Living Proof

While our campus often rests during the summer months, this break was anything but quiet! This summer, we are thrilled to celebrate two significant upgrades that are transforming both our athletic and academic spaces: brilliant new LED lighting in our gym and the first phase of significant new flooring throughout our school.

A Brilliant Gift: Lighting the Way in the Gym

If you step into the gymnasium, the change is instant and incredible. We have retired our dated lighting systems in favor of modern, ultra-efficient LED lights. The transformation is dramatic; our gym is now brighter, sharper, and far more energy efficient. We can't wait for our Warrior athletes and the entire community to experience this vibrant new atmosphere at our first home game!

What makes this upgrade truly special is the foundational partnership that made it possible. This project was not funded by tuition dollars, as the finances were a gift from a Legacy Donor.  Legacy gifts provide critical funding for strategic projects that directly enhance our students' daily lives and help us advance our mission far beyond our operational budget. We are immensely grateful for this family’s enduring stewardship, which will shine brightly on our court for years to come.

This Legacy donor program has grown significantly!  Three years ago, ACS only had 3 gifts in excess of $5,000.  This past year, we had 12 gifts that exceeded $5,000 with 8 of them being more than $10,000. God has blessed the school by giving these donors a vision for project needs at the school and a willingness to give and take care of them.  In a sense, their donation doubles the impact of that dollar — funds a specific project and allows the school to keep those funds for other purposes.

A legacy gift is often the result of a committed donor seeing a specific, tangible, and immediate need—in this case, improving the safety and experience of our players and fans—and stepping forward personally to meet it. 

If you are interested in joining with other Legacy donors to help with specific projects, please contact Joel Medley at jmedley@alamance.org. If you would like to send a thank you note to this donor, feel free to prepare a thank you card and drop it by the office to Joel's attention and he will get it to them.

A Long-Awaited Foundation: New Floors Create a Quieter, Cleaner Campus

Walking out of the gym and into our halls, you will see our second transformative change. In what marks our first major flooring upgrade in years, we installed new, high-performance flooring throughout our main academic spaces. As you can see in this view from a renovated classroom, the impact is immediate! This modern, cohesive flooring replaces the aged, mismatched tiles that have served us well for decades, offering a cleaner and far more welcoming aesthetic.

This choice was not just about looks; it was about efficiency and comfort. Unlike our old tile floors, which required an arduous process of chemical stripping and fresh waxing every single summer, these new resilient floors are exceptionally low maintenance. They are engineered to look fantastic for years without those harmful chemicals, needing little more than a regular cleaning. The change frees up hundreds of hours of precious maintenance time and saves thousands in supply costs annually, allowing our facility team to focus on other improvements.

Furthermore, we are optimistic that these new resilient floors will provide a welcome benefit in the form of a quieter learning environment. By absorbing more impact sound than the hard ceramic tile they cover, we anticipate quieter halls between classes, helping students and teachers maintain focus on where it matters most: the classroom.

We are so excited for you to walk through these new halls and play under these new lights! This summer of progress is a direct reflection of our shared commitment to excellence and stewardship.

At Alamance Christian School, we often talk about the "Warrior Spirit"—a blend of competitive excellence, personal humility, and faith. As he prepares to graduate and take his game to the collegiate level, senior Holden Yakola stands as a great example of that spirit in action.

A Dynasty on the Green

Having been with the ACS community since 6th grade, Holden did more than just join the golf team — he helped build a dynasty. His grade-level journey mirrors the ascent of the program itself. After a third-place finish in 7th grade and a runner-up spot in 8th, he became a cornerstone of three consecutive state championship teams. In his final year, and later this week, the team stands a tremendous opportunity of being the first and only four-time, consecutive state champion at ACS.

While his talent was evident early—he first picked up a club at age four—it was the summer before his freshman year when the "golf bug" truly bit. "I loved playing in the tournaments because of the competition to win," he shares. "It brought me joy just to be out there, even on a bad day."

Leadership: Beyond the Scorecard

For many, golf is a solitary sport. Yet, Holden sees it as a platform for leadership. His definition of a leader is someone who takes ownership and "lives what they preach."

"You can be a great spokesperson, but if you do not live out what you ask of your teammates, they will not follow you or respect you," he says. On the course, he models that statement through a selfless brand of captaincy. Rather than focusing exclusively on his own match, he knows the importance of checking on his teammates mid-round. "When I pass teammates on the course, I ask how they are doing and encourage them... it is easy to shut down when a bad round happens, so I feel responsible to help them get and keep their mind right."

Reflecting on his time at ACS, Holden credits the school with pushing him outside his comfort zone. Though known as an athlete, he found unexpected joy in fine arts, participating in chorale and choric speaking during his underclassman years. "Test yourself with new experiences," he advises. "You never know what you might be good at." This year, he also served as the school's chaplain.

When asked what advice he would give to his 12-year-old self—or any young athlete—his answer was rooted in a relentless pursuit of growth. "No matter how good you think you are or what you have accomplished, you just have to keep getting better," Holden shared, noting it is the phrase he lives by most. In continuing that thought, he added, “If you are the biggest fish in the pond, it’s time to find a lake." 

It is this constant hunger for growth—the refusal to settle for "good enough"—that led him to enter the 2024-25 Winternational Junior Series at Pinehurst. This seven-event series is by application only, with a limited number of spots available. Holden participated in 5 of the 7 matches, winning two, and earned enough points to claim the top spot — Player of the Year (see the article in the Alamance News).

The Next Chapter: Guilford College

After being accepted by several universities, Holden chose to continue his academic and athletic career at Guilford College in nearby Greensboro. The decision was a strategic one, influenced by Guilford's strong golf program, state-of-the-art facilities, and a desire to stay in a climate where his game can thrive year-round.

Making Guilford even more attractive, he was selected for the inaugural class of the Business Fellows program, which adopts a cohort-based structure for ambitious students. This cohort meets weekly, takes shared coursework, and engages in specialized projects. "I chose it for the opportunity to be a part of something new," Holden explains.

The program is rigorous, requiring a higher level of commitment and offering high-level professional exposure. A cornerstone of the fellowship is an internship opportunity by junior year, placing students directly into corporate environments to gain "real-world" experience. For Holden, that means he leaves Guilford with a degree and a golf record—but he also has built a professional network and earned valuable, business experience.

Rooted in Faith

Underpinning his success is a firm spiritual foundation. His favorite scripture, Romans 12:1-2, serves as a roadmap for his life: a call to present himself as a living sacrifice and to be transformed by the renewing of his mind.
As Holden trades the ACS blue and red for Guilford’s crimson and white, he leaves behind a legacy of championships, but more importantly, a blueprint for what it means to lead with integrity. We look forward to watching him thrive in a "bigger lake" next year.

NOTE: All photos in the article were used by permission of the photographer, who happens to be Holden's sister and an ACS graduate — Allender Yakola.