Brighter Together: How One 16-Year-Old Is Leading a Community to Support Inclusion

Get ready, Rocky Mount — on April 18, 2026, Rocky Mount Academy will explode in a celebration of color, community, and compassion.

But behind the color is something far more meaningful: a program that changes lives every single day — and a 16-year-old student determined to give back to it.

The Brighter Together Color Run, organized by Rocky Mount Academy sophomore Elizabeth Chesnutt, will benefit RMA’s Exceptional Eagles Program, a fully inclusive initiative serving 24 students ages 5 to 21 with mild to moderate disabilities. The program is currently at full capacity and is one of the few private-school programs of its kind in Eastern North Carolina.

Inside the Exceptional Eagles classrooms, victories look different — but they are no less powerful.

A student learning to pour a cup of water independently. A child practicing how to share with a friend. A breakthrough moment when an academic concept finally clicks.

Students are immersed in the full life of the school. When appropriate, they attend classes alongside same-age peers. They participate in athletics, theatre performances, and campus-wide events. Approximately 30 student interns serve daily as peer mentors and friends.

It is a program built not only on instruction — but on dignity, independence, and belonging.

For Elizabeth, it is also deeply personal.

“My inspiration for the creation of the Brighter Together Color Run is to give back to the Exceptional Eagles Program which has given me more than I have been able to do for it,” she said. “The program has taught me a lot about myself and has motivated me to live my life by giving back to others. Through the program, I have learned about friendship, perseverance, empathy, and finding joy in everyday tasks.”

Through volunteering in the classrooms, she has witnessed moments that stay with her.

“There have been many moments when I have been working with a student or have been in the room when a student finally understands a topic or achieves a goal that they have been working on,” she said. “These goals range from learning to fill a cup with water to sharing toys with friends.”

She describes classrooms where students learn not only through daily table work, but through hands-on activities — following directions to create a craft, tossing a ball back and forth, practicing real-world skills that build independence.

When she realized the program could benefit from additional funding, she didn’t hesitate.

“That is why when I saw the need for additional funds for the Exceptional Eagles program, I knew that my immediate response was to find a way to help.”

Organizing a full-scale community Color Run at age 16 requires leadership and initiative. Through the process, Elizabeth has worked to build connections beyond campus.

“Through my work planning the event, I have learned more about building relationships with people within and outside of Rocky Mount Academy. These relationships have been vital in working to publicize the event and to gain participants.”

The April 18 event will include a 5K and Fun Run on RMA’s cross-country course, color stations along the route, food trucks, a kids’ zone, music, and activities designed for families and community members of all ages.

But the true finish line is bigger than the race itself.

Inclusive private-school programs like Exceptional Eagles are rare across Eastern North Carolina. For many families in Nash, Edgecombe, and surrounding counties, opportunities where students with special needs are fully integrated into academics, athletics, and the arts simply do not exist in a private-school setting.

At Rocky Mount Academy, they do.

And the impact extends beyond the 24 students directly served.

“I hope that participants and sponsors walk away knowing that they have made a difference in the lives of more than just the students in the Exceptional Eagles Program at Rocky Mount Academy,” Elizabeth said. “Though the Exceptional Eagles are the primary beneficiaries from the event, the student helpers that work in the classrooms learn just as much if not more from the students.”

By supporting the Brighter Together Color Run, participants and sponsors are investing in independence, confidence, leadership, and a culture of inclusion that reaches far beyond one campus.

“By participating in or sponsoring the Brighter Together Color Run, you will not only have an amazing time, but will also be supporting a wonderful program that fosters a sense of friendship and inclusion throughout the whole school.”

On April 18, runners will leave the starting line covered in color.

But they will leave knowing they helped strengthen something deeply meaningful — a program where every student is known, valued, and included.

Community members can register, sponsor, or purchase event t-shirts by scanning the QR code on event materials.

Because when we show up for one another — when we run beside one another — we truly are Brighter Together. Please Click here for to participate or sponsor the race!