Jim Dickerson '10 and Mike Morrissey '10

The Governor’s Academy kicked off Commencement Week with its annual Capstone Projects, designed to engage seniors in three days of community outreach that reflects the school motto, non sibi sed aliis (not for self, but for others).

Members of the Class of 2010 and Governor’s faculty volunteered at four sites: the Ford School in Lynn, the Audubon Center in Topsfield, the Hogan Regional Center in Danvers and the Duff Woods and the Academy campus in Byfield.

At the Ford School in Lynn, the student groups from the Academy engaged in art and science projects with elementary school students. At Audubon, students readied the reserve for the summer. At the Hogan Center, students built a new deck and completed other carpentry projects. And in the Duff Woods adjacent to campus, seniors worked to clear brush from trails that were heavily damaged by several severe spring storms, and to repair Duff’s Cabin.

The Capstone program is in its seventh year and seeks to combine service learning opportunities with “real world” life skills for the graduating seniors. Throughout the spring, seniors participated in a series of seminars that addressed key issues seniors will encounter after they graduate, such as financial planning, balancing debt and college loans, purchasing large items, such as homes or cars, and charitable giving.