Christian Acemah, head of school at Olney Friends School, from left, imparts a lesson on cooking to students Denise and Vickie in the school kitchen. Acemah led students in preparing meals using meat from a goat raised on the school’s 350-acre farm as part of a special “February Friday” activity.

BARNESVILLE – For Christian Acemah, it was the way that Olney Friends School shaped him in a pivotal moment of his life that made him want to return as an adult to lead the 189-year-old high school into the future.

During a childhood that saw him living with his maternal grandparents on their farm in Eastern Uganda during his native country’s last civil war from 1981-86 and then living in various countries with his parents who were both diplomats, Acemah never imagined that he would end up in Barnesville, Ohio – not as a high school student nor as the future head of his alma mater. His mother eventually left the foreign service and transitioned into election management, serving as one of the first five members of Uganda’s elections body during its shift from one-party rule to multi-party leadership.

“Fast forward to high school, when a board member of Olney Friends School visited my boarding school in Uganda. The board member asked my Head of School to send a student ambassador from Uganda to Olney in the next academic year. My Head of School selected me out of nearly 1,000 students. He discussed it with my parents, who agreed to the plan,” Acemah said. “The rest, as they say, is history.”

When he first arrived at Olney – an independent boarding and day school for students in grades 9-12 with a curriculum and community based on Quaker values – two Quakers in residence at the school picked him up at the Columbus airport. They arrived at the campus around 1:30 a.m. and, to his surprise, the students on the welcoming committee had stayed awake to help him settle in.

“I still vividly remember how loved I felt from that moment forward,” he said. “These students had no idea who I was, yet they welcomed me with open arms. They even commented on how light I traveled: one suitcase held clothes, and the other contained books. My classmates and former teachers tease me about those books to this day.

The values he learned at Olney as a teenager are still keys to what makes him tick today.

“The idea and practice of stewardship and institutional strengthening inspire me,” he said. “The long, careful, enriching and challenging work of caring for people and institutions so they can endure and flourish across generations brings me joy.”

He pointed to the influence of one of his mentors, the late U.S. Ambassador Princeton Lyman, who told him in 2006 that institutional stabilization and strengthening were his true talents in international affairs, especially where different cultures must collaborate to create something new. Acemah doubted him at first and went on to work for the United Nations and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in roles that, unknowingly, prepared him to view the long-term growth of entities and work with people from diverse backgrounds. Before returning to Olney, he worked as Executive Director of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, as Director of Strategy and Program Development for the U.S. National Academies’ Africa Program in Washington, D.C., as a professor of African Studies and Social Sciences at Quest University in British Columbia, Canada and as Executive Officer of Research and Policy, United Nations and Gavi, for the Vaccine Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland.

“At Olney Friends School, I believe learning should cultivate habits of mind and heart that uplift others, regions, and places that have lost hope. These habits go beyond earning credentials or passing certain subjects,” Acemah said. “At its best, a school teaches young people how to live with integrity, listen, take responsibility, and find joy in working together. Much of the most important work in education goes unnoticed, yet it lays the foundation for the school’s resilience in the face of challenges. It manifests in daily routines, students caring for one another, faculty guiding students as they push themselves out of their comfort zones, and a community choosing consistency over spectacle.”

Tucked away at 61830 Sandy Ridge Road just east of the village corporation limit, Olney currently serves fewer than 60 students with a 3:1 student-faculty ratio. It is working to help those students learn and grow and to advance the Ohio Valley by demonstrating what thoughtful, values-grounded learning can look like in a rural community. It operates a 350-acre farm that helps to provide three daily meals for students and faculty and that serves as a living laboratory and outdoor classroom that keeps students grounded with a deep sense of the place where they are.

With roots halfway around the world and academic degrees from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., the Chartered Governance Institute of the UK and Ireland in London, UK, and a doctorate in leadership and learning in organizations from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, Acemah said he feels at ease in Eastern Ohio, where he and wife Vivienne are raising a blended family.

“I feel at home in the Ohio Valley, and I am glad that the school exists to employ fellow citizens of this region and support local businesses,” he said.

The boarding and day school has served local students since its founding in 1837, and this year it is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its move from Mount Pleasant to Barnesville. Drawing on that long history, Acemah said Olney remains relevant by deepening its mission to blend Quaker values with modern education while embracing diversity and student empowerment.

“We have strengthened our academic program, emphasized writing and ethical reasoning across disciplines, and affirmed learning as a process that occurs through participation in community life,” he said. “We are also balancing global engagement with local rootedness. Our students learn to think beyond themselves while remaining attentive to place, responsibility and care.”

Acemah is happy to help preserve the school and carry its mission into the future.

“Olney shaped me during a pivotal moment in my life,” he said. “Returning as Head of School felt like an act of giving back to the school that launched my academic and professional journey. I wanted to make sure that the education that influenced me would remain accessible to future generations.”

For parents who wonder if an Olney education could be right for their child, Acemah encourages them to visit and see for themselves.

“Looking at our school from the outside, you never know the kind of spiritual and intellectual work that goes on within our buildings and on our land,” he said. “A visit will give you access to the immediacy of our lives. For families seeking an education that challenges students academically while grounding them in humanistic values, Olney offers a wonderful balance.”

To learn more about Olney Friends School, visit olneyfriends.org, follow the school on social media or call 740-425-3655.