ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: BC’s Barlow Learning Center has helped numerous Cadets
For nearly a decade, the Barlow Learning Center at Benedictine Military School has supported and enhanced the academic success of Cadets with diagnosed and documented learning differences. One of those Cadets was Luke Barlow, BC Class of 2020, who was diagnosed with dyslexia as a young child at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School.
“I was in the second or third grade,” he said. “I would fall behind a lot of kids in my grade in reading comprehension tests or in just class reading. It took me longer to process information and kind of regurgitate it out and comprehend it in my brain. My parents (Jason and Lori) noticed that through teachers at Blessed Sacrament as well. They saw that and they knew there was something … not wrong … but ‘Luke is having trouble with this thing.’ That’s sort of when the snowball started rolling down the hill. My parents noticed that at a very young age for me and my brother.”
Ben Barlow (BC Class of 2021) also was diagnosed with dyslexia while attending Blessed Sacrament. The eldest of the three Barlow brothers, Walker (BC Class of 2018), was not diagnosed with dyslexia.
“Walker was blessed with the skill to actually read,” Luke said, laughing. “He skipped out on that fun. But it affected me and my brother (Ben) very, very seriously. Our older brother stayed at Blessed Sacrament, and we went to Country Day.”
Jason and Lori transferred Luke and Ben to Savannah Country Day School when Luke was in the fourth grade “because Country Day had a very renowned SLD (Specific Learning Disability) program,” Luke said. “My parents thought it would be a good idea to send Ben and me to Country Day at the same time because we were both going through the same struggles. My mom actually had a little bit of experience with (dyslexia) because my uncle, William Jones (BC Class of 1991), he was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was at BC.”
Even at Savannah Country Day, Luke had struggles with dyslexia. His lowest moment, he said, was when he was either in fifth or sixth grade. “I remember my mom picking us up from school and I was just bawling crying because of one of these reading comprehension tests,” he said. “Either I failed or I got the grade I didn’t want. I just remember crying about how I failed or got this horrible grade and for everyone else it was just like a walk in the park for them. I remember my mom said she didn’t care about the grade, she just cared about the effort I gave on that test.”
Luke said batting dyslexia has been “a very tough journey” but he credits Dr. William Furey, a Savannah-based child psychologist, for helping him and Ben “develop skills to adapt to having this learning disability, and how to go through school and thrive through school. My parents went through it firsthand on the side of being a parent and seeing what goes into raising a child and helping a child succeed with a learning disability like dyslexia. So that was the genesis of my parents contributing to the Barlow Learning Center.”
On Feb. 12, 2016, the Barlow Learning Center was dedicated at Benedictine Military School. The center was made possible through the generosity of Jason and Lori Barlow through the Forward, Always Forward Capital Campaign.
The Barlow Learning Center provides Cadets with information and services to address learning differences. The program is facilitated by a learning specialist, Jaime Tift, who assists students using tools such as iMacs, iPads and a variety of software packages that empower them to become more successful in their coursework. Classes are targeted to the individual needs of the Cadet based on his diagnosis and focus on study skills, organization, individual learning styles, and self-advocacy. Tift implements the directives in accordance with school policies and as recommended in the required comprehensive educational psychological evaluation.
“We are truly grateful to BC for answering our call for the Learning Center,” Lori Barlow said. “It has been tremendously helpful not only to our sons but to countless boys who have benefited from its support over the years. My brother, Will Jones (BC Class of ’91), is dyslexic and also had a wonderful experience at BC. Of course, we know so much more about learning differences today than we did in the early ’90s, but with (Former Benedictine Headmaster) Fr. David (Griffin, O.S.B.) and Mrs. Emory Heidt, he too received excellent support. BC’s forward thinking, and their understanding of the added value that comes from embracing boys who learn in their own way, made us especially proud to send our sons there.”
At Benedictine, Luke Barlow was a four-year letterman playing football for BC Head Coach Danny Britt. The Cadets produced a 46-7 record during Barlow’s four years and won a state championship in 2016 with a 15-0 record. Luke earned all-state, all-region, and all-city honors as an offensive lineman and was selected to the Savannah Morning News’ All-Greater Savannah Football First Team.
After graduating from Benedictine in 2020, Luke joined Mercer University’s football team as a walk-on, “a glorified practice dummy,” he said. He quickly earned a starting job as the Bears’ center, as well as an athletic scholarship to go with an academic scholarship. In 2024, Luke earned a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University’s Stetson Hatcher School of Business, where he majored in Entrepreneurship and minored in Risk Management.
“I attribute everything that I went through academically, all of my successes, to Jaime Tift and other teachers I’ve worked with,” Luke said. “I wouldn’t say (dyslexia) gets better. You just learn skills to manage it. In college, I was an under-recruited guy, and I walked on at Mercer. The thought processes that Mrs. Tift and Coach (Danny) Britt gave me when I was at BC helped propel me to what I did in college, earning an academic and an athletic scholarship, becoming a 3.0 (grade-point average) student, graduating, and getting a decent job now in the professional world.”
