LT CLASS OF 2015
ALLAN
BRIAR WOODS HIGH SCHOOL
Ask most anyone at Briar Woods what they know about Ryan Allen and youāll likely get into a conversation about the regionās homeless population. Two years ago, Ryan asked his friends to join him in feeding the
YANCEY
BROAD RUN HIGH SCHOOL
Post-grad plans: Shenandoah University, criminal justice Dream job: Police officer
doorsman, who loves hunting, fishing and camping, Yancey also has been involved with scouting since first grade. He recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and says it hasnāt bothered him that his football teammates donāt exactly consider scouting cool. āItās not always been the popular choice for me because so few of my friends are scouts,ā he said, ābut itās something I love.ā Leesburg Today: What has success looked like in your life? Will: Success to me isnāt about what you have or the tangible objects that you own or the job that you have. Itās more about who youāre with and that youāre able to do the things that youāre passionate about. I consider myself successful because of the fact that I can play football four more years at a higher level (at Shenandoah University). ā¦ People look at me and say, āThatās just a sport,ā but Iāve been working my whole life to have this opportunity. Itās been a dream of mine
since I first started playing. Thatās my successā the fact that I can do what I love. LT: What impact do you hope to leave on your school community? Will: When I think of the Broad Run community, I think family. Weāre one of the oldest schools in Loudoun County. We donāt have much. We go to class in trailers. I think everybody just kind of bonds. Itās that sense of family and togetherness that we all have. ā Jan Mercker
BROAD RUN CLASS STATS Graduates: 483 Commencement: 7 p.m. June 14, Patriot Center Speaker: DC Chamber of Commerce CEO Harry Wingo
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Will Yancey has a reputation in the Broad Run community for his kindness to fellow studentsāparticularly underclassmen. An offensive lineman for the varsity football team who was selected for the VHSL All-State second team, Yancey is known not only for his size and skill on the field, but also for mentoring younger players. An avid out-
Ryan: My aspiration was to get kids to see the
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WILL
Leesburg Today: What impact do you hope to leave on your school community?
BRIAR WOODS CLASS STATS Graduates: 480 Commencement: 4 p.m., June 15, Patriot Center Speaker: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Susan Gordon
L if e s t yle s
Dream job: Entrepreneur of a sportsassociated business
Leesburg Today: What has success looked like in your life? Ryan: I measure some of it based on educational success. I have a 4.43 GPA, and I try to get the best grades I can get. But I also measure it in experiences and memories I create, and those kind of display how Iām doing mentally and emotionally in a given year or given moment.
community around us, just to know that there is poverty in our community and to know that everybody needs help no matter what their views are politically. Itās cool to see kids in Ashburn who arenāt usually exposed to that kind of stuff be a part of that and show their hearts for other people. ā Danielle Nadler
Sports
Post-grad plans: Liberty University, business administration
hungry in Washington, DC. Eventually, the mini missions trips turned into an almost monthly event and more than 100 students have since joined the effort. āIāve always had this heart for service,ā he said. āMy hope is that I changed the way people think of serving.ā
Bu s in e s s
RYAN
you started kindergarten, it was the tunes of rap artist Nelly that enjoyed the top of the Billboard. During your fifth-grade year, a software developer founded Twitter in his San Francisco apartment, and, a year later, the first iPhone was sold. Remember that? You were there.
Educa t io n
CLASS OF 2015, you have a lot to celebrate. Youāve lived through major international milestones. Shortly after you entered preschool, it was headlines about the Sept. 11 attacks that were splashed in newsprint and aired on television. As
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SPOTLIGHT ON GRADS
And now, as you prepare to toss your graduation capsāand high school caresā there are a lifetime of milestones just waiting to be made; more inventions to be discovered, more businesses to be launched and more songs to be written. Today, we celebrate your personal milestones that have already changed the cultural landscape in our corner of the world. Through our annual Spotlight on Grads, series, we met and interviewed students who have experienced homelessness, the death of parents or severe illnesses and come out on the other side. Others have launched mentoring programs, aced the SATs and led efforts to feed those living below the poverty line. Each of these graduates has left their communities better than they found them, and theyāre just getting started.
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