Riverside

Color Guard

The color guard had several opportunities to serve our communities by presenting the colors – events such as Veterans Day assemblies, an Atlanta Hawks game, and an Atlanta Falcons game.

Drill Team

The drill team was tasked to create the grading criteria that the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States (AMCSUS) used for their annual drill competition and produced a video demonstrating the drill routine.

Raiders

This season, Riverside’s Raider A Team and B Team brought home the national championship titles at the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) National Raider Challenge. The A Team also shattered its own record in the rope bridge event with a time of 1:32:37, more than ten seconds faster than the previous record. In addition to three days of team competition, Colin Tortorelli competed for the title of Ultimate Raider, finishing fourth out of 44 individual competitors.

Rifle Team

Riverside’s rifle team celebrated its first win in February against Lithonia. The team has many first-year shooters, and they have done an exceptional job competing. Though the team was unable to make it into the GIAA Rifle Championship Shootout, the team had the highest score of the season with 1033 points. This summer, interested rifle team members will have the opportunity to improve their marksmanship at a three-position rifle camp.

ALUMNUS SPOTLIGHT

NICHOLAI S. FISHER

CLASS OF 2013

There are excellent lessons learned from eagles which include flying high, embracing the path, and rising above the challenges. This is exactly what Nicholai Fisher learned during his four years at Riverside. His grades improved dramatically. He took honors and AP classes, got involved through football, Raiders, lacrosse, and the rifle team, and he moved up through the leadership ranks. Following graduation from Riverside in 2013, he attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and is living out his dream of a successful career in aviation.

Fisher flies a large cabin business jet, the Dassault Falcon 900B, for Dreamline Aviation, a private jet management company based out of the greater Los Angeles area. The jet is extremely rare; it is one of the few remaining in the world that has three engines. It seats 14 and has approximately a 3,800-mile range. Fisher, recently promoted from Co-Captain to Captain, transports a select group of private clientele who charter aircraft for local, domestic, and transcontinental flights. He has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and flown to Hawaii many times, as the plane can easily fly for eight hours without stopping.

As a middle schooler in Atlanta, Fisher realized pursuing his dream would take more than his average grades. He knew he needed structure, and it was Fisher who researched and found Riverside. He stated,

“Riverside was the pathway to my personal development. It gave me the tools and resources to succeed.”

Fisher continued, “It’s not easy and takes time to adapt, but the life principles and structure I learned formed me into the person I am today. There are so many mentors along the way, including school staff, teachers, and coaches. Staff Sergeant Klemm taught history, but the life skills in his class taught me a strong work ethic. You’re not done with a task until it’s totally completed.”

When his parents were asked about the value of his educational experience, Greg and Christi Fisher explained, “Riverside was the true turning point in Nicholai’s life –taking him from the days of a typical teen to those of a mature adult, ready to take on the world!”

The school’s mascot is fitting. Riverside Eagles learn to get out of their comfort zone and find opportunities in problems, exhibiting courage, honor, pride, and determination along the way. With lessons learned at Riverside, graduates begin their journey to a life well-lived, flying like an eagle, just like Nicholai Fisher.

With a dining hall filled with grateful northeast Georgia residents, including generous event sponsors, both Georgia’s 82nd Governor and First Lady were honored at the eighth annual Sandy Beaver Entrepreneurial Leadership Awards Dinner held on August 11 in Riverside Academy’s Alumni Hall. Sadly, less than two weeks later, we joined thousands of individuals across the state of Georgia in mourning the passing of Mrs. Deal.

“We were blessed to have the opportunity of honoring both Georgia’s 82nd Governor and Georgia’s First Lady – the Honorable Nathan Dean and Mrs. Sandra Deal – two remarkable leaders. Each is rightly deserving of very special honors, and together, they have been a power couple, making a remarkable impact on the local Gainesville/Hall County community, northeast Georgia region, state of Georgia, and beyond. They defy mathematics – one plus one, in their case, equals ten,” stated President Stanley C. “Staś” Preczewski.