Rohan Rajagopalan ’14: Majed Dergham, Associate Head of College Guidance, recently assumed leadership of organizing senior projects, which will take place at the end of May despite rumors that they had been cancelled due to “J-term.”
The structure of senior projects is similar to that of previous years. Seniors will propose projects, have them approved by Dergham, and then engage in a two-week off campus experience before delivering a final product. Dergham said projects in the past have been graded as pass or fail, and he expected that to remain. Dergham spoke about one potential change, explaining, “We are going to try to categorize options to try and provide a little more categorized direction.” Possible categories include internships, community service and art-based projects.
Dergham’s role as the head of senior projects comes as part of senior project’s shift towards the college guidance office. Dergham said the shift occurred because “we as an office [college guidance] proba-
bly work with the group of seniors more than most.” He continued, “It made sense considering how much contact we have with seniors.”
While Dergham will run the program, he will be advised by Sarah Baker, Kim Piersall and others who have been involved with the projects before.
Dergham emphasized the important role senior projects hold at Episcopal. “For me personally, it adds a lot to experiential learning. I think that’s a big deal.” Dergham believes his background working on college campuses has provided him with a unique appreciation for experiential learning. “I’ve always been a big fan of experiential learning,” said Dergham. “It helps make what your learning make more sense.”
Andrew Janetta ’14, senior class student council president, also echoed this sentiment. “Senior projects are the best example of experiential learning, which the school clearly wants to promote.”
In addition, Dergham believes senior projects could potentially help students explore their interests and possible career fields.
He said the projects help “to see why you’re learning what you’re learning and see how it can apply to potential future careers.” Baker agreed, adding, “A senior project is a time to pursue a career interest or a passion in a way that broadens you beyond the confines of the Episcopal Program.”
Dergham and Baker stressed the different roles of J-term and senior projects. “I do not want [seniors] to think that just because J-term is here [senior projects] are not important anymore,” said Dergham. Rather, he noted, “I think these add a different component.” Baker agreed, describing J-term as a “senior project ‘junior.’” Baker believes the two components are intimately connected and predicts that “J-term will spark interest in later senior projects once students have the opportunity to follow through on that experience.”
Senior projects, Dergham noted, act as “a culminating experience.” Dergham also expressed his belief in the importance of enjoying and embracing the projects. He concluded, “I am pretty excited about it and I hope [students] are too.”