RPS Alumni Stories
RPS graduates are leading, serving, creating, and shaping Richmond and the world beyond it. Through this series, current students help interview and tell the stories of alumni, building meaningful connections across generations and opening new windows into what their own futures can become.
Cedric Rucker
John Marshall High School, Class of 1977
In conversation with John Marshall senior Davonika Carryl, Cedric Rucker reflects on the Richmond teachers, mentors, and experiences that helped shape his path from RPS to a long career in student affairs and university leadership. His story is about service, belonging, and the responsibility to open doors for the students coming next.
Faithe Norrell
Norrell Elementary · J.E.B. Stuart Elementary · Chandler Junior High
Faithe Norrell’s story carries 133 years of Richmond education history, from Albert V. Norrell, born enslaved in 1857 and later a teacher for 66 years, to Faithe’s own 42-year career as an educator. Interviewed by students from MLK Middle School, this story moves through Navy Hill, family memory, classroom legacy, and the Richmond stories history books once left out.
Jane Cooper Johnson
George Washington Carver Elementary · Westhampton Junior High · Thomas Jefferson High School, Class of 1966
As a 12-year-old, Daisy Jane Cooper walked into Westhampton Junior High and changed Richmond forever. Co-written by Armstrong students, this story honors Jane Cooper Johnson’s courage as the first African American student at Westhampton Junior High and later Thomas Jefferson High School, and the mother whose determination helped make that history possible.
Bobby Bayliss & Wyatt Kingston
Thomas Jefferson High School, Classes of 1962 and 1969
What began as a story about Bobby Bayliss, one of college tennis’s legendary coaches, became something deeper: the story of Wyatt Kingston, his former TJ student and lifelong friend. Told with current Thomas Jefferson students, this piece traces a teacher-student bond that lasted more than 50 years and Wyatt’s decades of work creating belonging for young people in Richmond.
Melody Barnes
John B. Cary Elementary · Dogwood Middle · Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe, Class of 1982
Before Melody Barnes helped shape national policy in Washington, D.C., her foundation was built in Richmond Public Schools by teachers who challenged her, believed in her, and helped her see what was possible. Co-written with Huguenot student Angie Minor, this story follows Melody from RPS to UNC, law school, Capitol Hill, and The White House.