With the end of the school year approaching, seniors are excited as ever to finish their high school careers. Nor- mally, seniors partake in internships, however, due to the pandemic, many internships are unavailable. While this is disappointing, it presents the new opportunity for seniors to work on senior projects.
Senior Henry Lindberg will be shaping a surfboard for his senior project. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, so I’m excited to have the time to do it,” he said. “Shaping a surfboard is a complicated process because it requires a lot of research, tools and supplies, and close attention to detail.”
Henry got his inspiration for this unique project from his uncle. “My uncle, who lived in California, has shaped about a dozen boards,” he said.
Henry has already started to think about his plan of attack. “I am planning on buying a blank, which is just a big block of condensed foam, and I have already started to research the type of shape I want to make,” he said. “The first few steps are creating a rough template of the board you want to make and then, starting with a planner, shap- ing it into the foam.”
Henry is prepared to hit obstacles while executing this idea. “The hard part is getting all the details right because it’s really easy to make a small mistake that will impact the board’s performance,” he said. “Once the shaping is done, I’ll design a graphic and then fiberglass the board.” Henry isn’t the only senior who has come up with a creative idea.
Senior Sydney Sheffield will be reading and analyzing comics for her senior project. “I will be choosing a comic and then looking at lots of different aspects, like how cin- ematography affects the scene, historical and fictional con- text of the story and the cultural values that help shape it, and identifying characteristics that are unique to the cre- ator’s style,” she said.
“I was inspired by my love for comics and superheroes, as well my interest in anthropology and cultural compari- sons,” Sydney said. “Since culture is reflected through the stories we create, I decided to combine my passions.”
Jake Walter is a senior who is very interested in music and songwriting. He will be exploring his talents and cre- ating his very own song for his senior project. “I decided to do the project where you write a song and all the parts involved and then film yourself performing the song,” he said. “I decided to do this project because I’m passionate about music but never really tried songwriting, so I wanted to do something new.”
Not only is the song an opportunity to try something new, but it also has sentimental value for Jake. “I’m going to dedicate the song and write it about my grandpa who sadly passed away last year from Covid,” he said. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while since he always supported my music, inspired me, and helped me get better.”
“The first thing I will do is create a chord progression and hook for a chorus, then write the lyrics for the chorus, then do the same for the verses and maybe a bridge or solo,” he said. “After that, I’m going to improvise each part based on the chords for each instrument I’ll record.”
Jake is versed in many instruments. “I play drums, bass, guitar, and keyboard, as well as singing, so the song will have all that,” he said. “I’ll record each part separately, then edit them all together to have a complete song.”
Jake, along with so many of his senior peers, is looking forward to beginning work on his senior project. .“Overall I am super excited for the senior internships to start. I’m so excited to write my very first song and I can’t wait to see some of the unique projects that my classmates come up with.”
Jake, along with so many of his senior peers, is looking forward to beginning work on his senior project. .“Overall I am super excited for the senior internships to start. I’m so excited to write my very first song and I can’t wait to see some of the unique projects that my classmates come up with.”
