All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
Alums Share Experience and Advice at Career Symposium
Thirteen alumni spent time with fifth and sixth formers on February 21, 2017, for Woodberry Forest School’s third annual career symposium, organized by the alumni office. Headlining the afternoon event were Neel Williams ’00 and Cameron Johnson ’03, who addressed students in Bowman Gray Auditorium. Breakout sessions brought small groups of alumni and students together for conversation in the Manning Family Science Building.
Neel, a graduate of Yale University, works for the Richmond advertising firm The Martin Agency as a creative director. He shared some of the well-known and humorous ads he’s written for Geico Insurance. His list of pieces of advice, which he called, “What I wish I could tell 2000 me,” began with specifics about Woodberry mixers and ended with the exhortation, “Define success for yourself.”
Cameron shared stories of his remarkable start as a young entrepreneur whose business life began at the age of nine. While at Woodberry for his third- and fourth-form years, he was running internet businesses and serving on the board of a Tokyo-based company. His autobiography, 15-Year-Old CEO, was a bestseller in Japan. By the time he graduated from high school in Roanoke, Virginia, his net worth exceeded $1 million. Cameron, who has also enjoyed a career in television, currently serves as president of his family’s business, Magic City Ford Lincoln in Roanoke. Cameron advised boys to “put yourself out there,” illustrating with his own life story the effect of risk-taking.
The participating alumni represented fields including medicine, government, law, finance, and engineering. Shown left to right, they are: Arthur Bryant ’09, Andrew Bridgforth ’01, Davis O’Keeffe ’86, George Lane-Roberts ’06, Broderick Dunn ’00, Teddy Hull ’08, Neel Williams ’00, Boyd Steinhoff ’04, Trevor Slaven ’04, Rick Ramsey ’97, Cameron Johnson ’03, and Jamie Peace ’97. Not pictured: Teddy Hull ’08.
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.