Traveling south just past Charlottesville is the home of our third president, Thomas Jefferson. Located on top of a mountain is Monticello, which means little mountain in Italian, the centerpiece of the plantation. During his retirement, he became increasingly obsessed with higher learning institutions. Specifically, he was interested a place free of church influences where students could specialize in many new areas not offered at other universities. The realization of Jefferson’s dream was the University of Virginia that started admitting students in 1825.