All seniors at Camas High School (CHS) must complete a senior project, which typically includes a final presentation. This year, students in the Running Start program have a modified project to accommodate those taking English at Clark College—senior projects at CHS are managed and monitored in seniors’ English classes—but who still need to fulfill graduation requirements.

Of the 106 seniors enrolled at Clark College and Camas High School, 70 will complete the Running Start modified senior project.

The project requires students to complete 10 hours of volunteer work with a nonprofit organization of their choice. After completing the hours, students must write a one-page reflection paper about their volunteering experiences.

“It’s important for students to find something they are interested in for their community service hours, so it will be useful post-high school,” Heidi Uhrich, the Running Start counselor, said.

Changes are being made to the senior project specifically for Running Start students, and details about the second part of the assignment have not yet been released. This uncertainty has raised concerns among participating students regarding time constraints.

“I would like to know what the rest of the senior project entails and what I need to do so that I don’t fall behind,” Aleen Dhillon, a Running Start senior at CHS, said.

The Running Start senior project is less involved than the one for students taking English at CHS.

Kaeden Souki, a class of 2024 CHS graduate, completed the Running Start senior project last year and shared insights about its components.

Last year’s project included four elements: a research paper that could be reused from a Clark College English class, the 10 volunteer hours, the reflection paper, and a slideshow presentation to explain the overall experience.

“It was a great feeling to finish my senior project more than a month before graduating, while most of my peers had to do senior boards,” Souki said.

He completed his service hours by volunteering at the local Humane Society, which he found to be the most memorable part of the experience. He noted that the only challenging aspect was relying on organizations to accept his applications. 

Dhillon is going to complete her hours by volunteering at her temple and teaching kids how to read and write in her language. 

The full details of the Running Start senior project for the class of 2025 should be finalized once a specific administrator is chosen to oversee the project and assist students.