During each month of May during the school year, seniors at Germantown Academy are required to participate in a Senior Project as they close out their time in the Upper School. Senior Projects are an opportunity for seniors to venture outside of the classroom and gain real-world experience in a field of study that intrigues them. For this project, each student is required to identify an essential question that will drive their learning goals for the duration of the project.
Mr. Chung, a math teacher and advisor for the Senior Projects, best describes them as a “unique learning opportunity for seniors” that allow them to explore and dive deeply into one of their passions at the end of their Upper School career.
The assignment is dynamic as it provides seniors with two possible paths to pursue: Professionally-Sponsored Projects and Student-Driven Projects. Professionally-Sponsored Projects give students the opportunity to intern at a business or organization with a supervisor. On the other hand, Student-Driven Projects give students the opportunity to design a project themselves by creating unique learning goals.
Mr. Chung mentions that Senior Projects are critical for seniors because “it gives them exposure to the world outside the walls of GA, […] Many seniors create invaluable relationships with their project hosts and supervisors, […] and it provides them with exposure to a potential career that they may be interested in.” Mr. Chung ultimately claims that “Senior Projects, at its core, is all about learning, and learning in new environments outside of the classroom.”
Notable seniors who are studying particularly interesting topics are Ryan Ramler, who is working for a neurosurgeon at Jefferson University; Jessica Moore, who is working remotely for an architecture and design organization; and Rachel Roth, who is producing a virtual variety show for younger children.
Rachel Roth ‘21 explains how she settled on her idea for her Senior Project. She states that she “had a pretty solid background” in the field of editing and producing due to her role as Washington’s prefect, where she had to make videos for house meetings and house competitions. Rachel also shares that she has experience in this field through making “tapes for college auditions.” She explains how the choreographer of the school musical, Maria Jackson, reached out to her and asked if she would be interested in helping her with this project. Rachel eagerly accepted Maria Jackson’s invitation. Her project consisted of editing and producing a virtual variety show for an elementary school and teaching the kids filming and performing skills via zoom. Rachel expresses how her project “is a great reflection on how the school taught [her] the importance and power of problem solving.” She further states how she had to use her problem solving skills to adapt to a virtual platform in order to give the kids a “taste of the performing world.” Finally, she says that the Senior Projects are a great way to “break away from senioritis” by doing work for the community. She believes that it is an effective way to get “real-world experience” by branching out into something that you are interested in pursuing.
Senior Projects are an integral part of the conclusion of each graduating class at Germantown Academy. These projects showcase the seniors’ hard work and dedication to the Upper School. They are cherished by seniors and teachers alike and will leave a lasting impact on rising students and the legacy of the tradition as a whole.
