Alumni Spotlight: Robbie Underwood
Robbie Underwood is a prominent figure within the community of Oliver Springs. Many know him for his work within the Oliver Springs Historical Society. However, there is much more to the man a great deal of us know. Mr. Underwood was born in Oliver Springs, but he was not raised for his entire school years just in Oliver Spring. He spent a great deal of his youth in Athens, Tennessee. He attended school at McMinn County High School up until his sophomore year, when he and his family moved back to Oliver Spring during the middle of the school year, Mr. Underwood described it as being dropped on a moving escalator because the school year was already at its fullest. During his time as a bobcat, Mr. Underwood played football as an extracurricular, but he truly wishes that he did band. After high school, Robbie studied to become an electrical engineer and went on to work at Y-12. In Robbie’s free-time he is a playwright, composer, musician, and singer. Additionally, he owns a project audio/video studio, is an accomplished woodworker and master luthier (guitar maker), and has published many short stories and articles. Some of his more notable pieces include Shot Through the Heart, Ghostly, The Adventures of Teacup and Abby, and Redneck Royalty, all of which were performed by the high school's drama department. He also wrote, directed, filmed, and co-produced the documentary In the Shadow of the Steeple - The Pine Hill Murders, which premiered at the Secret City Film Festival in 2004. Now that Mr. Underwood has retired from Y-12, he is one of the town historians that work at the Oliver Springs Historical Society. One thing Mr. Underwood wants to say to all of the students at the high school level is, “take your education seriously because it’s hard to catch up, if you daydream your way through the high school level it’s so much harder to ramp up and become what you truly want to be.”
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