Seniors Present Capstone Projects at myExperience Senior Showcase

We were inspired by the innovation, creativity, and dedication on display at the myExperience Senior Showcase! Twenty-eight Hutchison seniors celebrated completing their capstone projects by presenting them to family, mentors, faculty and staff, and friends. The flagship program within Hutchison’s Institute for Responsible Citizenship, myExperience is a multi-year opportunity that allows a girl to select from one of four cohorts — STEM, Entrepreneurship, Art & Design, and Global Civic Engagement. Each girl then studies an area of interest in depth and develops a college-level research project related to that interest. The development of her project includes working with a professional mentor, completing a summer internship or other relevant experience, and working with other girls to plan a trip to a U.S. city where each girl could explore their cohort’s area of focus in detail.

At our Senior Showcase, we celebrated our seniors' hard work and success by providing the opportunity for our girls to share their final projects with family, friends, mentors, faculty, and staff. Here are some of the projects our girls completed:

• Designing and constructing an eco-brick flower bed on the Dobbs Farm made of entirely recyclable materials
• Planning a voter registration drive with the League of Women Voters and filming a documentary focusing on female political leaders
• Hosting multiple animal therapy sessions in partnership with local professionals on Hutchison's campus, conducting research on the impact of therapy animals on high school girls, and producing a written manual detailing how to continue her work in the future
• Producing an animated short film that discusses the importance of public art
• Learning professional 3D modeling software to design sustainable housing
• Writing an original play exploring psychological abuse, victim blaming, and therapy, working with a Hattiloo Theater professional and a therapist
• Partnering with Jackson Elementary School for an extensive book drive and working with their faculty to develop their literacy program
• Creating a business plan for an ecological botanic garden that features native plants and teaches about sustainability

All of the projects were impressive, and students were articulate and enthusiastic as they talked about their work and what they learned. Seven awards of distinction were given out to the following students: Haley Floyd, Maggie Higginbotham, Hailey Litzsey, Millie Malone, Garner Monroe, Sadie Rosenblum, and Chloe Simpson. We are proud of how our girls have grown through the myExperience program. Congratulations to all of our senior myExperience graduates!