PAYING OPPORTUNITY FORWARD Caroline Short ’27 Completes Summer Internships with HRA Alumna and Navigator Parent Dr. Brittney Drames with her mentee, junior Caroline Short ’27, at HRA
Junior Caroline Short ’27 understands as well as anyone that a Hampton Roads Academy education extends far beyond our campus in Newport News—and involves far more than just our current faculty and student body. During summer 2025, Short was one of a record 36 HRA students who completed internships, attended leadership conferences, and explored other pre-professional opportunities through the Academy’s REACH (Real-world Experience & Academic Choice) Initiative. Directed by Upper School science teacher Dr. Maribel Gendreau, REACH allows college-bound Navigators to step into diverse fields, from healthcare and technology to global studies and the fine arts, demonstrating the curiosity and drive that HRA seeks to cultivate in every student. While pursuing their passions and discovering new ones, Short and her peers honed such skills as creative thinking, collaboration, and effective communication with colleagues, abilities that will be vital in their future careers. As Assistant Head of School and Director of Upper School Ben Rous explained, “At HRA, we seek to connect students to the real-world relevance of their classroom learning by providing them opportunities to apply their knowledge in a professional context.” Such opportunities, Rous noted, not only open students’ eyes to paths they may never have considered, but also prime them to collaborate with their professors on research projects and publications as soon as they reach college. “This is a gift that will continue to serve them well for the entirety of their professional lives.” Short’s summer experiences were particularly meaningful because of the people who helped her discover this gift. As an intern at Matheson Oyster Co., a sustainable
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oyster farming business in Gloucester, Short worked with HRA alumna Sarah Matheson Harris ’09. She also completed a shadowing experience at Suffolk Pediatrics, where she was mentored by Dr. Brittney Drames, the mother of a Navigator in each of HRA’s three divisions. Together, these opportunities are a testament to the entire HRA community’s commitment to equipping students for future success. Sarah Matheson Harris ’09, alumna and owner of Matheson Oyster Co.