Years ago, the state of Washington wanted to put together something that would show all of the skills students have learned during school. They had also wanted to give students the chance to learn something that they had felt like they missed.

So, the State of Washington came to the conclusion that a big end-of-high-school-project, the senior project, would allow seniors to create a project on a subject they have taken an interest in prior to their senior year.

Rather than regretting not learning something new, students’ would be getting a chance to try something they’ve never gotten to do.

If a student somehow missed learning an instrument, they could use it for their senior project. If a student were to want to experiment with a brand new art form, they could use it for their senior project.

The main idea for senior projects is to try something new and document it. However, since senior projects do take a lot of time and focus some schools have gotten rid of senior projects entirely.

Mrs. Kristi Bridges, Camas high school’s senior project coordinator, says “Camas has talked about getting rid of it. For one thing, it’s really time-intensive to make sure that every student does this project with three components and putting the board together and all that stuff, and I have no problem with keeping it or getting rid of it; whatever they decide.”

“We looked at getting rid of it when the state said we could and realized there’s still way too many important connections that are made,” Bridges continued.

“In the past, if you were a part of, say you were a manager for an athletic team, or you’re apart of ASB, you couldn’t use that work as part of your senior project, and now you can,” Dr. Liza Sejkora, the principal of CHS, mentions. 

“Because,” Dr. Sejkora continues, “we’re not trying to add one more thing on the student’s plates, we’re trying to validate a quality experience that they’re already having and hear about what they’ve learned from it.”