Senior Projects

After toiling away for a number of long terms at Exeter, seniors are rewarded every senior spring with the chance to complete a senior project. Unlike most courses at Exeter, where one must achieve a certain requirement and follow a rigid course syllabus, these projects give seniors a chance to complete something of their own interest under the close supervision of an Exeter instructor, while also having the opportunity to present their findings for an audience at the end of the term. Here are four examples of what seniors did with their projects.

The City Beautiful Movement: A project by Charlie Boyd

Charlie Boyd, a senior from San Francisco, California, focused his research on the City Beautiful Movement, a reform ideology of North American building style and city planning that thrived during the early 20th century.

“In a 20-25 page history paper, my goal was to explore its efficacy as a form of propaganda in our nation's capital,” Boyd said.

At the end of the term, Boyd presented a PowerPoint for anyone interested using before and after images to demonstrate the effects that the movement, specifically the McMillan Plan, which organized the core as well as the parks of Washington, D.C., had on the landscape of the US capital.

Although Boyd’s findings also broadened the knowledge of those who attended his presentation, Boyd himself was the most enthused and affected by the project.

“With great help from Mr. Golay, I determined the plan of action loosely for the term, periodically checking in with each other, and adapting the plan as we saw fit,” Boyd said. “Basically, my project allowed me to study what I wanted however much I wanted to and in any way that I wanted to. I have really just treated this as I would any other course except for I maybe have pursued it with a more enthusiasm.”

Obstetric Fistula: A project by Mia Arefeaine

Senior Mia Arefeaine, for her senior project, decided to study the obstetric/gynecological medical condition obstetric fistula with history instructor Kwasi Boadi. This condition typically affects women with limited pre and post-natal care in developing nations and is usually connected to old cultural customs of early marriage. Subsequent pregnancy is onset before the mother’s body is fully developed. Although many countries work with organizations like the Fistula Foundation and the United Nations to lessen the cases of fistula, the condition still occurs at shocking rates in the remote villages of Ethiopia. After Arefeaine visited the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Abeba, the oldest and best fistula hospital in the world, she became deeply interested in the topic.

“Because I am Ethiopian, and got a chance to visit the Hospital during one of my visits, I have a deep connection to this cause,” Arefeaine said. “Many of the girls suffering from this alienating condition are my age or younger and shouldn’t have to be subject to it.”

For many seniors who partake in senior projects, it has left a lasting impact on them, and Arefeaine is no exception.

“Only at Exeter would I be able to dedicate time to a personal research project in high school,” she said. “Learning about all of the complexities of obstetric fistula throughout this project just makes me want to continue dedicating time to the end of fistula.”

Even with the long hours of study and copious amounts of research, Arefeaine saw the experience as extremely fulfilling. She capped off a term of work with a Prezi slideshow that she presented for close friends and faculty.

Arefeaine said, “it is an extraordinarily rewarding thing to dedicate yourself to no matter what you are studying.”

Ethics of Medical Experimentation on Humans: A project by Keunyoung Ma

Ky Ma, a four-year senior from Seoul, South Korea, decided to focus her senior project on the ethics of medical experimentation on humans. “I was inspired by a chapter in my statistics textbook, specifically on the Tuskegee case, in which the US public health service knowingly denied syphilitic patients penicillin for the purpose of observing them further,” Ma said.

In addition, Ma also examined the ethics of medicine throughout history, starting from the Hippocratic Oath. She tied in Nazi experimentation to her overall analysis as well. “In the end, I posed morally challenging questions to my audience, such as ‘Can we use ill-gotten data (e.g. Nazi findings) if it means helping save lives now?’”

Ma focused on that dilemma and presented her findings in a lecture-style presentation at the end of winter term, where students were able to discuss the morality of the situation. “It's disturbing to think that the Nazis' heinous crimes have produced some valid and even eye-opening data. So what do we do? Preserve the dignity of those who have been wronged in unethical medical practices and discard the data, or preserve their dignity by putting said data to real?”

As Ma worked on her project, she found that she was really able to dive deep into something that interested her. “I prepared about 40 slides on Prezi and a general script to guide my presentation. I got really into it – more so than I thought – as I found more moral dilemmas in medicine that connected to my initial focus on Tuskegee.”

Although she focused mainly on the history of medical experimentation, she noted that experimentation is just as important now as well. “It is definitely pertinent to the present and the future, considering all the ongoing research on eugenics and cloning. It has affected me more than a course ever has or could. The amount of independence – to research at my own pace, shape the direction of my project as well as the types of research I wanted to include – allowed me to truly appreciate the history of the tension between intellectual boldness and ethical integrity.”

Exploring 3D Printers: A project by Lakin Vitton

Lakin Vitton, a senior from Greenwich, Connecticut, decided to take his senior project in a technological direction. With the addition of the three new 3D printers this year in the Art Department, Vitton utilized them while working on his senior project. “I really wanted to take advantage of the Art department's 3D printer and explore the uses and practicality of 3D printing,” Vitton said.

While working on his senior project, he was able to independently print objects under the supervision of his project advisor. “I'm blown away every time I print something, it’s amazing to see how practical 3D printers could be in a few years.”

Vitton was able to find many printing designs off of the Internet. Some of the designs included functioning parts for the printer. “It’s always incredible when you print a replacement part or upgrade for the printer, and watch as it literally improves itself.”

Other Senior Projects:

–– Emily Hatheway – Poetry Study

–– Shaquille Brown, Luke Brown and Olamide Ogunbambo – West African and Caribbean Literature 

–– Zadie Ross – History of Hip-Hop

–– Marc Steele and Alec Hernandez – Exploring Soviet Culture Through Russian Film

–– Tony Karalekas, Julian Drury and Ryan Heavirland – Collection of Original Songs

–– Meshach Peters – Compilation of Original Music

–– Kieran Minor, Will Richardson and David Ayscue – Composing and Performing Original Music

–– Nate Dow – Music Recording, Songwriting and Audio Technology

–– Sean Lee – A Creative Exploration of Aesthetics and Interaction in the Information Age

–– Will Vennes – Building a Hamboard

–– Cal Oakley – Building and Operating a Trebuchet

–– Michael Eaton – Building Birdhouses: A Forgotten Art

–– Sohil Patel – Microscope Photography: “Art in the Vast Invisible World”

–– Asile Patin – Track & Field: How Fast Are We? (The Prep Edition)

–– Curran Sullivan – Documentary Film on Smitty’s Wrestling Barn