Oath Day, Freshman Run Introduce Class of 2022 to Academy Tradition
September 13, 2018
When incoming students commit to Christian Brothers Academy, they hear plenty about the tradition that surrounds the CBA community. However, it isn’t until their first week of school that these freshmen experience that heralded camaraderie for the first time.
Throughout the school day on Thursday, the Class of 2022 took part in Oath Day, where they learned about what it takes to be an Academy man before committing to the explained values by signing the Academy Oath.
The day began with the freshmen listening to keynote speaker, Mark Brennan, discuss the topic of ethics. Brennan has been an Associate Professor of Business Ethics in the Business & Society Program at New York University’s Stern School of Business, where he has taught both undergraduate and graduate students. His work has been published through major outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
The freshmen then took part in two breakout sessions where they further discussed what the Academy Oath stands for: honor, integrity, service and knowledge.
To culminate Oath Day program, the entire student body joined together in the varsity gym to watch the Class of 2022 sign their Academy Oath, which will be displayed in the main lobby alongside the senior, junior and sophomore classes’ oaths. The entire student body recited the Academy Oath as whole at the end of the ceremony.
The freshmen were not done with their activities, however, as there may not be a high school tradition better than the Heath Freshman Run, which was the final part of their day.
Now named after CBA’s longtime cross country coach, Tom Heath ’65, the Freshman Run is a 1.3-mile race around the 157-acre campus that every freshman has run dating back to the school’s opening in 1959. The run was originally intended as a recruiting tool for the cross country team, but has become a staple of the Academy tradition.
The race was won by Kyle Hill, who joins the 59 other champions in CBA history.
A tradition that binds current students and alumni, the Freshman Run demonstrates many of the characteristics that will describe the Class of 2022’s four years at CBA: hard work, challenges, achievement, and most importantly, brotherhood.