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There are many benefits to senior projects

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MY TURN

It seems like school just started, but here we are getting ready to say goodbye to another year and hello to summer.

Among the end-of-the-school-year craziness, I have found there are several events I enjoy covering year after year, one being the senior project presentations at Lassen High School.

This marks the third year I have walked around the hallways of the Lassen High School 700 building during senior project judging. Students, who are required to wear business attire, mingle with each other, sharing how their presentation went, what to expect from the judges, offering moral support. The nervous anticipation is palpable.

I think for some students, if not many, once the presentation is over and they find out they passed the next day, they start breathing easier.

Requirements for the student projects include choosing a topic of study, developing a proposal, finding a mentor knowledgeable in that subject and spending 15 hours with that mentor. They also have to put together a portfolio.

I know some people are skeptical about the senior projects for a variety of reasons, but I see value in them.

Last Wednesday, I interviewed students, asking them what they chose to study, who their mentor was and if they got to do anything exciting while job shadowing.

It's exciting to hear what these students have learned and the opportunities they have been given that they might not have had otherwise.

Students learned a new hobby such as playing an instrument, sewing and archaeology or seeing if a career interest was really for them.

Over the years, I have talked with students and was surprised to hear them say they thought they were going to be a teacher, or they thought they weregoing to work in medicine, only to discover that isn't what they want to do.

On the other hand, there have been students who would talk so passionately about their career choice because they knew that's exactly what they wanted to do.

I was dead set on being a nurse when I went to college and had even worked in the medical field for a while. I ended up switching my major during my sophomore year and there was a lot of rearranging of classes and figuring out what needed to be done to still graduate within four years.

I think if students can determine what they don't want to do or what they really want to do before college, it will save them time, money and angst in the long run.

By doing a senior project, students hopefully learn skills they will need in college and at their jobs. During their presentations, students share about their subject of choice, what they learned, how they overcame learning curves and any problems they had to solve.

Someone asked me if I had to do a project in college similar to the senior project. My first response was no only because I did not have to complete a large project that graduation was dependent on.

Upon further reflection, I did spend a lot of time throughout college putting into practice what is required of the senior project -- developing a project for class, calling people for an internship, writing papers, giving speeches, problem solving and time management.

Even if some students aren't college-bound, many of those skills are pertinent in holding down a job.

I know for some students, the senior project is a pain. It is a lot of work and time. Unfortunately, some students do the minimum amount of work just to pass and maybe won't benefit from it as their other do.

But, I think senior projects are well worth it.



Copyright 2010 Lassen County Times, Susanville, California. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 Lassen County Times Susanville, California. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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