Since the beginning of the Capstone planning process, Tiara Alston and Miah Davis knew that they wanted to mentor teenage girls in some way. From the advice of school counselors, they decided to focus on middle school, specifically eighth grade to help the girls prepare and transition into high school. The goal was to give the girls a safe space where they could learn and grow as individuals. Operation Girl Code had its first official meeting on November 13, 2018. They contin

Growing up as a kid, Lauren Hart always knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Now that she is a Senior in the Center for Leadership and International Relations, she had the opportunity to further explore her dreams with her Capstone, Full STEAM Ahead. Lauren developed and implemented Full STEAM Ahead, a seven-week long science program for second grade students at Spring Run Elementary School, and was able to create fun, hands on science experiments and activities for the stud

The weekend of March 16th, Festival for Foster Care was hosted at James River high school. The event was a Capstone Project organized by Jesse Hadfield and Micah Matthews that aimed to raise awareness for foster care and celebrate the work of foster families. The event featured many games and activities including face painting, corn hole, a photo booth, and more. While the children played and their parents socialized, the tantalizing smell of a barbecue wafted through the air

On March 2, 2019, Ngan Bui organized a Human Trafficking Conference to inform the community about human trafficking. Since freshman year of high school, Ngan dedicated an assignment every year to educate herself and inform her classmates about human trafficking. In 9th grade, she wrote an editorial paper on this topic. In 10th grade, she delivered a speech about One Body Village, a non-profit organization that rescues victims of human trafficking, in her Communication Class.

During his senior year in the Center for Leadership and International Relations, Kevin Ivey implemented and led a support group for teens with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, two forms of irritable bowel disease (IBD), in conjunction with Saint Mary’s Hospital. As a teen with IBD himself, Kevin recognized a need for peer-to-peer sharing of IBD and its complications. The IBD Teen Support Group met bimonthly, where participants were able to share their issues related to