The beginning of the 2014-2015 school year not only welcomes a new group of seniors, but a change in graduation requirements. In April, the junior class had a meeting to learn about the new type of project they would have to complete in order to graduate. The graduating class of 2015 will be the first that won’t do the typical project.

This is the last year for the familiar senior projects. Seniors graduating in 2014 were to propose a project idea before the 2013 school year ended, leaving the summer to complete it if necessary. The projects to choose from previously were academic, career, technical, service and creative.

Along with the project, each student had to also write a five to ten page paper and give a presentation to a group of teachers. This type of senior project required 60 hours that had to be logged and approved by their advisors. Having the choice between five types of projects granted students the ability to do something they were interested in.

“There were a lot of difficulties because there wasn’t a lot of structure,” Senior Lane Ward said.

Next year’s seniors won’t have this option, but rather have one consisting of four topics: government meeting, service, a thank you letter and an exit interview. Students must attend a meeting of a formal organization and verify their attendance. They must also complete 30 hours of service by Oct. 1, 2014 and write a thank you letter to that individual or organization. Finally, students have to pass an exit interview lasting about 20 minutes to complete their project.

“I love it; I’m so glad they changed it. I think it’ll be better for both students and the community, because getting involved will benefit everyone. It’ll be less stressful than before…just better in general,” Junior Raylen Welling said.

Along with this immediate change, this year’s freshmen won’t have a senior project, but rather a “graduation project.” This will be completed throughout their four years in high school instead of just focusing on senior year. During their freshman year, “[their project] was focused on career exploration and learning style development,” Mrs. Maria Porter said. “They then researched and wrote a paper regarding their career and what is necessary to achieve success and an entry level position including salaries and education requirements.” As for what these students will do for their next two years is so far undecided. One change that the freshmen will encounter is having the core classes all four years, changing the three required credits for math and science to four credits.

“I think it’ll be beneficial to have core classes all four years,” Freshman Maddie Edder said.

On May 14 and 15, freshmen completed presentations. These presentations consisted of each student making a tri-fold containing information about their freshman experience, a researched career and goals for the future. This completed the first year of the cumultive project.

“[The four year project] will be easier and help decide on a career, even if it changes,” Edder said.

Information about the new senior project can be found on the high school’s website.