A picture book featuring Aggie, the school’s lovable Saint Bernard. An AI model made from scratch. This year’s graduating class is getting ready for their last assignment at SSSAS.
In the last two months of the year, the graduating class completes senior projects. These projects are a graduation requirement that is meant to give students the opportunity to explore a field, by interning or shadowing a job, or to explore something they enjoy, such as making a piece of art. They are seen as the culmination of the senior year, and aim to allow students to figure out the process on their own with minimal teacher intervention.
Prof. Gluzman has been faculty advisor for senior projects since 2018. This year there are limited categories, he says, “because there are very few days between senior chapel and commencement.” Since Covid, some options for the projects have been changed, such as getting rid of the community service choice. Prof. Gluzman hopes that next year it will return to normal. Only having two options make choosing a project slightly more limited, however most projects are approved very quickly. Prof. Gluzman stated that he only asked a student to revise their project if “it sounds like they want to have more fun, and do little work.” He also says what makes a senior project stand out is not the content but the passion the student puts in.
Because of how open ended the projects are, each project is radically different. Matt Smith decided to make their own AI saying “I kind of wanted to experiment more with AI and computer science stuff, especially because that is really prevalent right now.”
Another senior, Lily Adams plans to write a picture book based on Aggie, the school mascot. She was curious about the publishing process for picture books, and a project that “would be another step on leaving a legacy with the school.”
Because every project and every student is unique, the process of deciding a project is different for every student. Lily shared that she is “incredibly indecisive so I took forever to decide on an idea and actually submitted six ideas with various independent studies or career paths.”
Matt said that their process was mostly deciding between the two tracks, or “choosing something I could take to college with me, or more of a passion project.” Both students are excited for the opportunity to work on their own, outside the classroom with more freedom.
When asked if she saw the value of senior projects, Lily said yes, stating “we are able to learn in a way that works for us individually and outside of the classroom which I think is valuable, it lets us be more involved in what we want to know.” Matt agreed saying “it gives us a place to focus on at the end of the year, other than just APs.”
After completing their projects, the seniors are required to present their process. Prof. Gluzman explained what these presentations will look like saying, “You present to your advisory, and there needs to be two adults there, so usually your advisor and another teacher. Then you have five minutes to show a slideshow about your project.”
These presentations will make for memorable end of year projects, and will hopefully give the seniors helpful experience for college.
