B R E E Z E WAY
· F E AT U R E ·
DECEMBER 2015
scholarly stress BY ERICA BURDICK
Around this time of year, junior Brother Bernardine Scholars begin to stress about their Capstone projects. There are multiple deadlines to keep up with to turn in paperwork. The scholars have to constantly be aware of the progress of their project to keep caught up with the schedule. The Capstone projects have to be completed by their senior year. Most juniors lay out their plan so that it is evenly distributed throughout time they are given to carry out and execute their projects. The scholars have to find primary and secondary mentors, plan out the course of the proj-
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ect, extensively research their selected topic, anticipate any possible problems, and execute their potential project to the best of their ability. Many juniors end up dropping out of the program because they get overwhelmed with the workload. Others persevere to the end and graduate as a Brother Bernardine Scholar. Scholars carry out a wide variety of projects. There are documentaries, research papers, powerpoints, art projects, science experiments, and many more. Anna Hanisch (11) is doing a powerpoint and the maximum research paper, which is about twenty pages
long. “It’s long, but it shouldn’t be too hard to write about since I love my topic,” Hanisch said. The projects also can be over practically any topic. There have been students who have trained a service dog, built a computer, put together a student retreat, researched speech impediments, and even installed water filters in an African village. “I am researching EMDR, which is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing,” Hanisch said. She was inspired by her aunt, who works in that field. She became very interested and de-
cided to make a project out of it. Allison Schildt (11) is also doing a project in the medical field. “My senior project topic is researching the different types of diets and how they affect the human body,” Shildt said. She found some difficulty while deciding on her project, but she realized that she is interested in the different diets and is excited to see how they affect her classmates. So if you see any juniors walking about in a daze, hair askew and an overflowing portfolio, give them a knowing wink and best wishes on their presentation.
THE BREEZEWAY