The capstone to the Ellis experience, senior projects are intentionally designed to be interdisciplinary and offer students the opportunity to explore a wide range of possible interests and pursue known passions more deeply. Students must harness the design thinking, organizational, and research skills they’ve learned and deploy them to foster connections with mentors, partner with diverse clients, manage their time and processes, and present and communicate their ideas.

But unlike their previous assignments—students don’t follow a teacher-derived lesson plan or rubric for their projects. Instead, they create their own paths and identify and investigate topics of real interest and personal meaning to them. Armed with a sense of agency and fueled by the power of both choice and their own voice, students pursue their interests and investigate complicated issues, resulting in work that is as varied and diverse as the girls themselves. From exploring media bias in journalism to shadowing emergency room doctors and sewing dignity gowns for breast cancer patients, the Class of 2019’s senior projects represented a wide variety of topics that demonstrated the multifaceted nature of the Ellis curriculum, as well as Ellis students.

Eager to continue the social activism work she led as co-president of Ellis’ Student Diversity League, Leah Ewers interned at Welcoming Pittsburgh, an immigrant and Latino integration initiative led by Mayor Bill Peduto’s office, where she witnessed firsthand how government agencies can spearhead change. In her position, she created a guidebook for immigrant families about the city of Pittsburgh, researched displays of public inclusivity in cities across the globe, participated in cross-functional meetings with city leaders, and outlined an online forum for an all-encompassing website immigrant families can use to learn about resources within the city when they arrive.

For Emma Schell, her senior project allowed her to delve deeper into a passion that she plans to continue in college: chemistry. She partnered with Assemble, a STEAM organization in Garfield, to teach a chemistry class for grades 3 through 5 at their after-school program, and as a happy byproduct, got a crash course in educational pedagogy. She showed she could be flexible on the fly by writing and rewriting lesson plans on polarity, luminescence, and density when the needs of her students changed, and worked to build relationships with them to ensure their success.

Inspired by her little sister, Kai’ya Jones Gordon’s senior project explored the demonization and politicization of black hair. Avid about reframing the narrative and sending a message of self-love to young black girls, Kai’ya partnered with FroGang, an organization in Pittsburgh whose mission is to promote the importance of taking pride in natural hair, and delivered an uplifting presentation to Lower School girls on the beauty of natural hair. Determined to encourage girls to bring all aspects of their identity into our shared space, Kai’ya also led a mini-course called “Hair Story” where she related to Upper School students’ concerns about their hair and led discussions on taking care of your natural hair, loving it in its natural state, and feeling confident in outward appearance.

Perhaps the most magic happens at Ellis when girls are challenged, and expected, to own their voices––to speak up in class, to argue their positions, and to present their learning. Senior projects act as one especially powerful vehicle for student voices, offering them a real-world glimpse into what it takes to lead projects independently, collaborate with diverse groups of people, and communicate their ideas—something they will put into practice on a regular basis at college, in their careers, and beyond. Their resulting confidence is palpable.