Director's Letter, November 2019 (excerpt / Fall Towers, 2019)

Dear Friends:

If all goes as planned, you will be reading this edition of Towers just as
I am returning from an adventure of a lifetime, a climb up magnificent
Mount Kilimanjaro.

As I’ve shared with our students, Mt. Kilimanjaro is one of the Seven
Summits, comprised of the highest peak on each continent. It’s pretty
common knowledge that Kilimanjaro is the most manageable of the
seven, though it’s by no means a “walk in the park”.

When I was a high school student in Oregon, I was impacted by reading
Henry David Thoreau, who trekked through the woods with enthusiasm:
“If one advances confidently in the direction of [his or her] dreams, and
endeavors to live the life which [she or he] has imagined, [he or she] will
meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

Some of the highlights from my trek are within this issue, but if you
are interested in seeing photos and reading more about my experience
on Kilimanjaro, please visit our website at www.obs.org/our-stories/
director’s-message.cfm.

Each of us has mountains in front of us that are worth climbing even
if success is not guaranteed. I hope as you read through this issue of
Towers, you’ll recognize the mountains our students overcome on a daily
basis that make the Roof of Africa seem low in comparison and inspire
the rest of us. Our Overbrook community is ever stronger because of
people who read this publication and choose to act in support of our
students. Because of that, in large measure, our students continue to
achieve success unexpected in common hours.

Kind regards,
Todd Reeves
Executive Director and CEO

I invite you to get to know our school, to get to know our exceptional students, our parents, our staff, our community and the impact we have every day in Philadelphia and around the world.