HRA Kicks Off Year of Resilience with 2026 Convocation Exercises

Though the end of summer is always bittersweet for students and their families as they return to school, Hampton Roads Academy is thrilled to launch a new year for a one-of-a-kind learning community.

On Wednesday, August 26, HRA welcomed students in all three divisions back to campus to kick off the 2026-2027 academic year. To start the morning, the full Middle and Upper School student body gathered in the Svein J. Lassen Auditorium for the tradition of Convocation. Initiated 15 years ago by former Head of School Peter Mertz, the annual assembly is an occasion for Navigators to embark on the next chapter of their educational journey with a sense of shared purpose and rededicate themselves to the pursuit of excellence, not only in academics, but also in athletics, the arts, and character.

This year’s Convocation, featuring a special performance of the Alma Mater by the eighth- through twelfth-grade a cappella group Nowhere to Hide, marked the official beginning of HRA’s Year of Resilience. As Head of School Jay Lasley explained in his remarks to the students, resilience—the ability to overcome adversity, confront challenges head-on, and adapt in the face of obstacles—is an essential character trait with a direct line to fulfillment and success, not only during one’s time in school, but throughout one’s life.

“Any time there is change, any time there is growth or improvement or learning,” Lasley told the students, “resilience is a part of that experience. Resilience is a part of leadership.”

Navigating Challenges

College professors, employers, and other members of the wider community frequently report that they can immediately recognize a Navigator. HRA’s students are confident, capable leaders and problem solvers who embrace difficult situations as opportunities for growth.

This defining quality is no coincidence. “We expect a lot out of our students,” Lasley explained. “HRA is an academically demanding place, and we don’t apologize for that. It builds resilience.”

In the past several years, repeated disruptions have tested the resilience of students, families, teachers, and society as a whole. From a global pandemic in 2020 to the emergence and rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence since late 2022, a series of monumental challenges has upended old assumptions about education and work and introduced profound uncertainty. For the foreseeable future, young people’s prospects of personal and professional success will hinge on their ability to remain resilient and undeterred as they navigate a constantly changing world.

Empowering Excellence

HRA is uniquely positioned to foster this crucial character skill because of the wealth of opportunities it unlocks for every student.

Every day in the classroom, HRA’s rigorous curriculum pushes students to practice resilience as they critically think through difficult material and discover unexpected passions. In the Lower School, the youngest Navigators learn to work through frustration and avoid becoming discouraged as they develop their reading abilities, study tough new words before a spelling test, and navigate the transition from one grade to the next, especially the progression to Middle School. Starting in fifth grade, students grow through the triumphs as well as the missteps that inevitably accompany the gradual process of becoming more independent, meeting heightened academic standards, and taking greater ownership of one’s education.

In the arts, the daunting task of exhibiting one’s work for the community or preparing to face the eyes of an audience on stage teaches students to overcome their fears and find confidence within themselves. Similarly, as they take on active roles on sports teams across three athletic seasons, HRA students learn not to let one disappointing play distract them from the next or one loss break their focus on improving for games to come. Many Navigators benefit from all these opportunities to cultivate resilience because they are talented musicians, actors, and athletes as well as scholars.

Finally, as students prepare for the ups and downs of the college search during their Upper School years, opportunities for independent research and real-world internships and professional shadowing through the REACH Initiative challenge each Navigator to explore unfamiliar avenues and begin the hard work of charting a fulfilling future. This process demands resilience, and every HRA graduate launches their next adventure fully equipped not simply to endure, but also to thrive, amidst the discomfort of charting their path.

In a concise and inspiring speech to his peers at Convocation, Student Council Association President Luke Sablan ’27 encouraged his peers to develop resilience by embracing all the opportunities—and all the challenges—HRA has to offer.

“There will be difficult classes, tough games, stressful days, and moments when we make mistakes,” he explained to his peers. “But one bad grade doesn’t define your year, one loss doesn’t define your season, and one bad day doesn’t define you. What matters is how you respond.”

Sablan concluded his remarks by exhorting his fellow Navigators to take chances in the year ahead. “Join a club, go to a game, meet someone new, or step outside of your comfort zone,” he said. “And when something doesn’t go as planned, don’t be afraid to get back up and try again.”

Cultivating Resilience as a Community

If HRA opens doors for students, they do not walk through them alone. Navigators emerge from diverse challenges more confident and resilient because they are supported by a community that is invested in their success.

This community includes exceptional teachers, many of whom also serve as coaches, who provide individualized attention and mentorship to each student in their small classes. It includes devoted families, who partner with faculty members from their first Back-to-School Night through Commencement to ensure that every Navigator feels not only challenged, but also known, throughout their time at HRA. And it includes the many friends of the Academy who generously donate and volunteer to provide resources and experiences that empower excellence for all.

In the coming year, thanks to donor contributions and in response to parent demand, HRA’s Student Support Center will expand its services to the Middle School, offering personalized academic assistance and strategies to help every student learn how they learn best and optimize their performance—at HRA, in college, and beyond. This invaluable resource, which opened its doors just one year ago, has already played a major role in promoting a culture of resilience in the Upper School and will now lay a foundation for even more Navigators to turn setbacks into opportunities for improvement.

At the close of the Convocation exercises, Lasley called on the seniors of the Class of 2027 to set the pace for their peers.

“Be our leaders every day,” the Head of School said. “Be purposefully connected every day, because your schoolmates will be watching. They need you to be beacons of kindness. They need you to be role models of how to be joyful and connected contributors in this school community. They need you to show them how to be resilient when times are challenging—when growth is occurring.”

Lining the administration hallway after the assembly, the seniors symbolically stepped into their role as examples to their fellow Navigators by greeting their younger peers with cheers, applause, and high fives, starting with the fifth graders, just beginning their Middle School journey.

HRA invites every member of the Navigator community to join us this year in celebrating resilience, leaning into challenges, and supporting our students as they grow into better learners, leaders, and people every day.