Senior Spotlight Passionate Projects

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As the School year comes to a close, the class of 2024 finds themselves in one of the most exciting moments of their high school career: senior projects. Tasked with a three-week-long project to explore anything they want, seniors are given an opportunity to express their interests and creativity through an academic lens. This year’s class of 2024 has chosen very unique senior projects, spanning from illustrious murals to couch cars. Here’s a spotlight on a few in particular.
While some students may seek independent projects, Jared Chin and Akhil Pullela want to “create a time capsule representing the class of 2024.” As avid podcast listeners, Chin and Pullela plan  to create one of their own called “Free Block,” where the hosts will interview current seniors about “what they hope to achieve in the future and what their high school experience was like.” Senior projects don’t always have to be personal, as Chin and Pullela generously strive to create something meaningful for all their peers: “Oftentimes, we are only left with photos to represent our old selves. I thought that having an audio representation of yourself would be an interesting contrast to the typical memory of high school.”
Wanting to do something no one thought would work, Audrey and Everett Villiger, Gabriella Ekman, and Lucas Ross are building a “couch car.” Using an old couch, they plan to “attach wheels to the base using axles so they can actually drive it.” Instead of driving it normally, they plan to drive it “vertically so it saves money so they don’t have to build an extra frame.” The head of the Upper School, Ricky Lapidus, has concerns about whether the car will even run, saying, “I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere.” Villiger responded by saying, “Just let us cook. It will work.”
Wanting to work with one of her close friends one last time, Skye Mitchell plans to paint a mural, which she hopes will be put up in the School. When asked what made her choose this, Mitchell responded, “I like art a lot and thought it would be fun to do art on a larger scale. ​​I also want to learn more about different artist techniques, specifically for painting.” Mitchell also plans to “tie in our Asian identities” and draw inspiration from Diego Rivera. 

Reflecting on his long and memorable career at the School, Nico Ortiz-Gudeman plans to create a “collection of Diary of a Wimpy Kid-inspired books” about his high school experience. Using his journal entries that he wrote every month of high school, Ortiz-Gudeman wants to endeavor a more personal project, and “as someone who doesn’t have a great memory, I really wanted to do something that could help me remember my time at the Head-Royce School.” In such a crucial time in our lives, it is always important to reflect on our growth throughout high school and how far we’ve come since our first day, especially seeing “how I have progressed and developed and seeing which friends have helped me throughout the way.” 

The key to a successful senior project lies in choosing a topic that brings you joy and creates a lasting memory at the school, as this year’s seniors have shown with their unique and intriguing selections.