My students feel overwhelmed. I can see it in their eyes as I introduce the requirements of the Portland Adventist Academy Senior Project.
Over the next several months students will draft a proposal, write goals and meet with a committee for approval of their project. Most will spend over 50 hours working on their projects, some will log well over 100. Throughout the process a supervising teacher will encourage them and hold them accountable. Many will choose to have an off-campus mentor to guide them as well. They will present the culmination of their work to a panel of PAA teachers.
Months pass as my students exercise the discipline and time management needed to accomplish their projects. Students create films, write and preach sermons, repair racecars and sew care bags for foster kids. They make church directories, illustrate books, design stuffed animals and shoot senior photos. Others arrange music, build guitars, construct fire pits and design and build wake surf boards. The list of projects goes on and on.
As quickly as it began, it is over. The task that once felt so overwhelming is now a major accomplishment they will remember for a lifetime.
I look into those same eyes that appeared so overwhelmed just a few months before. I ask, “what are you most proud of about your project?”
Jacob: “I am most proud of getting the car to start for the first time in 20 years.”
Christian: “I am most proud of the finished film, as it’s everything I hoped it would be.”
Sergey: “I am most proud of the feedback I received from all those that heard the messages.”
Alani: “I am most proud of how I got outside my comfort zone to involve the community around me.”
Shamara: “I am most proud of showing myself what ‘Shamara’s best work’ looks like.”
I am proud of them. And they are proud of themselves. I can see it in their eyes.
