As the school year comes to a close, the Class of 2027 is looking towards an essential aspect of their senior year: the Senior Capstone project. 

With the increase of shadowing hours from 15 to 25, finding a mentor before the start of senior year will help juniors be prepared as they start their projects at the beginning of next school year. 

“I would definitely start early since the hours have changed significantly. Just make sure that you are on top of your logs and everything, and then it is really not something that is too difficult,” senior Penelope Erickson said. 

Finding a mentor is the first step of the Senior Capstone project and arguably the most difficult step. 

“You are going to have to email a lot of people. You may get rejected a lot, but eventually you will find one person. For me, this was the most difficult part of my project,” senior Jack O’Dell said. 

For some seniors, they were able to build connections and find mentors by talking to people they know. Other options include the mentor list, which English teachers can provide, that is filled with contact information of previous mentors from a multitude of different careers. 

“I talked to my mom, and I ended up shadowing her boss, Mr. Raul Diaz. He does lots of specialty construction on houses and different projects,” Erickson said. 

The Senior Capstone project is intended to help prepare seniors for their future careers by giving them experience and insight into a typical day in their potential careers. Students are encouraged to shadow mentors who are in similar fields of what they wish to pursue in order to gain an accurate understanding of the aspects of those specific careers. 

“I shadowed a dog groomer, and since I want to be a veterinary technician, this just solidified what I want to do as my career. In grooming, you have to hold the dogs, which was helpful for me to learn because as a vet tech I will have to hold the dogs in order to give them shots and medicine, so that was helpful,” senior Marin Burton said. 

After shadowing hours are complete, seniors will put their projects together in class so that it can be presented to the Senior Capstone Board. 

“Definitely get your shadowing hours in over the summer because I almost did not make all my hours over the summer. Also, make sure that your mentor is able to give you the time and effort because I had to switch to a new mentor. But I got my hours done and was able to work on my project after that,” Burton said. 

Presenting to the Senior Capstone Board can be nerve racking; however, seniors should enjoy the final moment of this project which they have worked towards from the start of senior year. 

“I liked going in front of the Board. That was probably my favorite part. I think it was the most exciting because it was the part we were all waiting for. I used to be nervous for the presentation, but I was ready for the challenge, and I just enjoyed it. It went great,” Erickson said.