LOCALLY GROWN
When it’s time for
SENIOR PROJECT,
many Shaker High students
tap into the talent in their
own back yard.
BY DIANA SIMEON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLINE HELLER
SENIOR The college acceptances have arrived. Ohio Graduation Tests,
Advanced Placement exams, and International Baccalaureate
assessments are winding down. By early May, it’s all over but
the shouting for Shaker seniors.
What better way to combat the last stages of senioritis
than to spend a month outside the classroom pursuing a
passion or learning about a career? That’s just what most
Shaker seniors elect to do each spring, through the school’s
long-standing Senior Project program.
“The goal is that Senior Project should teach you
something that you didn’t know before,” explains Shaker High
science teacher James Schmidt, who also serves as an advisor
for the program. “That could be a specific skill or how some
process works or what it’s like to pursue a particular career.”
Senior Project also involves learning how to plan ahead
(starting with a declaration of interest in November), how to
prepare a viable proposal, how to research community resources
and secure a sponsor, and how to summarize the experience at
a capstone exhibition. In sum, it’s a life lesson in designing one’s
own learning and making it happen. (See Sidebar, Anatomy of a
Successful Senior Project.)
Each student is paired with a project sponsor, typically
a professional in the area the student plans to explore. “Our
sponsors are truly amazing. We have some great people
who have volunteered their time for these students,” says
Schmidt. While plenty of students look to Cleveland and
beyond for their Senior Projects, many also find opportunities
with sponsors right here in Shaker Heights. No surprise,
really, given the thousands of motivated Northeast Ohio
professionals who call Shaker home, not to mention a growing
business base in the City itself.
“Our city is rich with intellectual capital,” says Dr. Charles
Modlin, a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, who sponsored two
students this spring. “And many of us want to translate that
intellectual capital to our students.”
Here’s an up-close look at some locally grown Senior
Projects, their sponsors, and the graduating seniors who
experienced them.
44 SHAKERONLINE.COM | FALL 2014