Anyone can be the one behind the podium presenting a senior project, not just a Math and Science Academy (MSA) student.
Through the elective courses of Independent Study, Think Tank and Spark, it’s possible to pursue a project similar to senior projects made by Math and Science Academy (MSA) students.
“It did not always look like this, it has been an evolution,” gifted coordinator Amy Jo Harrell said.
Think Tank and Spark are both gifted elective courses focusing on research projects or narrowing one’s course of action for after high school, respectively. Independent Study is an elective course open to everyone to focus on an individual research project. Either way, all classes serve as a pathway for a project analogous to a senior project, if one chooses.
“We will talk through what their interests might be and do an ‘interest inventory’ to talk about what they might be good at doing, their learning style and what they want to do in the future,” Harrell said.
The three courses weigh half-a-credit each, and are a semester long. Within the courses, students are also allowed to conduct group projects and are not obligated to present their findings, unlike a usual academy project. The courses are on a smaller scale compared to academy projects since they have to be done by the end of the semester, but are still just as impressive and can be expanded as well.
“I had a group of students work with Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge to develop an educational program that could provide virtual field trips to students when funding was low to provide for in-person field trips at the time,” Harrell said.
On average, two to three students each year closely collaborate with Harrell for a project. An influence for this number is the fact that not many students are aware of this opportunity in the first place.
“I had heard that non-academy students are allowed to conduct senior projects before, but never actually got the confirmation if this was true,” sophomore Evey Arellano said.
One of Harrell’s students, junior Aanya Patel, worked closely with her to conduct an external research project concerning neonatal intensive care units (NICU). She plans to expand this research through shadowing over the summer and by starting a club called The Little Lives Project.
“When I was doing my research, I looked into why certain babies get admitted into the NICU, what tests determine the use of the NICU and what treatments occur within the unit,” Aanya said.
Moving forward, Harrell hopes that more students consider this opportunity.
“I feel like [starting a passion project] in high school is a good way to figure out what you like and don’t like; now is the time to figure that out,” Aanya said.
