Three students from Woodbridge High School helped their classmates throughout the year and to repay them, Walden University gave them surprise gifts to help shape their future.
A video produced by the for-profit university catering to working adults features the story of three seniors who were recognized by Walden University for their work to support Washington, D.C.- Area Students Graduating During the pandemic.
Donovyn James was looking forward to performing in his last musical and concerts before the pandemic hit and shortened the school year. James showed in the video sent to us that he only had an iPad and headphones to create the music he has a passion for.
“You got to work well with what you have,” James stated in the video.
James’ mother stated how she had struggled for a long time to get pregnant with James and now that many years later, he has missed out on his last prom that she wished she could see him have.
“To not be able to see him enjoy his last prom or graduation, it was very disheartening.”
When all seemed lost, James received a letter from Walden University thanking him for his impact on the community and how they would like to repay him with a gift that would help his future. Walden University gifted James a new laptop to produce and perform music along with a new microphone, headphones, and a gift card for other musical equipment.
“It’s not everyday where something really spectacular happens to me and ends up making me feel special. So yeah, I feel pretty honored,” James said.
Ava Pumpelly was another student who had a big passion for creating in high school. Pumpelly was the one who was behind the scenes of other student’s lives by taking pictures and making videos on her phone.
With Pumpelly’s family, her parents discussed the struggles they have gone through together that have affected Pumpelly’s way of obtaining appropriate equipment for her video creating passion.
“We have had money, we lost money, there have been surgeries, and unexpected health issues,” her father stated.
Pumpelly received a letter from Walden University, thanking her for all her positive impact on the students around her during her high school career. To repay her efforts, Walden University gifted her with a new camera along with a subscription to a high-quality image and video editing software.
When hearing this news, Pumpelly tearfully hugged her mom in happiness.
Jessica Benitez was another student with big plans after High School. Benitez planned to go to Marymount University to study Human Rights and Sociology on a Pre-Law track.
Benitez’s mom discussed in the video their wishes for Benitez and her future.
“My greatest dream is that my children become professionals and that they have a better future than what we as parents had.”
Benitez received a letter from Walden University explaining that students from her school had nominated her to receive recognition from the University. To repay her impact on her fellow student’s lives, Walden University gifted her with gift cards to her college bookstores as well as gift cards to IKEA to help her pay for dorm room furniture and supplies.
Benitez tearfully read the news aloud and her mom hugged her in response to the news.
Along with awarding these seniors with gifts, Walden University also donated $7,500 to the Black Lives Matter charity that Woodbridge High School Student Senior Board chose as their most important charity.
The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) has added a new round trip option to its Fredericksburg Line to support social distancing effective Monday, July 27.
“We are closely monitoring ridership on both the Fredericksburg and Manassas lines and will adjust service as the number of passengers grows,” said Rich Dalton, VRE’s acting CEO. “We have seen enough of an increase on our Fredericksburg Line to warrant an additional round trip. These two new trains, along with other measures, will allow us to continue to protect the health and safety of our passengers and train crews.”
Karen Finucan Clarkson from the Office of Public Affairs explained in a press release that train 300, which departs Spotsylvania at 4:54 a.m., will take commuters northbound while train 307, which departs Union Station at 4:10 p.m., will carry them southbound. These two trains will supplement VRE’s reduced-service “S” schedule consisting of eight daily trains on each of two lines, which the commuter railway applied on March 17 in response to the pandemic.
The new morning train will help reduce the number of riders on what currently is VRE’s first northbound train of the morning, where the number of available seats is approaching 50 percent, according to Clarkson. The afternoon train will serve as an alternative for riders of two trains, where the number of available seats is about 40 percent.
VRE also installed decals on its platforms and in rail cars to support social distancing back in June. Onboard graphics now indicate where passengers should sit or stand, guiding them to window seats in every other row to ensure proper distancing, according to Clarkson.
The effect of the decals has reduced the number of available seats, on average, from 130 to 45 per rail car. VRE’s train utilization trends web page has been updated to reflect total seats, maximum capacity to support social distancing, and current daily ridership.
VRE also is exploring ways to notify passengers when trains are at or near capacity, according to the press release.
Clarkson stated that VRE has started a new train-cleaning process and has installed hand-sanitizer dispensers on trains and platforms to complement VRE’s social-distancing measures. VRE’s mobile app allows riders to purchase and validate tickets on their smartphones, thereby avoiding contact with ticket vending machines on platforms.
The pandemic has drastically lowered the number of passengers on VRE trains. On During the week of March 20, 2020, 15,500 riders were reported to have taken the train compared to the 95,000 on March 20, 2019 the same week the previous year, a decrease of 83 percent.
As recent as July 17, 2020, 5,500 riders were reported, compared to the 97,600 riders on July 17, 2019, according to numbers from VRE’s coronavirus ridership chart.
VRE is the thirteenth largest commuter rail service in the United States, and its mission is to provide safe, cost-effective, accessible, reliable, convenient, and customer-responsive commuter-oriented passenger rail service. The 4.5 million rides the railroad provides annually in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. helps removes 100 million vehicle miles from the region’s interstates, according to Clarkson.
Learn more at vre.org.
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