Senior projects are in a way the final test for many high schoolers. While most high schools have stopped making students create this project, some, such as Yamhill Carlton High School, still continue this process.

Senior projects can come in a variety of different forms. It all depends on what the student wants to do. They can range from refurbishing vehicles to volunteering at a pet clinic to running a soccer program. Each student needs to have 15 hours of working time, job shadowing, refurbishing, etc.

Junior Kyli Nagode is graduating early and is planning on going to Chemeketa for two years then transferring to another community college to get her DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) degree. Her senior project is on Oral Hygiene. She job shadowed an oral hygienist for her 15 hours. Nagode chose this topic because “it was something I was already passionate about to it was easier to give my speech and write a paper on.”

Senior projects have a variety of different requirements. The students are required to give two speeches, one four minutes long and another is twelve minutes long. They also have to write an extensive paper about their topic and create a visual aid, this can be something such as a slideshow or a trifold poster.

Senior Camille Kern made her project on the environment and stressors humans are putting on it. She said that she has always enjoyed being outdoors and likes nature. Kern believes that “People need to be educated more about the environment so that they stop destroying it.” For her 15 hours, she volunteered at Homeward Bound Animal Shelter where she took care of pets and did office work.

Renee McKinney is the advanced senior English teacher. She is happy with the senior projects and says that they are her favorite unit. She stated that “The students worked hard and we had very few slackers.”