Every year at the beginning of May, WFS says goodbye to its seniors until they return for graduation on June 4th. For that last month of school, seniors no longer attend daily classes and instead embark on their senior explorations: an opportunity to independently explore a subject of their choice. Some students use this as an opportunity to learn more about a prospective career path, or possibly just a subject that they are interested in and want to explore further. The exploration is highly open-ended, and there are endless possibilities for students learn and have fun at the same time.

Maddie Ireland ’16 decided to travel to Los Angeles, California for her senior exploration. She is going to intern at an entertainment marketing firm in LA called ZakHill, where she will discover more about working in business. “I want to learn about whether that is what I want to do as a career in the future,” Ireland says. She chose her exploration to learn more about possible careers. The senior exploration is a great opportunity for a student to explore career options, especially if they involve travel. Such an opportunity would be much more difficult if the school did not give students a break from school especially to further their learning.

Olivia Garber ’16 chose to delve into the world of sustainable fashion for her senior exploration. So far, she has spent her time off learning how to design and create her own clothing from recycled fabric. “I learned how to make my own patterns and sew. I don’t feel like I have to buy as much clothing from stores anymore,” Garber explains. Sustainability and design are two important topics to Garber. She is also passionate about fashion, and is using her senior exploration time as an opportunity to learn hands-on about an area of fashion that she previously didn’t know much about. “I’ve learned that I can just use old fabrics to make clothes that I like,” she states.

Another option for senior explorations, as shown by Ciara Graves ’16, is choosing an area of study that she knew nothing about previously. Graves chose to do yoga for a month to see how it can help to relieve stress and anxiety. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to try and I thought it would be fun,” Graves explains. She got into the practice through her stepmother and her family friend, who both volunteer to teach yoga at a drug rehabilitation center for young adults called Gaudenzia. Graves is able to see first-hand the stress-relieving benefits of yoga through their experiences. “I observe how [yoga] helps them too when I’m there,” Graves says. Senior exploration is a perfect opportunity for a student to learn about ways to relieve stress and a great end to four years of high school.

As shown by seniors Ireland, Garber, and Graves, there are countless options to choose from for a student’s senior exploration. They have also shown the varying reasons students may have for choosing their exploration topics, from exploring future career options, to learning a completely new skill, to satisfying a life-long curiosity. These students and their explorations show how senior exploration is yet another way that WFS ensures its students are well-rounded and constantly learning new things, even after they graduate.