Special Advertising Feature
Director of Fine Arts | Rockbridge Academy
After teaching visual arts at Rockbridge Academy for 20 years, then leaving the classroom to serve on the school board for four more years, Heidi Stevens accepted her current role as Director of Fine Arts. She studied music at Concordia College in Ann Arbor and theology at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. For much of her adult life, she has studied drawing and painting with teachers in the greater Annapolis and Baltimore area.
How did your background and experiences prepare you for this role?
I grew up in a family that valued the arts. My parents worked hard to give my brother and me every opportunity to pursue creative outlets. I was a theater kid in high school, and I also participated in choir and marching band. In college, I studied music, but I couldn’t seem to keep myself out of the ceramics studio. And I’ve always loved drawing and painting. This eclectic love of the fine arts has served me well as I guide the programs at Rockbridge Academy.
What excites you about Rockbridge Academy’s view of the arts?
The founders of Rockbridge Academy believed strongly that a robust arts program is an integral part of educating the whole person. Music and art are seen as co-curricular, and I’m amazed at our students’ caliber of work. Whether it’s a performance by one of our orchestras, a musical production by our upper school, or an art exhibit featuring our senior painting students, the response I often hear is, “I can’t believe kids can do this!” I not only credit their amazing teachers but also the impact of classical Christian education. Our students are curious, disciplined, and motivated in a way that spills over into their creative endeavors.
What makes Rockbridge Academy unique?
The classical methodology of teaching according to the natural developmental framework of the learner allows our students to grow into young men and women who know how to think, reason, and articulate with a facility for precision and beauty. More importantly, Rockbridge Academy seeks to give students a vision of what it means to live in light of the love of God in a way that offers direction and purpose—not only for their future callings but also their present studies.
Rockbridge Academy; 680 Evergreen Road | Crownsville, MD 21032; 410-923-1171; www.rockbridge.org
