Good Neighbor Podcast: Auburn and Opelika

Ep.#64: Colonel Corey Ramsby on Transforming Military Education at Southern Preparatory Academy

• Susannah Hodges at Village Centre Press

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Colonel Corey Ramsby, the 12th president of Southern Preparatory Academy, unpacked the fascinating transformation of this Alabama-based institution. With roots as the Southern Industrial Institute founded in 1898, the academy embraced a military education model in the 1960s and has since thrived as a premier all-male boarding school. Colonel Ramsby, drawing from a rich 30-year military career that spanned the Air Force and Space Force, shares his inspiring journey from service to shaping young minds, highlighting the academy's dedication to academic and technical excellence.

Misconceptions about military education often paint a misleading picture, and Colonel Ramsby is here to set the record straight. Hollywood's dramatic portrayals are a far cry from the reality at Southern Prep, where structure, discipline, and clear communication are the pillars for nurturing respect, responsibility, and leadership. Far from boot camp clichés, the academy offers a nurturing environment enriched with varied activities, from music and culinary clubs to a wide range of sports, ensuring students enjoy a holistic education tailored to their ambitions.

For families intrigued by what Southern Prep offers, Colonel Ramsby highlights the wealth of resources available on their comprehensive website, southernprepacademy.org. The admissions team stands ready to guide prospective students and their families through every step, ensuring a personal touch. It's a privilege to bring you this conversation on the Good Neighbor Podcast, Auburn, as we explore Southern Prep's commitment to crafting future leaders well-prepared to tackle life's challenges.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Susanna Hodges.

Speaker 2:

Welcome, and with me today is Colonel Corey Ramsby. He's the 12th president at Southern Preparatory Academy. Welcome, how are you doing?

Speaker 3:

I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. Good morning to you. So tell us a little bit about Southern Preparatory Academy. Welcome. How are you doing? I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. Good morning to you.

Speaker 2:

So tell us a little bit about Southern Preparatory Academy.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Southern.

Speaker 3:

Preparatory Academy is an all-male boarding school here in Camp Hill, alabama, that uses the military education model in order to develop young men for what we consider the challenges that are ahead of them, and prepare them to be prepared for what we call the work of life.

Speaker 3:

And so our roots go all the way back to 1898 when Dr Lyman Ward, who was a universalist minister from New York literally New York City who had partnered with Booker T Washington here in the Tuskegee area on multiple things, and while Booker T Washington was up in the northeast on a doing some speaking engagements, dr Lyman Ward came across him and was so interested in what he was doing that he decided to relocate here in the South and established what back then was called the Southern Industrial Institute, and it was a way to provide an education for the young men and women of the South, especially as they are coming out of the effects of the Civil War.

Speaker 3:

And he did that all the way through the end of his life in towards the in 1948. And then in 1962, the early 1960s, the school transformed into a military academy and partnered with the federal government with their junior ROTC offerings, and we have held that model since the early 1960s, and we are currently taking a look at what it is that we do, why we do it. We're very passionate about the moral development of young men and ensuring that they have the tools that they need to succeed in the 21st century society, and so, as we are taking a look at what it is that we're doing, the first thing we've done is go back to our roots, and Dr Lyman Ward was graciously enough to leave us 330 beautiful acres here in the south central part of of alabama, and on that acreage we have two lakes, we have lots of wooded areas.

Speaker 3:

Obviously, we have our campus and so this is just an opportunity for us from a from a from a schooling perspective, that we can offer young men the opportunity to grow and develop in many in a multitude of ways.

Speaker 3:

And so when somebody is coming to Southern Prep Academy, the first thing we need to make sure that they understand is that, though we have a military background and we use the military education model background and we use the military education model, we are not only a military reform school, which is kind of sort of how some folks would view what we do, but what we do is we try to have a very tailored education plan for every young man that comes to our school, and what I'm talking about is that if I have a young man who has the potential and the academic capabilities to go to the absolute best post-secondary schools in our country, we should be able to be prepared to do that.

Speaker 3:

At the same time, on the other end of that spectrum, we also want to be able to provide good growth and opportunity and development for those that have no desire for post-secondary and make sure that we give them the technical skills and the opportunity to learn specific trades and or other opportunities, especially with our partners in Central Alabama Community College or Edward Bell Vocational Tech Center, to be able to ensure that every single boy that comes through Southern Prep Academy, on the very moment that they leave our academy, they look back and say I was better because I was there.

Speaker 2:

That sounds wonderful. Now I have actually toured your campus and it's a beautiful campus and you can kind of see through the buildings how the history of the school, when you start with the beautiful you know initial building there and then, as you have added on, it's quite beautiful.

