian and has been a student at Oak Mountain Academy for thirteen years. Throughout her tenure at the Academy, Anna has proven herself to be a student of integrity while serving in many leadership roles inside and outside of the academic classroom. Oak Mountain Academy is a school that prides itself on providing a college-preparatory education rooted in innovative academic excellence where students become leaders committed to living lives of service and integrity.

Anna is a product of an Oak Mountain Academy education and represents our personalized, faith-based education well. Anna is an incredibly strong student who succeeds academically because of her natural gifts and superior work ethic. She has been on the Headmaster’s List, our school’s highest academic honor, throughout her entire high school career and has challenged herself by taking over eleven Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which are the most challenging classes our school offers, also throughout the course of her high school career. She has also secured many academic honors over the past couple of years including the following: STAR Student Award, College Board’s Rural and Small Town Scholar, National Merit Scholarship Commendation, AP United States History Department Award, Yearbook Department Award, Algebra II Department Award, AP European History Department Award, AP Government Department Award, AP Economics Department Award, AP Physics Department Award, AP Computer Science Department Award, Yearbook Department Award, French IV Department Award, National French Exam Bronze Medal, Public Speaking Department Award, UGA Certificate of Merit, and Medal of Honor. In addition to her academic success, 

Anna has excelled in student leadership. Throughout high school, Anna has excelled on the soccer field, on many cross-country courses (State Title), with the track team, and in the pool with the swim team. She has also secured many award recognitions over the past couple of years including the following: National Honor Society Member, Student Government Association Vice President, Counselor’s Achievement Award, Junior Chamber Youth Leadership Award, Spring Literary Argumentative Essay Award 1st in Region & 1st in State, Spring Literary Region Argumentative Essay 2nd Place Award, and Spring Literary Region Girls Trio 3rd Place Award. Anna also has a passion for community service and has volunteered for more than sixty hours of service over the past four years. Anna graduated Summa Cum Laude from Oak Mountain Academy and will be attending The University of Virginia in the fall. Anjuli Vavrik is Oak Mountain Academy’s Class of 2022 Salutatorian and has been a student at Oak Mountain Academy for fourteen years. Throughout her tenure at the Academy, Anjuli has also proven herself to be a student of great integrity while serving in many leadership roles inside and outside of the academic classroom. 

Anjuli is also a strong student who succeeds academically because of her natural gifts and strong work ethic. She has been on the Headmaster’s List, our school’s highest academic honor, throughout her entire high school career and has challenged herself by taking over eleven Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which are the most challenging classes our school offers, also throughout the course of her high school career. She has also secured many academic honors over the past couple of years including the following: AP Physics Department Award, AP Spanish Department Award, AP English Department Award, AP Psychology Department Award, Chemistry Department Award, and Medal of Honor. Anjuli is a dedicated student who values her academic opportunities and appreciates what a solid academic foundation can provide for her future. In addition to her academic success, Anjuli has also excelled in student leadership securing many awards including the following: National Honor Society Member, Student Government Association Secretary, Counselor’s Achievement Award, Junior Chamber Youth Leadership Award, One Act Play Award, and One Act Play Honorable Mention In Region.Throughout high school, Anjuli has excelled on the soccer field, the tennis court (State Title), the volleyball court (Stat Title), and in the Key Club. Anjuli also has a passion for community service and has volunteered for more than seventy hours of service over the past four years. Anjuli graduated Summa Cum Laude from Oak Mountain Academy and will be attending The Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall. 

Throughout our time together at Oak Mountain Academy, I have grown to respect both Anna and Anjuli as exceptional students, gifted leaders, and all around top-notch human beings. They are truly young women with unmatched character, many talents, and an overabundance of God-given gifts. I speak for all of us at Oak Mountain Academy when I say how incredibly proud we are of both young women and truly blessed to have been a part of their educational journey! Oak Mountain Academy, Class of 2022, consisted of 13 students who have been awarded 1.5 million dollars in scholarships for the next 4 years, not including the HOPE scholarship or Zell Miller Scholarship. 100% of the Class of 2022 have qualified for the Georgia HOPE Scholarship and 42% have qualified for the Zell Miller Scholarship. More than 50 college acceptances were celebrated with this class and they also collectively completed 92 Advanced Placement courses. Congratulations to the Oak Mountain Academy Class of 2022!