Academy History

Rockhill Academy for Independent Living was established by Owen Gahagan, Jr., as a non-profit in 1995 to provide support, education, transitional living, and community involvement for adults who have been diagnosed with a chronic mental illness. The organization exclusively services residents of Rockhill Manor.

The Academy experience was designed to help people recover their self-esteem, and to lead more self-sufficient, independent, and productive lives. It was referred to as a “bridge” program, linking residents to the community.

Classes were formed to provide individualized support in all facets of the whole person, such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene, budgeting, banking, shopping, and medication management.

As the Academy evolved, core classes in basic reading, math, English, and history were added. Esteem-building, goal setting, personal-responsibility development, and giving back continue to be themes that are present throughout the experience, where Academy students have been encouraged to share their knowledge in the classroom and to help other students as peer life-skills coaches. Our purposeful instruction “bridges” our adult students with the community.

 

“People create their own success by learning what they need to learn and then by practicing it until they become proficient at it.”

— Brian Tracy: is a self-help author and motivational speaker

“In times of great stress or adversity,  it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.

— Lee Iacocca: Businessman, author, former CEO of Chrysler Corporation

“The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.”

— Brian Tracy: is a self-help author and motivational speaker

“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”

— Albert Einstein: was the father of modern physics

“The more we give love, the greater our capacity to do so.”

— Dr. David Hawkins: is a psychiatrist, physician, researcher, and pioneer in the fields of consciousness research and spirituality

“Success is not for the timid. It is for those who seek guidance, make decisions, and take decisive action.”

— Jose Silva: was a American parapsychologist and author

“If you do the right job then money will come to you. Because people who need you will request, will ask for you, will attract you, and will be willing to pay you for your services.”

— Jose Silva: was a American parapsychologist and author

“If you want to reach a goal, you must “see the reaching” in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.”

— Zig Ziglar: Motivational author and speaker

“You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.”

— Zig Ziglar: Motivational author and speaker

“Hire great people and give them the freedom to be awesome.”

— Andrew Mason: is the founder and CEO of Groupon

“Most successful people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”

— Napoleon Hill: was an author and pioneer of the personal development genre

“A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.”

— Wayne Dyer: is an American self-help advocate, author, and lecturer

“The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.”

— Carl Sagan: was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist and author

“Be thankful for what you have, you’ll end up having more.  If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never ever have enough.”

— Oprah Winfrey: is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist

“What we think, we become.”

— Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta: the founder of Buddhism

“You are much grander than you think you are.”

— Asara Lovejoy: is a human potential and consciousness author

“You’ve got to fix the people first. Insiders and new people. Everything else flows from that. And in today’s complex world, nobody does anything successful alone – it’s all about teamwork.”

— Dr. Howard Tullman: is an American entrepreneur and author

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

—Zig Ziglar: motivational author and speaker

“It doesn’t matter where you are coming from.  All that matters is where you are going.”

— Brian Tracy: is a self-help author and motivational speaker

“We all have gifts: powers to varying degrees – and everyone has at least one gift – that is your particular piece of power. Acknowledging that you do have power is a major energy of change.”

—Lee Pulos: is a psychologist, entrepreneur and author

“Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.”

— Wayne Dyer: is an American self-help advocate, author, and lecturer

“All successful people are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.”

— Brian Tracy: is a self-help author and motivational speaker