We planted the seeds for our Tang Fellowship project during the Phillips Academy Leadership Development Program, during which we explored the value and potential of capstone programming at Andover. Throughout our time in the program, we realized that the Academy is already doing so much good work in this regard: scholar programs, independent projects, and advanced coursework are only some of the many examples that abound. However, we also noted that this valuable work lacks a cohesive umbrella within which it can be housed, both literally and figuratively, on campus. What might it be like, we asked, as we work towards building a life of purpose and fulfillment in our student body, to build a program that streamlines and foregrounds project-based and experiential learning initiatives on our campus?
The result is our Tang Fellowship Project, which endeavors to accomplish several goals: to define what capstone work looks like, comprised of five central competencies that encompass this work; to capture and document capstone-like work that is currently being offered to students at Phillips Academy; and finally, to begin developing student skills for an eventual capstone course and program via a number of workshops that will be piloted in 2026 – 2027 and 2027 – 2028.