Speaker 3:

Oh, absolutely and really. The showcase of our campus is Tallapoosa Hall, which was built in 1930. Yeah, it is just, absolutely. It's stunning in my mind. It is a building that is in the historical registry and, in fact, we again going back to our roots. The staff got together about a couple of weeks ago and we went in and we revitalized the gym that is inside that building and it is that gym is like walking back in history. It's literally like if you, if you're familiar with the, with the movie um, back to the future where they have the under the, under the, or the enchantment under the sea dance. It's like walking back into that mid 20th century.

Speaker 2:

It really is. It's beautiful.

Speaker 3:

And but. But that is a great opportunity and that's where our school, that's where all of our schooling is done as well. So when you, when you, walk through that building, I mean it is just going back to our roots and reminding us why we do what we do. And the beautiful thing about Tallapoosa Hall is that a lot of materials that are in that building were actually harvested from the land to include. They even built a brick foundry on our property in order to assist with the construction of the building. But that's just that gives us a reminder of where we've come from.

Speaker 3:

And then, of course, we got Ross Hall, which was one of the original buildings that was on this campus, built by Dr Ward and the students at the school. Again, at the time it was Southern Industrial Institute. And then you can go through the rest of the campus and see even the more updated ones, to include our chapel, which was built with the gracious financial backing from the Dixon Foundation. So, yeah, it is a beautiful campus and, coming up at the end of March next year, we plan to have a community-wide open house where anybody who's ever interested to come see our campus. That everything that we have, every building we have. It's going to be open and viewable for the public.

Speaker 2:

Okay. Well, let's talk about you for a minute here. Yes, ma'am, tell me about your journey to being the 12th president there at Southern Preparatory Academy. Yes, ma'am.

Speaker 3:

So I just have recently completed a 30-year military career. So I just have recently completed a 30-year military career and I was a military brat. My dad was in the Air Force and then I went to college and commissioned into the Air Force myself, so that in the last five years of that military career I was a part of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. And so for the first two years I was the ROTC commander at Detachment 225 up at the University of Notre Dame, and then the final three years I was the commander of Air Force ROTC stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base. So why is that important? Why that's important is because you know it's funny you end up in life in places where you didn't know you were going to be.

Speaker 3:

But once you get there once you get there, you realize that's what, that's what your plan was the entire time, whether you knew it or understood it Right?

Speaker 3:

Yes, and so that being able to be a part of young people's lives and using the experience, the knowledge and the wisdom that I've gained in my lifetime to be able to then provide to them, to allow them to grow and develop into the, into the be able to face the challenges that we all know that they're going to Nobody's immune to the challenges in life that, as I retired from the Air Force actually the Space Force, because I spent 27 years in the Air Force and then my last three years I actually cross-commissioned into the Space Force that it was a natural progression for me.

Speaker 3:

I got to be honest with you. We had no intentions to do anything other than just retire. After a 30-year military career, we've earned the right to just retire. But this opportunity came up and again, I wasn't looking for it, I wasn't expecting it, but sometimes you're just at the right place at the right time. Continue an internal drive and an internal passion to be able to have be a positive influence in the, into the lives of young people that I think our society really, really needs at this moment.

Speaker 2:

So with your 30 years of experience in the military, obviously that works very well. With you coming in as the president here, tell me a little bit. I'm sure you have come across the misconceptions people have about a military type of education for their children. What are some of the things that people may think that aren't actually, you know, a good reflection of what goes on at a military school?

Speaker 3:

Right. I think the biggest misconception is that, just the, where somebody would get information about what a military academy is, and I think most people would say they have probably seen it in a movie or something along those lines. So the Hollywood version of a military academy and there's multiple movies that come the military education model in order to provide that good order and discipline in this environment, and because we are a boarding school, although we do have day students and we're looking for opportunities to expand in that area these students are here with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and so the military education model gives us a basis for the minimum standard, meaning that you know how you act, how you behave, how you, how are you respectful, how do you. It establishes it from a military term terminology, a chain of command, so that as you're communicating up and down that chain of command, it should be very, very clear to what everybody's role is in that. But also it provides that discipline and that rigor that if you wander outside of the minimum standard, that there are checks and balances to bring you back in and we're not talking the boot camp style way of doing that. You know that's definitely a Hollywood version, although there will be times when we do have the ability to use military-type approaches in order to ensure that our standard is known, is understood and is followed. The standard is known, is understood and is followed, and so with that, it's just a basis of that they are able to absorb the things that we are teaching them.

Speaker 3:

Now I will tell you the most definite likeness between Southern Preparatory Academy and any military organization is the drill and ceremonies.

