Seniors Finish One Last Assignment- Senior Projects!
The Senior Projects this year are as varied as the students doing them. No surprise, as Overlake students have a variety of interests both in and out of school.
"The Senior Project is a chance for students to explore a personal passion or interest," explains Dave Parsons, Senior Project Coordinator. "It also works as a transition to the adult world. Students take responsibility for designing and planning their three weeks, which might involve communication with a company or organization, going to a place of work each day, and navigating the completion of a project."
And just like the real world, things don't always go as planned for the seniors. "Many learn to deal with set backs and frustrations and how to resolve them," says Parsons. "The project is a time of personal fulfillment, self actualization, and it helps students prepare for being more fully independent."
This year's group will have the opportunity to share what they are passionate about starting next week.
You can see the entire schedule of presentations here.
With only three weeks from concept to reality, Martin A. is using almost every waking minute of his senior project to develop a video game.
His yet unnamed creation is a combination of adventure and warfare where the player travels through an infinite number of mazes. Preplanning included finding an engine to run his game and finding free internet game design tools.
His focus was to spend the entire three weeks programming the game. At least that was his plan. “At first I thought, ‘I’m going to have all these great features in my game!’ and now I’m thinking, ‘What can I cut out to make sure I finish in time for my presentation?,’ says Martin. He adds that his parents have come to his aid with any technical questions, but he’s mostly finding answers through online resources. His passion for computer programming made his senior project choice simple. What has he found most challenging? “One of the fundamental tenets of game development is that everything takes at least twice as long as you think it’s going to take. My plans constantly shift going forward,” explains Martin who is headed to Western Washington University this fall to study Computer Science.
As he puts the finishing touches on his game, he’s transitioning to his presentation. “I’m pretty shy so the presentation will likely be more difficult than the project itself,” admits Martin. “Knowing that all your peers will see what you’ve been working on this past month can be intimidating, but I know they’ll be supportive.”
We all see the wonderful stories and viral videos of animals that find new life after adoption from animal shelters. While those stories are heartwarming, there are many other not-so-positive cases. Faith K. wants to change that through her senior project. She is working with Snohomish County’s Pasado’s Safe Haven animal sanctuary. The non-profit takes care of animals who are at the center of criminal cruelty cases. Faith first started working with the organization as part of her 30-day project back in 8th grade. “It’s a sad situation because you hear all their stories, and the abuse they’ve faced,” says Faith. “Their future is not based on adoption but rather a court case.” Her love for animals that developed at Pasado’s Safe Haven has helped set her course for the next chapter in her life. This fall she’ll attend Davidson College’s Pre-veterinary program. “No classroom can prepare you as much as working hands-on with animals, and this experience definitely helps.”
Because of confidentiality, Faith won’t be able to disclose too many details about the animals she works with, but she hopes that her presentation resonates with the audience. “Not many people know it, but Washington has a real problem with animal cruelty, and we need stronger legislation to stop it,” explains Faith. “I’m hoping that the audience not only hears my presentation but takes action by contacting leaders to come up with tougher laws.”
Is Bitter this summer’s Despacito?
Cassandra W. hopes so. Her senior project song took her to Orbit Audio in Seattle where she recorded Bitter with a sound engineer. What’s even more impressive is that it’s the first time that Cassandra has ever stepped up to the mic. “I wanted to challenge myself,” says Cassandra. “I’ve never had a singing lesson or even been in a choir. There was a moment where I looked around the studio and realized, ‘Wow, this is where Macklemore recorded his album.'”
Cassandra wrote the lyrics for Bitter at home and worked with the engineer to bring the music to the composition.
Early on, there was another challenge for Cassandra…her parents. With an original plan to record in L.A. she had to compromise with her parents to record closer to home. In the end, she’s thankful for their reluctance. “I did three hours in the studio and the costs started to add up. I'm really glad they dissuaded me from going to California because I’m really happy with the product we made here,” says Cassandra.
Currently, she’s shooting a music video for the song. Here's a quick sample here. It includes performance, choreography, and graphic design. She hopes it’ll be ready for next Wednesday’s presentation. “It’s the song I want to share,” says Cassandra. “I’m the kind of person who’ll create something, and even if it’s horrible, we’ll share a laugh about it afterwards."
Some of the biggest and most successful companies got their start in America’s garages and basements.
Three Overlake seniors hope the formula of hard work, collaboration, and friendship beginning in a Medina basement will bring them success with their clothing brand.
Wesley C., Justin P., and Rishi J. are working together on their Senior project with their clothing brand Mr. Bird. “To have a successful company, you have to have an aesthetic and an idea behind it,” explains Wesley who focuses on marketing the brand. “We came up with the name Mr. Bird during math class, and we agreed that he could be this mysterious figure who represents freedom.”
With brand agreed upon, the three began the production process. Justin began design work and purchased screen printing equipment and shirts. Working out of his basement, they’re an efficient assembly line team that contributes equally in getting shirts out of the box, printed, and prepared for sale.
Even the less glamourous job of cleanup is done as a team. “We’ve known each other since sixth grade, and, while we’re friends and share a lot, we also bring unique skills to the project,” says Justin still wiping ink from his hands. “We’re grateful to Dave (Parsons) for letting us work on this together.”
Even after the presentation, the three will work this summer to bring Mr. Bird to the masses. They will offer up the shirts for sale at their presentation, and Rishi is currently coding the website which will include online ordering and payments.
This fall as they fan out across the country to begin their college educations at UW, UCLA, and University of Illinois, they’ll continue to operate the venture. “We’ve really enjoyed the entire process,” says Rishi. “The greatest asset is that we all work on everything together, and today’s technology allows us to stay connected. Being spread out will also help us move our product.”
Click here to see the team at work at check out their products on Instagram.
