May 23, 2023 -- Taylor Evans spent the last weeks of her senior year shadowing various administrators and teachers from across the CH-UH City School District. Rachel O’Keeffe managed the soundboard for two of her favorite bands at the Grog Shop. Langston White spent two weeks on Capitol Hill where he worked as a staff assistant to Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson.
These students were among the eighteen Heights High seniors who completed a Senior Project, an optional activity for eligible students to design and implement a two-week community based educational experience. Students could choose to do community service, conduct research, shadow a professional or complete an internship in a field of their choosing.
Each student partnered with a community sponsor for their project.
Toni Trent volunteered with the Families and Schools Together (F.A.S.T.) Program where she helped facilitate activities like feelings charades and the graduation ceremony. She learned about the importance of family and the relationships that formed between the parents and kids. “I got to see the joy these families had every week.”
Most students chose projects related to the field they plan to study in college or pursue in their careers, like Zion Clark who will be attending Clark Atlanta University in the fall to study computer engineering.
Jaden Davis-Coleman, who assisted with writing the script and film a commercial for marketing agency Hollywood In Da Hood, got a head start for his film studies at Ohio University in the fall by learning how to use a broadcast camera.
Peyton Smith-Caffey, who is going to be a pre-med student at Penn State University, worked with Heights Athletic Trainer Bethany Avramaut in evaluating student athletes’ injuries and worked to have AEDs accessible at any sporting event, no matter what side of the high school it is on. “Athletic training combines two of my greatest passions, sports and helping people,” said Peyton. “I never wanted to depart from basketball but by choosing this new dream, I can do both!”
The projects provide seniors with the chance to get hands-on experience in the field that they plan to pursue in college and in several cases, a job opportunity after graduation. It also allows them to either confirm that it is an area they want to pursue. Or show them that maybe their chosen career is not what they thought it would be.
Students kept a daily journal, wrote a final reflection paper, and prepared a presentation for the May 19 Senior Project Gallery Walk.
