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2008 Personal Projects Reveal Vitality, Resourcefulness of Sophomore Class Additional
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So concluded riding enthusiast Mike Millon, whose Personal Project, “A Summer in the Saddle,” led him to volunteer for 12 weeks, 10 hours a day, without pay, at a local horse farm so he could improve his riding skills and learn more about the business side of riding. In fact, the starting point for many students’ Personal Projects was a personal hobby, and in all cases, they learned not only about their chosen craft, sport, or activity, but also about themselves: how they learned, what their particular challenges are, and how to take themselves to that next level of achievement.
So, for example, Matthew Cole decided to expand his electric guitar-playing skills by learning to play classical guitar and composing his first classical guitar piece. Katherine Grandy, intrigued with the art of sewing, was not content merely to make a gown for the prom; she decided also to learn how to design her “dream gown.” Christopher Woody, who has always wanted to obtain a pilot’s license, enrolled in flight school and took his first solo flight on December 17, 2007. Robert Monroe, who loves to fish, learned taxidermy and mounted a handsome specimen he had caught. Sheldon Clark, to whom “a minute without music is like a minute without air,” composed and recorded his first CD, enlisting several classmates in the process. Click Here to Listen The Student Project is a required culminating project of the IB Middle Years Program. Students choose their own topics and work one-on-one closely with a faculty mentor to take their projects in directions that will allow them to achieve more than they thought possible.
Many students took the opportunity to work with professionals to expand their learning. Steve Christopher, who hopes one day to be a doctor, took his research into the operating room, where he observed (and survived!) his first operations. Ms. Grandy worked with a designer who taught her how to make a pattern for her gown design. Tao Brody worked with an electrician to determine if a different lighting system in McCall Field House could save the school money (she found the cost-benefit analysis far more complicated than she had imagined it would be). Pressly Merchant relied on the advice and materials provided by a dermatologist for her project on skin cancer.
A strong creative streak was evident in many of the projects. Heather McCall’s love of music and dance spurred her to choreograph two dances at the Carolina Ballet Theatre (CBT) and to offer a performance of her original vocal and piano works to raise money for CBT. Georgia Haas advanced her jewelry-making skills by taking a job at a local bead store. Phillip Wheeler built a boat so “I could go out on the lake by myself and get away from my parents,” although he admitted to enjoying working with his father to learn to build his escape craft. Seabrook Lucas found that designing and needlepointing a sign for Father Richard’s office was far more challenging than she had imagined—9,600 tiny stitches! Community service was another theme underpinning many of these standout projects. Cameron Crawford, working with the Lake Conestee Foundation, built a kiosk and display case to aid hikers using the trails and to promote environmental awareness at the site, which is slowly being reclaimed from its status as an environmental catastrophe. He said, “I learned how fun community service can be.” Caroline Stone so loved working with Hispanic youngsters in an after-school program at St. Francis Episcopal Church that she continues her volunteering even though her project is done. Jacqueline Pusker’s interest in educating children about healthy lifestyles led her to work with a local 4H Healthy Kids Club to establish an organic children’s garden at Hollis Elementary School. Susie Lee’s efforts to collect and create 32 boxes for Operation Christmas Child, to be delivered to children around the world who would otherwise wake up to a Christmas morning without a single present, taught her “to appreciate the things I have in my life.”
We, in turn, appreciate these students, what they have learned, and what they have given back to the school and to the wider community. Duck-hunter Robert DiBenedetto, who dammed a dried swamp to improve a local wood-duck habitat, found himself, at times, mired in mud, but admitted, “The personal project taught me a lot, and I am glad I was forced to do it.” These projects mark a major milestone in our students’ development as independent learners, engaged participants in the community, and artists in their own rights. Congratulations to Kathy Adamee, who coordinates the Personal Project presentations, and to the 77 members of the sophomore class for their outstanding projects. Click on the additional link at the top of the page to view more photos. Click here for a list of the titles of all of the 2008 Personal Projects.
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