Chalkboard: Mary Baldwin freshman giving back at Kate Collins' On the Road; Bridgewater presents 'Glassheart'

Mary Baldwin freshman giving back at Kate Collins Middle School

STAUNTON — When Shyanna Davis was a fifth-grader at Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg, she got involved with the On the Road Collaborative. The nonprofit organization provides academic coaching and career enrichment courses to students, free of charge, after school.

Davis, who is now a freshman at Mary Baldwin University, remained in the program all the way through her senior year in high school.

"I've met lots of people through the program," she said. "I've done lots of career enrichments through the program. Learned a lot of stuff through the program."

Davis learned budgeting, cooking, and other life skills, in addition to getting assistance with academics. The program focuses on academics the first half of the session and then life skills classes for the second half.

In fact, it was a field trip that she took with On the Road that led her to Mary Baldwin. The group visited multiple colleges throughout her time with the program, but as an eighth-grader she came to Staunton to tour Mary Baldwin. She fell in love with the diverse and welcoming campus.

Now, she wants to help other students get that same experience. In addition to her work at Mary Baldwin, where she is studying elementary education with hopes of becoming a teacher, Davis is working as a youth leader and community teacher with On the Road Collaborative at Waynesboro's Kate Collins Middle School.

"They helped my family a lot," Davis said of On the Road. "So of course I wanted to give back to their community."

She works with the seventh-graders and gets a chance to put what she learns in the Mary Baldwin classroom into practice at Kate Collins. The work she is doing in Waynesboro has only made her more certain about decision to become a teacher. She wants to work specifically with students in low-income neighborhoods. She knows the experience she's gaining working with On the Road will help her.

"The community we have built as an On the Road family in Waynesboro is just amazing," Davis said.

Bridgewater College presents "Glassheart"

Theatre at Bridgewater College will present "Glassheart"by Reina Hardy from Wednesday, Feb. 14, through Saturday, Feb. 17, in Cole Hall on the College’s campus. The show will begin at 8 p.m. each night.

In Hardy’s "Glassheart,"a contemporary reimagining of the classic tale "Beauty and the Beast," Beauty never showed up. After centuries under the curse, the Beast and his remaining magical servant (a hopelessly optimistic lamp) move into a shabby Chicago apartment, hoping for a lower cost of living and better luck with girls.

In the threatening, impossible, completely ordinary world of paying rent and taking public transportation, is a happy ending even possible? "Glassheart" is a romantic tragicomedy about facing the witch in your head and finding the wish in your heart.

Members of the cast include:

Malachi Benjamin ’27, a theatre major from Waldorf, Maryland, as Beast

Casey Beard ’25, a psychology major from Penn Laird, Virginia, as Witch

Laine Anthony ’27, a communication, technology and culture major from Beaverdam, Virginia, as Aiofe

Jam Mark ’26, a theatre major from Gainsville, Virginia as Only

"Glassheart" is directed by Aili Huber, adjunct instructor of theatre at Bridgewater College. Working with the production are fellow adjunct instructors Shannon Dove on set design, Ryan Howard on lighting and sound design and Holly Labbe on costume design. Global studies major Elizabeth Melton from Middlesboro, Kentucky, is the props designer, while theatre major Patricia Long  from Winchester is the production stage manager.

The production is open to the public. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors ages 65 and older and non-BC students, and free for BC students, faculty and staff. Tickets will be on sale 30 minutes prior to the start of the show, cash or check only.

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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Mary Baldwin freshman giving back at Kate Collins; Bridgewater presents 'Glassheart': Chalkboard