“Sabers Off!” Instantly the monotonous hum that had filled the room ceases and left in its wake is the silence of a dozen students quietly listening to their instructor. Virtue pauses before his class and shifts his feet. The class that has been focusing on the lesson in yellow stance has been in session for the greater portion of an hour now. Despite their mental fatigue they patiently wait for Virtue’s next topic, practically sitting on the edge of their chairs. Virtue decides that the pause was sufficient enough, and announces to the class, “Now for something different….” A few minutes later the Main Hall is filled with students laughing as they try to push an R2 droid into a ‘goal’ of mines at each end of the hall. Virtue stands back and watches everyone enjoy the fun of ‘R2 soccer’ with a smile on his face; a fun way to relax after a class of intense focus.

For Virtue, the highlight of his time here at the JA is in his class or during personal instruction. He enjoys nothing more than the original purpose of the JA: to teach. But Virtue has many more responsibilities than just teaching. Behind the scenes of the JA, Virtue and the rest of the Council work hard to keep the place together. Most students will enter the Academy and leave never realizing what the Council does or how they work.

Virtue will spend every day reviewing applications and approving them. Constantly new members are joining the JA, and each application is looked over to make sure a previously banned member isn’t joining, or to prevent obvious troublemakers. He also is constantly occupied with various requests from the Academy members such as changing maps/gamemodes on servers, adjusting settings, restarting servers, updating parts of the webpage, answering questions, uploading files, and assisting other JAK+ just to name a few.

Behind the scenes, Virtue is constantly discussing policy, rules, classes, and administration with other JAK+. Frequently he is the organizer of official meetings of the JAK+. These meetings can last hours and cover a wide array of topics. He and the other Council members listen to the opinions of the JAK+ and confer amongst themselves to reach decisions. Every topic addressed is looked at in respect to how it helps the Academy accomplish its goals.

When he gets a window from his Council responsibilities, Virtue works diligently at maps and skins for the JA. At the time of this article, he is creating Version 2 of the_academy: the official map for the JA. He also makes the prom maps, some hilts, skins, and textures used throughout the academy. There is not much free time for Virtue, there is always more work to be done.

In the small frame of time between all these responsibilities, Virtue will get on the servers and doing what we all enjoy: playing the game. But even here Virtue is never completely free of his duties. He finds most of his time in the game doing instruction. If he isn’t teaching or dueling, Virtue is in the constant pursuit of a good time and will make some good laughs for everyone. Never absent is his great sense of humor.

Virtue is just one of five Council members who hold this place together. As we log into the servers or IRC, have fun, and learn, we seldom notice all the work the JAC has put into this place. If you get the chance, attend Virtue’s class and enjoy the lesson as well as the fun afterwards. And if you happen to catch a word with him, remember to thank him…for everything.