Academy graduates excel in fine arts

Lorraine Thompson, the Drama Department chair for Athens Academy, keeps in touch with her former students, many of whom are studying fine arts in college or have gone on to pursue careers in the fine arts field.

These students often point to their experiences at the school as influencing their chosen fields. Here are updates on a few students from Thompson:

► The Class of 2008's Jarrard Cole spent the summer working as a media intern/consultant with The Wall Street Journal Digital Network. During his internship with the newspaper's online version, Jarrard worked both behind and in front of the camera. Some of the video features he was involved with include "Sun Chips: The Loudest Chip Bag Ever," "A Tycoon of Miniature Buildings" and "Odd Jobs: Mounted Police." Jarrard's video pieces can be seen at online.wsj.com. He is a son of Geoffrey Cole and Mary Bess Jarrard of Athens, and he attends the University of North Carolina.

► Class of 2008 alumnus Houston Mahoney was accepted into the fine arts performance program at Auburn University. He apprenticed this summer at the California International Theatre Festival. While working at the festival, he was selected to work one-on-one with stage and film actor Alfred Molina (Doctor Octopus i