Senior Project

Gilmour Academy students are asked to demonstrate mastery of a multitude of skills and knowledge prior to graduation. Perhaps topmost among them is leadership.

Leaders are not always the most outspoken, the most aggressive or the bravest. Rather, they are the ones who do what is right and who give selflessly in their quest to do so. Responding to the Gilmour Academy mission to develop the competence to see and the courage to act in creating a more humane and just society, our seniors are asked to articulate this lofty goal through the development and completion of the Senior Capstone Project.

As the high school experience draws to a close, each senior must propose a project with educational significance in which the student becomes an expert in the task, hones their leadership skills and inspires others to action or reflection. It should be viewed as both a challenge and an opportunity, a chance to be a part of a rewarding experience that broadens the mind and enriches society. Some examples of prior project topics include: ethical treatment of animals confined in zoos, how judges’ own biases affect case outcomes, Cleveland’s appeal to the film industry, a day in the physician’s operating room, and more.

Assistance from advisors and mentors will be offered throughout the year to select and refine project ideas and plans. In the final weeks of school, seniors are excused from classes to focus on and complete their projects, and public presentations are made shortly before Commencement.