Posted: July 23, 2010

Andolyn Medina

Justin Byrd

Brandon Taylor

Aubrey Small

Phil Reichoff

NIck Saunders

Mallory Peele

La'Shay Lucas

Michelle Thomas

Paul Wortring Jr.

By Bill CresenzO

Bill.Cresenzo@Insidebiz.com

They love the beach, but hate the traffic. They like living in Hampton Roads, but they aren't sure if they want to live and work here when they graduate from college.

Communities across the country grapple with how to retain the best and brightest, how to convince young people that after they graduate from college, they need to come home again.

Hampton Roads is no different, so LEAD Hampton Roads sponsors eXcel, a program intended to show rising high school juniors what they - and Hampton Roads - can gain if they return to the region. Its mission is to help the teenagers create "a vision of themselves as the future leaders of Hampton Roads."

Inside Business sat down with the 18 graduates of the program. All said that they plan to attend college. Five said that after college, they intend to remain in or come back to Hampton Roads; 10 said they may or they did not know; and three said they are not going to return.

Inside Business asked the graduates what they like about the region, what they don't like and what they think can be improved.

Here is what they had to say:

Andolyn Medina

Chesapeake

Wants to be An attorney

Coming back? Yes

"I grew up here all my life and my parents will likely be here when I come back. I would want to start a family where my parents are."

What she likes best about Hampton Roads: "I like the fact that there is so much military here, and the pride and the support we have for the troops."

Justin Byrd

Virginia Beach

Wants to be Undecided

Coming back? "When I retire."

"I have been here forever. I was born here and this is like Ground Zero. This is where it all began."

What he likes best: "This might sound whack, but the school system. You have a lot of opportunities, especially in Virginia Beach."

Brandon Taylor

Chesapeake

Wants to be A teacher

Coming back? Yes

"I want to give back to the community and give an education to the children in my community."

What he likes least about Hampton Roads: "The traffic is awful. I can walk faster to the 7-Eleven than drive - and it's about 3 miles away."

Aubrey Small

Virginia Beach

Wants to be Undecided

Coming back? Undecided

"I love the beach so much. I also like the people and a lot of my family is here."

What she doesn't like: "I really hate all the construction that goes uncompleted."

Phil Reichoff

Virginia Beach

Wants to be Undecided

Coming back? Yes

On jet noise: "I love it. It's the sound of freedom."

On the Virginia Beach Oceanfront: "They need to clean up the Oceanfront. It's kind of low class."

Nick Saunders

Norfolk

Wants to be Undecided

Coming back? Not sure

"We need more green space. Traffic is pretty bad, and sometimes it's dirty in spots around here."

Mallory Peele

Norfolk

Wants to be: A first-grade teacher

Coming back? Probably

"I have lived my whole life here, and I want to try somewhere else, but I will eventually come back because my parents are here and I like to be around my family."

La'Shay Lucas

Norfolk

Wants to be A journalist

Coming back? No

"My family is here, but I don't want that to stop me from going somewhere else. If I go somewhere else, it will give me a chance to really gain my independence."

On being a teenager in Hampton Roads: "People aren't giving us as many opportunities as we deserve. We go to programs like this to learn about what we can change when we (become adults), but we don't get many opportunities to do things right now."

Michelle Thomas

Virginia Beach

Wants to be Involved in politics

Coming back? Possibly in the distant future

"It's not quite the political hotspot. I want to be in a liberal (area), and this area tends to run conservatively, so there are not a lot of straw campaigns pushing for what I want. If I do come back, I want to wait awhile so I can build up some power, so I am not coming back blindly, so I know I have the force to bring the change I helped forge in other places."

Paul Wortring Jr.

Chesapeake

Wants to be: A cardiac surgeon

Coming back? Maybe

"I like the pride that goes on here, and the history. I really don't like the fact that they are trying to scatter industries in places like farmlands and the Dismal Swamp."

On being a teenager in Hampton Roads: "There are not enough opportunities, and people look down on people who don't believe what they do. They don't take us seriously enough. They look at us as a whole and a group, instead of individuals. Not just the minors, but everybody." nib niib