Building In Some Family Time
Three generations came together to contribute to the model of William & Mary’s Historic Campus built out of Lego bricks.
July 30, 2026
By
Brendan Doyle ’20
Leah Shy Ph.D. ’19 grew up in Williamsburg, but she now lives in Tokyo with her husband and kids. This July, during their trip to visit her parents — Jeff Shy ’71, P ’98, P ’19 and Kathy Finley Shy ’72, P ’98, P ’19, who remained in Williamsburg after attending William & Mary — they decided to build in some family time. Literally.
The Shy family took an afternoon to stop by the Wren Building and contribute to the model of William & Mary’s Historic Campus built out of Lego bricks. The project, funded by Bruce Christian ’73 and overseen by Charles E. Fulcher Jr. ’99, director of Wren operations and events, kicked off in August 2025 and is a full community effort to recreate some of W&M’s most iconic landmarks. When completed, the model will include replicas of the Wren Building, the Brafferton, the President’s House and the statue of Lord Botetourt, not to mention the crisscrossing network of brick paths and the centuries-old trees.
“We read about it in one of the W&M newsletters, and it seemed like a great idea that we could be a part of,” Leah says. “I reached out to Charles when we got back to the United States, and he was gracious enough to give us an opportunity to help out.”
Leah completed her undergraduate degree at Pepperdine University before spending time living in Japan and Hong Kong, meeting her husband, Frazer, and having their kids, Joshua and Ellie.
“I wanted to get as far away from Williamsburg as possible,” Leah says.
Eventually, though, home pulled her back, and Leah completed her Ph.D. in educational policy, planning and leadership at the William & Mary School of Education. After graduating in 2019, Leah, Frazer and the kids moved back to Tokyo, where she now works as an associate principal at the American School in Japan. But the family still makes time to return home to Williamsburg each summer to visit Leah’s parents.
Lego building is a pastime across all three generations. Kathy recalls an annual family tradition during the holidays with the kids, parents and grandparents alike crowded around the dining room table, building sets they each received as Christmas presents. And recently, during a beach trip, the family put together a Lego set of the Milky Way.
It was also meaningful for all three generations to gather at the Wren for the build. Leah defended her doctoral dissertation in the Wren’s Blue Room and rang the Wren Bell with Frazer, Joshua and Ellie after passing. Meanwhile, Kathy and Jeff each took undergraduate classes in the Wren — including one for Jeff in the exact room where they were helping with the model.
“I know it’s a bucket-list item for students to take a class here, and my parents each got to do it when they were here,” Leah says. “But I checked it off with my dissertation defense.”
The family got to experience the project’s whole process; they started by sorting bricks into bags for future builds before putting together one modular section of the Wren Building's wall.
To date, roughly 53,000 pieces have been built. The work so far has mainly focused on the Wren, with the interiors of the Great Hall and the Chapel mostly complete. When the project is finished, about 235,000 Lego bricks will have been laid by students, alumni and community members.
“We’re just about 20% of the way through the project,” Fulcher says. “But it’s been great to see how many people have helped build parts of it.”
Fulcher says there will be more opportunities soon for students and other members of the W&M community to contribute to the build. There are plans to offer sessions on the first day of class, as well as Family Weekend and other special events. During Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, Oct. 22–25, sections of the Lego model will be available to build during Check-In & Registration at the Alumni House. Fulcher also encourages alumni and friends to stop by the Wren Building to see the model.
But Fulcher is in no rush to see the model completed. To him, the project is about building connections to W&M, brick by brick.
“It’s really the whole Tribe coming together to complete this project,” Fulcher says. “With the timeline of this project, there are undergrads now who will graduate before it’s done. But they can come back and say, hey, I played a part in building this.”