Senior Projects Mark End of Class of 2025’s Time at Holton

Each year, seniors eagerly anticipate the focus between the end of classes and graduation: the senior project. The project is an opportunity for seniors to immerse themselves in a topic about which they are passionate.

Although students may explore almost any interest, all projects must “[show] evidence of learning and growth,” according to Michelle Tan ’25. Holton created the senior project experience to give students time and space to focus on interests outside the boundaries of traditional academics. The project allows students to direct their learning.

Seniors take on a wide range of projects. This year, Devani Shah ’25 chose to spend her time at an engineering firm because she enjoys “doing Excel and [wants] to work an office job.” Unlike her summer internship, which did not fit with her golf season, the project gives her both flexible hours and hands-on experience in a professional environ-

ment.

Audrey Colbourn ’25 used her artistic skills to create a documentary about neurodiversity at Holton. Because Colbourn is “really artistically inclined and [loves] film,” she “wanted to express [her] experience and others’ with neurodiversity, especially since education about it at Holton is somewhat limited.” Colbourn presented her film at a school assembly to educate her peers about neurodiversity and autism.

Taylor Schwer ’25 also took a creative route and wrote a memoir, a collection of short stories and poetry. She chose the project because she “[loves] to write and reflect” “and [wanted] to leave behind something meaningful.” Many seniors use the project to think back on their Holton experience and give back to the community.

Noting that the project is a way “to commemorate all of the years [she has] had at Holton,” Schwer described her memoir as a “lasting legacy” to her community. Echoing this idea, Colbourn added that the senior project gives students a chance to “explore passions that they wouldn’t usually get to explore in school” and to do so “in a way that would better [their] community and [themselves].”

The project offers an opportunity for freedom, reflection and growth. Shah pointed out that it allows students to “immerse [themselves] in something [they’re] interested in, without the responsibilities of school.”