“Booked and busy.”
That’s how senior Rhaiyn Preston of Chesterfield described life at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, which included balancing basketball, soccer, band, advanced classes, travel opportunities and college applications all at once.
Many Class of 2026 members echoed that phrase, as they reflected on how they came to Maggie Walker searching for a challenge and are leaving with much more than stellar transcripts. They’re departing with lifelong friendships, hard-earned confidence and memories that stretch far beyond the classroom.
For these students, choosing Maggie Walker meant choosing academic challenges that prepared them for college-level work. And now, on the eve of graduation, they say the school delivered exactly that.
“I had always thought of it as where the best of the best go,” said David Roberts, who will attend William & Mary (W&M) this fall with plans to pursue medicine and research. “To be the best, you have to work alongside the best and learn from the best.”
For Christy Brescia, the appeal was equally clear. The Chesterfield County student will head to Virginia Tech to study business, with interests in accounting and consulting. “I have always loved challenging myself academically,” she said. “The opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and into a rigorous environment sounded exciting.”
Reid Winters, a Richmond student headed to Auburn University to study business marketing while completing pre-med requirements, said Maggie Walker’s rigor gives students confidence that they can handle whatever comes next.
“There have been so many people who say, ‘Oh, you go to Maggie Walker. College is going to be easy,’” Winters said. “I’m sure it won’t be easy, but I think we’ve built the work ethic to handle it.”
Preston – who will cross the country to attend Whitman College in Washington for a potential double major that includes business – agreed.
“Before ninth grade, I don’t think I’d ever studied for anything,” she said, with a laugh. “But here, I had to develop actual study methods and figure out what worked best for me.”
Hard Classes, Stronger Confidence
By graduation, most seniors leave Maggie Walker with enough Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment credits to enter college with a significant head start. While that’s impressive, the students say the real preparation came from learning how to think, adapt and manage demanding schedules.
They also pointed to the school’s unique culture of independence – long lunch periods, open-campus privileges and greater personal responsibility – as an important part of their growth. “The freedoms and trust we get here are huge,” Roberts said. “Being able to manage your own time and responsibilities prepares you really well for college.”
Maggie Walker helped Brescia with social and emotional growth, in addition to academic success. “The less structured environment helped me become more responsible and better prepared for the transition to college,” she said.
And many agreed that their most difficult classes became some of their favorite memories.
Brescia loved AP U.S. History because it challenged her to develop strong study habits and note-taking skills she knows will help her in college and beyond. Roberts pointed to anatomy, organic chemistry and biochemistry as classes that fueled his excitement for science and medicine.
“We don’t just talk about what happened,” Roberts said, “we talk about why it happened.”
Beyond the Classroom
As complements to classroom experiences, the students learned much more through sports, clubs, music, travel and traditions. Many of those experiences were supported with grants from the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School Foundation, which also provided funds to purchase additional classroom materials and tools that further elevate the school’s high instructional caliber.
Spending time outside the classroom with their peers created different kinds of bonds. For Roberts, varsity soccer became a second family.
“It’s one of the main things I go to when I’m stressed out,” he said. “Such a good group.”
Winters found community through athletics and a club called Dragons on the Field, where students spend lunch periods competing in everything from flag football to ultimate frisbee.
“It’s always fun coming back to class soaking wet and disgusting,” he said, adding a chuckle.
Preston’s favorite memories came through her teams and music trips, including a band trip to Atlanta that unexpectedly helped form one of her closest friendships. “One of my best friends, I never would have talked to her if we hadn’t gone on that trip together,” she said.
Then there were the “pregame side quests” –spontaneous stops for ice cream or playground adventures before games. “Those were always my favorite,” Preston said.
Bringing Learning to Life
What they learned in the classroom soon came to life in related experiences. For example, Preston traveled to Morocco, her first international trip, where she explored topics connected to her studies in the Middle East and North Africa Senior Seminar. “Being able to actually go where we were learning about was really helpful,” she said.
Winters said his Spanish coursework came to life during a mission trip to Mexico, where he was finally able to confidently hold conversations with native speakers. “It was cool realizing what we learned here actually transfers to the real world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Roberts used Maggie Walker’s mentorship program to shadow an anesthesiologist at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital and conduct research connected to anesthesia treatments and malignant hyperthermia. He already has engaged with W&M professors to explore continuing that research during college.
And Brescia credits her mentorship with Performance Food Group for giving her real-world exposure to business and finance before she steps on the Virginia Tech campus.
The People They’ll Miss Most
When asked what they will miss most about Maggie Walker, not one student mentioned grades, rankings or college admissions. Instead, they talked about teachers, teammates and classmates.
Brescia remembers her precalculus class with Connie Hill as the perfect example of what made Maggie Walker special. “It was a place where you could be challenged academically while also building close relationships with teachers and friends,” she said.
Winters will miss the relationships formed with teachers who genuinely cared about students beyond academics. “Maggie Walker is really good at forming close-knit relationships,” he said.
And while Roberts is excited for what comes next, he admits graduation feels bittersweet.
“I’m most sad to leave the people I see every day,” he said. “You can’t keep everyone, and that’s a bit sad to me.”