YHS senior projects benefit community

Mike Hackworth

(Updated: Thursday, June 03, 2010, 8:45 AM)

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Mandatory 'senior projects' are as varied as the 244 students who will graduate from Yosemite High School at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 9.

From going on a mission to the inner city of Los Angeles, to interviewing war veterans, to learning how to assist women during child birth, many of the projects are impressive and inspiring.

According to Amy Weigel, senior adviser, the projects provide seniors the opportunity to explore a passion, a dream or express a talent that traditional curriculum would restrict.

"I like that every senior project helps our local community or the YHS campus,"said Weigel. "The scope of the projects can be large or small but they all benefit the community or an organization."

Senior projects are built into the English 12 curriculum at YHS and Weigel says the class is a graduation requirement. "Failure to meet the requirement of a senior project means no graduation."

Every senior presented their project before educators and community members over a three day period last week.

Kerstia Oberg, encouraged by her history buff father, interviewed 12 veterans from WWII and is producing a 12 hour DVD set of the interviews. In addition to the school and the 12 serviceman she interviewed, she will provide a DVD set to the Veteran's Museum in Fresno and the National WWII museum in New Orleans.

Oberg traveled to San Francisco to visit the Maritime Museum to see the WWII battle ship U.S.S. O'Brien and the submarine USS Pampanto, vessels some she interviewed actually served on. She dedicated her project to her grandfather, WWII vet John Oberg who passed away in February.

One of her interviews was with Art Hill, 98, of Fresno. "He was a combat engineer and one of the first soldiers to set foot on Normandy Beach during World War II," Oberg said. "The life expectancy for a soldier then, was five minutes. He was in the European Theater for six years and escaped without an injury."

Oberg said her project was interesting and educational. "I got to learn a lot about World War II from the men that were actually there and lived it."

Cassandra Slayton chose the Golden Chain Theatre's "Rooftop Follies" as her senior project.

"I knew what I wanted to do for my senior project since last year," Slayton said. "I have been part of the Golden Chain Theater since I was three or four and I found the opportunity to give back to the theatre with my project."

The theater puts on the Follies each year to pay for the new roof that was installed in 2005. Slayton helped organize this year's show in conjunction with the theater's current secretary and her mentor, Carol Kovach.

Slayton's work included making promotional posters and signs that were placed around town to advertise the event, going door-to-door to solicit auction donations and seeking sponsorships.

Slayton also performed in five dance numbers for the show that netted $5,360.

John Nickels, a self-taught violinist, has taken on the task of repairing violins. He has worked on five violins, from minor repairs to completely taking one apart and rebuilding it with the support of YHS woodshop teacher Dave Dooman.

He gave a PowerPoint presentation showing the entire violin refurbishing process and ended his presentation by playing an old Irish lullaby for the panel. The violin he restored and played in his presentation was given to him by family friend John Pickering, after finding it at a local second hand store.

Chad Gobbel and Sean Dangleis put on a car show featuring more than 50 cars at Yosemite High School in March. The event raised $1,200 that went to the school's automotive program.

The Exceptional Kids Rodeo, held during the Coarsegold Rodeo, was the Senior Project of Andy Schotke and Tyler Sellers. The two seniors provided a controlled special rodeo for special needs children.

"We had 20 kids registered and all had a great rodeo experience," Schotke said.

Marisha Brooks and Leslie Palmer helped organize the Easter Egg Hunt for Mountain Area children in April. Brooks and Palmer, under the tutelage of Consuelo Mercier, ensured the success of the hunt.

Seniors Thurmie Reynolds, Jeremy Guilliams and Neil Struck sold baked goods and donated the proceeds to Heartland Opportunity Center in Oakhurst.

Jennifer Schoonard held an on campus blood drive that produced more than 100 pints of blood, mostly from students, for the Central California Blood Bank.

Ashlee Bullard spent 20 hours a week for six months at Children's Hospital of Central California. Bullard, who intends to be a nurse, said she loved working with the children. "It was a very rewarding experience."

"The most challenging part of senior projects is simply the process itself," Senior Project coordinator Debra Siverly said. "Regardless of the quality of the project, most students find that they learn important lessons about procrastination and underestimating the time needed to complete the task."

"Our student athletes help younger children by putting on clinics in their chosen sport," Weigel said. This year there were youth clinics for wrestling, water polo, basketball, gymnastics, soccer, football and martial arts.

Chloe Dean planted seven native California Sycamore trees adjacent to the high school tennis courts to grow and provide shade for players and spectators.

Seniors Brian Singer, Travis Rippee, Patrick Hogan and Johnny Green organized a seven-band concert for their senior project whose proceeds benefited Manna House. Inspired by a homeless man, the trio chose to do the concert which raised $220 and five cases of food.

One student this year, Lawrence Armijo, built a bus stop in Raymond because one day he noticed kids waiting for the bus in the rain.

Laura Derry became a certified "Doula" for her senior project. A doula supports a woman through pregnancy and childbirth.

"I did my training through an online organization called Childbirth International," Derry said. "I worked on my training an average of three hours a week since July and had to read three manuals on birth doula skills, physiology of pregnancy and childbirth and communication.

Derry, who wants a career as a neonatal or labor and delivery nurse, felt she learned many valuable skills through her project. "Not only did I learn to support a woman through pregnancy and childbirth, I learned communication skills and how to manage my time."

Juan Salazar moved with his family from Oahaca, Mexico, when he was 13-year-old, not speaking a word of English. Five years later his senior project was teaching English to adults at the Oakhurst Library twice a week for five months.

"It's great to see such a wide range of projects and the students become creative and critical thinkers, effective workers and contribute to the community," Weigel said. "What the students get out of their projects is usually in direct correlation to how much work they put in it...kind of like life."

Other notable Senior Projects:

Ricardo Enriquez: Animated film presentation.

Anna Majchen and Autumn Thompson: Hati fundraisers.

Uriah Hoffman: Made wooden toys and donated them to needy children.

Kyle Veater: Sheriff's ride-a-long.

Kyle Whitsides and Malissa Furin: Special Ed events.

Amanda Broussely and Edward Barkley: Los Angeles inner city mission trip.

Jacob Gorba: Restored 1963 T-Bird.

Mario Ramirez,Jake Allen and Michael Patterson: Organ and tissue donation drive.

Brandon Lundberg: Sierra Ambulance ride-a-long.

Stanley Kao, Roman Morales, Rachael Hernandez, Ryan Schymiczek: Relay for Life.

Danny Noll: Wheelchair donations.