Barlow works for his father, Jason, as a commercial lines insurance agent at Interline Risk Services, Inc., in Pooler.
“My college experience, it was a lot of highs, and it was a lot of lows, academically,” Luke said. “Going through what I went through at BC, and what (BC Principal) Dr. (Jacob) Horne said to us in his commencement speech, he said life is not going to be easy. Life is only going to get worse. Not to be a nihilist, but everything you face is an obstacle or a challenge and having the competitive nature that I had at BC, going through academics or athletics, you kind of learn every obstacle you face can be overcome. And sometimes you won’t overcome it. But you will learn from those things that you messed up on. Going through four years at BC, I learned that you have to face every challenge head-on and you have to try to overcome that challenge. Like I said, you might not win. You might lose half of the time. But having that attitude of you’re just going to give it your best every day and compete every day – and try to be the ‘best version of myself,’ as my mom says all the time – those wins are going to equal more than those losses.”
During Luke’s freshman season at Mercer in 2020, the Bears played a three-game non-conference schedule because of the COVID pandemic. During the spring of 2021, they played an eight-game Southern Conference schedule.
“During this time, during camp, I was a walk-on and you’re basically a glorified practice dummy,” he said. “But due to injuries (of others) and doing the best that I could, I was able to work my way up in the rotation. And by the spring season I was a freshman walk-on starting at center. After that year, I was put on (an athletic) scholarship. And I qualified after my freshman year for an academic scholarship. An old adage I kind of live my life by is that it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. Looking back now, it’s been five years since my freshman year of college, I played against the University of Alabama. I competed for a conference championship. I played in the playoffs. I had an opportunity to play against some of the best talent that was available to me. And I came out on the other side.
“When I graduated from BC, I was going to play college football, but I wasn’t like the guys I graduated with like Trevon Locke (Georgia Southern) or Gavin Stewart (Georgia Tech), who were playing big-time college football and had scholarships,” Luke continued. “I had to work my way through the bottom all the way to the top and, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Just all the stuff I went through, I wouldn’t have it any other way. And that’s what I’m most grateful for, looking back on the time playing ball and being a student, going through all those hard things of exams and college acceptances and scholarships. It was a fun time in my life. There’s a quote I love from Babe Ruth: ‘It’s hard to beat someone who never gives up.’ I hope my story will give some students who are struggling some hope and let them know there is a bright side to it for sure.”
Lori Barlow said Ben and Walker, like Luke, also thrived during their time at BC and are doing well now.
“Ben had a wonderful experience at the University of South Carolina,” she said. “He graduated cum laude while maintaining a deep commitment to service and leadership. During his time there, he served as Vice President of his beloved Sigma Nu fraternity and as Programming Chair for the Interfraternity Council, raising thousands of dollars to benefit the Columbia community and organizing book drives for the local NAACP. He is now working for GlobalFoundries in Austin, Texas, a leading manufacturer of semiconductors, and is thriving in this next chapter.
“Walker recently completed five years of service with the 75th Ranger Regiment in the U.S. Army and will begin attending Mercer University this spring as he transitions into civilian life.”
Lori Barlow said when former Benedictine Director of Advancement Greg Markiton (BC Class of 1992) and Benedictine Headmaster Fr. Frank Ziemkiewicz, O.S.B., approached her and Jason about the Forward, Always Forward Capital Campaign, “we felt called to make our gift in support of a learning center for young men with learning differences. This gift was made not only in honor of our own sons, but also in honor of young men like my brother, who is dyslexic, and for future students and families whose lives can be transformed through access to education. Education is truly life-changing, and that is where we chose to give.
“BC has meant a great deal to our family, not only for what it has done for our sons, but also for my brother, Will Jones, Class of 1991. One of the things we have always deeply respected about BC is its commitment to educating young men without placing financial barriers in the way of those with learning differences. BC is the only school in Savannah that does not charge additional fees for SLD services, which is a true testament to its belief in the importance of education for all young men who attend.
“I had a working relationship with Jaime Tift prior to her coming to BC. As a mother of children with dyslexia, I worked closely with many professionals in the community and often consulted with Jaime during her time at SCPS (Savannah Christian Preparatory School) about supporting students with learning differences. When we made our donation to BC for the learning center, Jaime was at the top of the list of names I shared with the school. It felt providential that Sheila Crossley and Jaime had previously worked together at SCPS, everything aligned in such a meaningful way.
“Jason and I ultimately chose BC for our sons based on my parents’ experience with my brother in the 1990s. At that time, SLD programs were far less accessible than they are today. (Former Benedictine Headmaster) Fr. David (Griffin, O.S.B.) and Mrs. Emory Heidt showed great kindness to my brother and were willing to work with him in ways that were truly ahead of their time. It has been an honor for our family to support BC as it continues that legacy through the creation of the learning center.”
