At the start of school last year, a pairing of two words had the capability of producing incessant groaning and cries of agony: senior project.

Despite the initial complaints, the seniors from last year can tell you that the end result was completely unexpected.

After renovating the Children’s Center at Anna’s House, Class of ’09 graduate Maura Donnelly became more independent and goal oriented.

“I learned how to communicate with others and how to take initiative to get a project done,” Donnelly said. “I learned that I can make my own decisions, and I do not always need an adult’s constant help to make a big difference.”

Though hesitant at first, Donnelly was able to change the lives of children and her own mindset.

Fellow ’09 graduate Brent Fox studied anthropology with Vice Principal of Academics Gary Scholl.

He attended pow-wows, studied the history, construction, and use of the Plain’s tipi.

The finished result: a 1/10 scale model of a traditional Cheyenne tipi and a week camping in an eighteen foot tipi with other classmates.

“I had never really talked to them outside of class much,” Fox said about his fellow campers, “but when we camped, we really got along well…we helped each other a lot. For me, I guess, I learned a greater appreciation for community.”

Rachel Weinberg of the class of ’09, who did a production of Joshua Sobol’s play “Ghetto,” admits she was hesitant about the concept, but grew to love the project.

“To this day, I cannot think of a better experience to round out my high school years,” said Weinberg.

Senior project was a bridge between high school and college for Weinberg, as well as for ’09 graduate Allison Gruel, who organized Fine Arts Awards Night for her senior project.

Both agree senior project was able to prepare them for the pressure of college.

[Senior Project] prepares you for the immense amount of personal responsibility that you will encounter in college,” Weinberg said. “The diligence and work ethic I discovered while completing senior project gave me a renewed confidence as I tackled the stresses of the first month of college.”

“It was never something that was simply supposed to become a burden for senior year,” said senior project moderator Louise Geczy. “It was always, in my mind, supposed to be an opportunity to explore yourself and some aspect of who you are or what you want to be.”

Geczy said, “If you’ve been able to do this senior project and come out of it successfully on the other end, you have to know that there’s nothing you can’t tackle. When can you ever say to yourself again, ‘I can’t do it?’ Because you know you can.”

With round two of senior project underway, Geczy is in the process of making alterations to help the program run more efficiently.

She is re-working the contract, prospectus, and résumé.

In addition, she is revising the evaluation process to better account for the degree of difficulty of a project, and adjusting the requirements for mentors.

Having witnessed the possibilities from last year’s senior projects, seniors this year are refusing to hold back.

“I want to make an impact,” said senior Jess Crawford, “whether it’s going to a different country or doing something on a smaller scale to help others.”

“That’s why the June 4 night [Senior Showcase] is so exciting,” Geczy said. “To see what everybody else has done and to look around and go, ‘Oh my gosh, would you look at this? This is amazing.’ Because it really is.”

Nicky Hatzidimitriou can be reached for comment at [email protected].