What I Learned Judging Senior Projects at Harrison High School
Gavin stopped by Mrs. Kaiser's class to judge some senior projects.
Earlier today, I got to judge some of the senior projects completed by Harrison High School students. I was invited to judge by Mrs. Kaiser, a English teacher at Harrison. In typical Gavin fashion, I managed to show up an hour late because I guess I was subconsciously dreading actually going back to high school. The experience this time around, was much, much kinder.
I saw many different presentations during the hour I was judging and each one was better than the last. I was impressed by how much these young people were able to achieve by completing just 10 hours of volunteer work for a non-profit organization. These students were truly humble in their willingness to do work with those with mental and physical disabilities as well as giving back to their school.
I also appreciated the honest nervousness that comes from public speaking in high school. I would never want to be in their position again. Yeah, I speak for a living but it takes a long time to get comfortable doing so. But man, these kids nailed it. I wish I was as good as they were when I was in high school.
The group that impressed me the most was a group of 4 athletes who put on a talent show in order to raise money for the Atheletic Department but also show off the talents of other kids at school. There is a misconception that all jocks are jerks and bullies and that they never do anything for anyone other than themselves. Seeing this bridge between the athletes, music kids, theatre kids, and everyone in-between, was a breathe of fresh air.
Not to get too off-topic, but there's been talk of the Parkland kids leading the way in that we respond to events. Those kids are doing a great job but we have people here doing the same thing, even if it is on a smaller scale. The fact that the "jocks" wanted to showcase other people's talent is a great gesture in destroying the concept of nerds, jocks, etc.
Overall, I was impressed by everyone at Harrison today. If these kids are leading us into the future, I can't wait to see what they accomplish.