All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
Justin Mitchell ’16 Combines Passions for Biking, Community Service
Mountain biker Justin Mitchell ’16 of Appomattox, Virginia, couldn’t be more passionate about his sport. He’s been racing since he was eight years old, and he’s ridden for Woodberry every fall and spring since his freshman year. As a varsity racer in both the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and the Virginia High School Mountain Bike Series, he’s ranked at the national level. Since he’s been at Woodberry, the mountain biking team has increased in size from four to thirty riders, largely due to his leadership. He’s even helped to construct a NICA-certified mountain biking course on the Woodberry campus.
But all that wasn’t enough for Justin. He wanted to involve riders from beyond the Forest in his favorite sport, so he and Coach Nolan LaVoie brainstormed ways to get the larger community involved. “Every year, the mountain biking team tries to incorporate service into their season,” says Nolan LaVoie. In previous years, for example, the team gathered bike parts and volunteered for Community Bikes in Charlottesville. This fall, they inaugurated the Woodberry Forest Short Track Racing Series, a series of three charity races that welcomed riders of all ages from Madison County. The whole team got involved in setting up for races and participated alongside the guests.
“We wanted to find a charity that was closely associated with education,” Justin says. Nolan’s wife, Becca, who works at Madison County High School, suggested the Madison Emergency Services Association (MESA), which provides aid in the form of food, clothing, and shelter. “By asking for donations from riders, we raised several hundred dollars,” Justin says. “We also donated about 200 children’s books that we received from racers and parents.”
As happy as he is with the fundraising success of the racing series, Justin is equally pleased that the events brought more people into the sport. “Several people who'd never raced before used this fall series to get into racing,” he explains. “We had thirty to forty people at each race. It exceeded our expectations.” He has plans to host another series in the spring and hopes the initiative continues after he graduates. “We hope the word will spread, and more and more people will come to each event."
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
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Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.