A Challenge Experience Project is the key capstone assignment that all Seven Hills students must complete to receive a diploma at the end of their senior year. The project is meant to facilitate the exploration of any passion a student may have, and it requires some aspect of experiential learning to ensure that students are being properly challenged and immersed in the process of their chosen pathway.
This assignment is introduced early on in one’s high school career, yet many students wait until the last minute to begin thinking about, planning, and even completing the selected project. While certain pathway guidelines are in place to give some general direction to students, the sky is truly the limit when it comes to choosing your project idea. You could engage in community service, immerse yourself in a concentration surrounding a specific field, or design your own independent idea.
The independent project is the traditional challenge project that was implemented long before the updated pathway options. This process is by far the most open-ended, so it can be difficult to come up with and commit to an idea early on. The requirement for all of these pathways is stated directly in the title: challenge. Your chosen project should not be something that you already know how to do; it must be an original idea that will be fulfilling and enriching in some way.
Senior Rohan Kulkarni chose to explore the world of music production to fulfill the independent project pathway. He utilized FL Studio, a music creation software, and produced various songs from a variety of musical genres to deepen his understanding of the process of music creation. Kulkarni said, “It took a lot of time to learn the software and the skills needed to navigate it, and there are so many things that you need to know how to do to produce a song.” While Kulkarni has not defended his project yet, which is a key aspect of the process where students must share their journey with a panel of faculty judges to officially complete the assignment, he is ready to share his music with the world.
When asked about specific advice for underclassmen who have not started their projects yet, Kulkarni said, “Do it over the summer because you’re going to be very busy the first semester of senior year with college applications. This semester was a lot harder than I thought it would be.” The majority of seniors would agree with this advice. Balancing supplemental essays, doing heavy coursework, and completing your challenge project are all incredibly difficult tasks, so it is smart to get ahead as much as possible to avoid a stressful senior year.
Senior Thurmund Ellison provided a different perspective, as he claimed he thrived on the adrenaline of procrastination by waiting until the last second to complete his independent project. After a disappointing realization that his desk was too short to play video games, Ellison chose to take matters into his own hands and create his very own desk to fulfill the independent project pathway. Ellison said, “The biggest challenge was actually bringing my ideas to life. It was difficult to figure out the exact measurements required and cut the materials I needed, but it was all worth it in the end to see the final product.”
Kulkarni and Ellison show very different approaches one can take to complete this capstone project. No matter what passions you have, you can incorporate them into your idea to ensure that your journey is truly fulfilling. For students about to complete the first step of the process, the challenge contract, make sure you choose carefully. Once you complete your junior year, you will not be able to get out of this contract, which has been a challenge in itself for many seniors who procrastinated and got stuck in a contract they wrote a year ago.
The one thing that you should take from this article is that you should not procrastinate. Really think about your project idea, start early, and ensure that you are finished long before the deadline in the fall of your senior year. If you follow these pieces of advice, the entire experience will become much more fulfilling and enjoyable. With challenge sharing season quickly approaching, be on the lookout for potential inspiration from the current class of seniors; you may discover your future idea by engaging with students who have recently completed the process!
