Many listeners have been asking for more alumni interviews, and this episode delivers. Davies Owens sits down with Ashton Lawrence, an Ambrose School graduate who joined the classical Christian world in fifth grade and stayed through graduation. Ashton reflects on the early challenges of adjusting to a more rigorous environment, the slow-burning value of logic and Latin, and the way great teachers helped the pieces “click” over time.

As the conversation unfolds, Ashton connects the classroom to real life, from learning to spot fallacies in everyday arguments to building the kind of clear communication and steady conviction that helps a young adult navigate college, friendships, and vocational decisions with maturity. Along the way, he shares how family conversations, meaningful friendships, and hands-on experiences shaped him into someone who can read deeply, think carefully, and also solve real problems in the shop.

Tune in to hear:

• Why Ashton’s “late entry” into classical Christian education in fifth grade became a formative turning point
• How Tolkien, Shakespeare, and the great books helped shape his imagination, loves, and view of virtue
• What logic training changed for him immediately, especially in how he listened, argued, and communicated
• Why students sometimes struggle to understand the “why” behind classical education, and what schools can do better
• How a classical foundation helped him thrive socially and spiritually at a large Christian university
• Why the liberal arts and the common arts belong together, and how hands-on problem solving reveals real wisdom

Ashton’s encouragement to parents and school leaders is simple and hopeful: stay the course. Even when students resist or do not fully appreciate the rigor in the moment, the fruit often shows up later, with gratitude, clarity, and strength for the road ahead.

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