Speaker 3:

But the drill and ceremonies has a very, very distinct purpose, because that is how, through the drill and ceremonies, it is how you teach the basic fundamentals of teamwork. You have to have a leader who is guiding that formation. You have to have other elements within that formation that are directly supporting the leader, and then you have the followers within that element that, if you are doing everything the way that you are supposed to, that the physical display gives you immediate feedback on how you are performing. And so drilling ceremonies is fundamental to the things that we do. It's how we maneuver around campus as we're going from one location to the other. We get up at a certain time in the morning, we have our lunch and breakfast and dinner formations. At a specific time, we have specific study hours. So, again, very disciplined, very determined approach about what it is that we're doing in order to ensure that we are meeting that standard of discipline that ensures that we're getting the maximum time and development for our young men.

Speaker 2:

Now, I know that our listeners can't see us, but I can see that you're wearing a Southern Prep Academy football t-shirt, so, yeah, it looks like you guys. With all the discipline that you have there, you guys know how to have fun too, right.

Speaker 3:

Oh, absolutely Absolutely, and I'm glad that you brought that up, because that's another misconception about you know, it's military 24-7 in a military prep academy and definitely the military model is the basis of what we do. But the reason why we are revitalizing the gym in Tallapoosa Hall is because just two days ago we had an information fair, is because just two days ago we had an information fair, but that information fair was directed at the cadets to ensure that they had the knowledge of all of the things that we have just added to our curriculum, and fun is the goal of it. I have a very small faculty, which is a good thing because I have a good faculty to student ratio and I can give very personalized education opportunities to all of our students. But when we're not in a military setting or we're not in the classroom environment, what are those things that we use to occupy our young men's time?

Speaker 3:

And so here are the things that we've recently added. We added a culinary club. We've added a music club, we added a conversational Spanish club. We have added additional AP courses, advanced placement courses for those that are interested in it. Of course. We've got our drill teams and we've got our athletics and for right now, we've got football.

Speaker 3:

The reason why I'm wearing my Southern Prep football t-shirt is because the playoffs start tonight.

Speaker 3:

So that's, it's a big that's a big deal as we support our team.

Speaker 3:

But we've got our wrestling team, we've got our track and field that will be starting up and our soccer and our golf teams that are that are starting up in the next semester.

Speaker 3:

So we are taking a look at all of those things and it's not just about having a set things that we're going to offer every single semester, but it's really focused in on the passions of my faculty and staff that, because they are a part of it, they're going to give me way more and be more invested in it, so that that environment and that environment participation is more enriching, because I've got somebody who's passionate about what they're doing, leading these types of things. So, from a fun perspective, we are definitely adding more fun into what it is that we do, but also in a very learning and very positive environment. That allows our boys to grow, but it also allows our faculty to grow at the exact same time, because when you do this right, it is such an it is such an enriching and rewarding thing to do when you, when you can take your wisdom and your knowledge and your passions and you can share them with somebody else and they become better because of it. There's just nothing better in my mind, absolutely so.

Speaker 2:

What's one thing you wish people knew about Southern Preparatory Academy that they may not realize?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and again I've kind of tested on it a little bit bad path, meaning that if we were not here to provide again that rigor and that discipline, they're going to end up in places, obviously, where their parents don't want them to be, and we definitely do that.

Speaker 3:

But that is not all that we do.

Speaker 3:

Don't want them to be, and we definitely do that, but that is not all that we do.

Speaker 3:

We also want to make sure that we, that folks understand that, especially those that are frustrated with the public school system or that there may be challenges within the family system that is is detrimental to uh, to their, to their sons that we are a place to be able to give them that enriching, disciplined environment that will support them, whether they want to go into technical training or trades.

Speaker 3:

Or we've got a lot of boys who are very, very interested in going into the military, some enlisted, some on the officer side, and then also those that have a very clear path in their mind of how they get to post-secondary school and the schools that they want to go to. And I want to be able to ensure that we can cover the entire spectrum and be able to have a very tailorized educational plan for every single student that I have within Southern Prep Academy, regardless of the direction that they want to go, and when people understand that, then I think they will look at our academy through a different lens and maybe it opens up opportunities for them that they didn't know existed.

Speaker 2:

So how would someone find out more information about Southern Prep if they wanted to get more detailed information and consider this for their children?

Speaker 3:

Oh yes, ma'am, the best place to the best place is just go to southernprepacademyorg, our website. All of that information is right there to include our admissions department where they can pick up the phone and talk to a live human being. And I've got absolutely have some absolute great people in the, in the entire staff at Southern Prep, and any one of us would be more than willing to answer any questions anybody would have.

Speaker 2:

Well, that's, that sounds wonderful, and I've truly enjoyed talking to you, colonel Ramsby. This has been a great conversation and thank you so much for joining me.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much, susanna, and I appreciate what you do and I'm very honored to have been able to be a part of your podcast.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, auburn. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpauburncom. That's gnpauburncom, or call 334-429-7404.