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Community
SENIOR PROJECT
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The students can pick some- thing they want to learn more about, enriching their knowledge of a subject that already interests them. Yeakel stated that a big trend in projects falls under the umbrella of mental health. “Top- ics like music and art and how they can help one’s mental health has been done quite a bit,” Yeakel said. Students have gone as far as to research art therapy, how music affects a person’s feelings, and study nutrition for athletes.
There have been topics such as substance misuse, climate change, the evolution of makeup, books, and literacy, the U.S. history of war, the evolution of baseball, food allergies, the witness pro- tection program, the effects of cannabis, and so much more. Stu- dents also opt to pick a topic they can teach elementary and middle school students. “You know, the younger students think these high schoolers are some of the coolest people ever, so they love when they come in to interact with them,” Amy said.
And there is no doubt that
NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM
February 2024
Will Bednaz (right) discussing his plastics engineering senior project.
project was, Yeakel stated that there were two significant parts. “One of the best things about it is those little quiet moments peo- ple don’t typically see. Like I said before, they have these ‘I did it moments,’ or those silent ‘I ac- complished something big, and I'm proud of myself’ moments. It's fantastic to see those ‘wow’ moments when the students can really bask in the glow of their ac- complishments.”
The other big part of why she loves the project so much is “those high profile moments as well. You can see a change after the project has been completed. There have been moments when student proj- ects have become so high-profile, such as when Paige Fischer raised awareness for Jessica’s Law. These projects can just turn into some- thing so far-reaching.”
One senior, Hannah Basset, had a lot to say about the impact of her senior project journey. “Re- searching correctly is an import- ant skill that ... will be essential to my college journey, so I am very thankful that I now know not to only look for the information I want to hear but rather to look for non-biased evidence. Although I
would love to say my opinion on the senior project became positive after finishing my essay with ease, it didn’t. In fact, I believed the worst part was yet to come, pre- senting. It wasn’t till after I finished educating my peers on all of my newfound knowledge that I real- ized I did learn a lot from this ex- perience. I felt a huge shift in my mindset when I was done present- ing and discovered I loved having the freedom to explore any topic of interest. Sharing this informa- tion with people who wanted to listen was also an amazing expe- rience...I was and am still so sur- prised by everything that I learned about my topic, my abilities, and the purpose of the senior project.”
Undoubtedly, the purpose of the senior project is to provide these seniors with skills they can use to navigate the real world. Still, not only that, but the completion of the project shows something so much more. These students learn through the process, and upon completion, they can not only make authentic changes in the community but also make a difference in their own lives. And that is the ultimate achievement as they move forward.
those students are making an im- pact on the younger students with their lessons, but they also make quite an impact on the public. The senior project is not done with the intention of going to college. Amy stated, “The project focuses on transferable skills that the students can use beyond school and real life.” The senior project teaches skills like time management, co- ordination, reliability, communi- cation, and project management. All of which are skills that people
need to navigate the real world. Amy has been spearheading the senior project for about over ten years and she had realized that the project itself was an Extended Learning Opportunity. “It is quite an achievement for the students,” she said. “They do this thorough research, and you can see how good they feel after they present
everything. They have this kind of ‘I did it moment.’”
When asked about what her favorite part of running the senior