Judges, Senior Project Panel

First Colonial High School

1272 Mill Dam Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23454

Dear Judges:

Over the years at First Colonial High School I have come to learn not only new material that I
never would have learned on a normal high school path, but also have gained great experiences
with people I never would have interacted with. The teachers taught me organization and how to
stay on top of my work, and there is no doubt that my experiences in the Legal Studies Academy
will not only stick with but continue to help me through college and into my career.

My house is two minutes down the road from First Colonial High School. I grew up watching the
high school sports teams and going to school plays, so First Colonial was a definite for where I
would end up for high school. It would seem like the easy choice would have been to just go to
the school and not the academy. Throughout these four years I have learned that in fact accepting
your offer to the Legal Studies Academy is really the easy choice. Over the years the connections
I have gained with my teachers has made learning more personal. The small, less than 100,
population of our legal studies class has allowed me to know every classmate by name, and made
classroom interaction care free, yet sophisticated. My peers have competitively pushed me to do
my very best. So, as I am about to graduate, the focus that the Legal Studies Academy has on its
students, and the surrounding student body that has a passion to learn and be successful has made
my four years in high school easier than I could have ever imagined.

Ever since I can remember all of my philanthropic focus has been towards Operation Smile, a
non-profit which fixes cleft lips and other facial deformities for children throughout the world.
My grandfather is the founder of this organization, so their passions run deeply throughout
myself. But, I wanted a challenge. I decided to choose a topic that may one day be the most
important resource our world will have. WATER. Through my research I decided for my project
to put on a presentation at Virginia Beach’s Hillier Ignite Fitness Park to inform my peers on the
global water crisis as well as an affordable short term solution through purchase of a water filter
through the organization Waves 4 Water. With the money I raised I look to purchase water filters
and donate them to Operation Smile student volunteers so that they can help give clean water to
a community in need wherever one of those students ends up traveling on a mission. Waves 4
Water mission statement is to do what you love, but help along the way. I love Operation Smile,
but I also knew that there was more that I could do. When I see communities in developing
countries one of the main reasons that children are born with facial deformities is because of
malnourishment of mothers. Giving these communities clean water is a simple way to increase
their quality of life while improving their overall health. I learned that no matter what you do in
life, no matter what your passions are, it is always important to help and give back along the
way.

Although this project took up many hours of my days, and led to sleepless nights, this project
affected my outlook on the world. I was given an opportunity to research something that I never
have before, and realized that clean water is not something that comes right to the rest of the
world with a simple turn of the faucet. Some people decide not to choose the Legal Studies
Academy because they “don't want to be a lawyer.” This project shows that this academy is so
much more than that. It teaches you research skills, public speaking, companionship, team work,
and most importantly when it is all almost over it give you a platform to be a leader in your
community.