The Value of Physical Labor

Work is an integral part of VVS and is embodied in our Work Jobs Program which incorporates three of the school's mission principles: the value of physical labor, service to others, and environmental stewardship.  In the early years of the school, students and faculty worked together to literally build the school’s facilities.

Today VVS offers students a number of ways to learn the value of physical labor. Daily morning dorm chores, a weekly work job program, and several community work days scattered throughout the academic year.

Dorm students are assigned a daily morning dorm job that helps them keep their home neat and tidy. From sweeping the patios to vacuuming the common rooms - the jobs take less than a few minutes each day. The the help of dorm faculty, the resident assistants assign the jobs and oversee their completion.

Teams of students are given work job assignments that can range from tidying a classroom to shoveling horse manure in the the barns to working in the garden. Certain students are chosen to be the work job leader for each assignment. The jobs take place after classes and before sports about twice each week.

Twice a year the entire community spends a few hours on important improvments to the school. Students and adults work together in teams to accomplish a common goal.

VVS founder Hamilton Warren has been often quoted as saying, "If my labor will assist you I will not withhold it." This spirit of self-less giving has permeated the school culture for more than six decades. It brings us together as a community, and helps us build pride in our surroundings and our campus.

All of the school field trips have a component of community service attached. Several trips have worked in villages in Mexico and on the Navajo Nation.

Alumni continue the spirit of giving back and return each year at reunion weekend to work on projects for the school. They have built flagstone patios and walkways, erected memorial benches, painted school buildings and much more.