If given time to research any topic of your own choosing, what would you pick?
Thacher students have the exciting opportunity to explore this very question in their senior year as they undertake the Senior Exhibition capstone project. While some students are champing at the bit—having already decided on their topic in their freshman year—others are perhaps more reticent about the idea of delivering a thirty-minute presention. All rise to the occasion come Senior Ex Weekend when their months of hard work culminate in a presentation before family, friends, and faculty.
The process begins way back in the fall when the seniors sit down with faculty members to discuss and eventually decide on a topic to pursue. From there the seniors delve deeply into the research phase where they have dedicated time spent in English class to compile and document sources. Before moving on to the presentation phase, the seniors must pass an interview with faculty members during which they are expected to converse confidently about their topic for thirty minutes. All of this leads to a wonderful weekend of true passion for scholarship.
The Senior Exhibition Weekend begins on Thursday evening after formal dinner and extends all day Friday and through Saturday at noon. While it may seem like a long weekend, community members are often disappointed to not be able to see every single one.
The weekend was capped off with a holiday announcement after a surprise dinner of pizza, sliders, and tacos served from food trucks on Sunday evening. Most students spent Monday enjoying some well-deserved R&R.
The class of 2016 and their presentation topics:
Peter Ammons — Storing the Energy of the Future Cole Anderson — The American Drone War Samantha Baird — Canine Domestication and the Human-Dog Relationship Avery Bearden — Laugh it Off: Humor as a Coping Mechanism Tucker Bennett — The NCAA's Exploitation of College Athletes Nevin Bernet — The Economics of Immigration Sam Butler — Psychology and Commercial Impact of Extreme Sports Krista Cabrera — Economics and Ethics of Professional Boxing Peter Callan — Kendrick Lamar: From Poe Mans Dreams to King Kunta Grace Callander — Nudity: Deconstructing the Taboo Charlotte Driscoll — Artificial Intelligence—What Makes the Human Brain Human? Carrie Eastburn — Pop Art: Koons to Kardashian Hillary Ellman — The Dark Side of Social Media Michael Finch — Common Stock Investment Lina Fry — The ACL Tear Epidemic Gus Gamble — Worth More Than Gold: Water Rights Amongst Drought, Drilling, and Subsidence Casey Gaughan — Environmental Justice and Global Capitalism in the Developing World Ellie Gifford — Booze and Bullets: Prohibition in America Emma Herzig — In-Vitro Meat: What's at Steak? Hayden Howard — Nation for Sale: The Price of Politics in Mexico Eric Im — College Parties Talia Isaacson — Kumana Presentation Tyler James — Designed Babies: The Science and Ethics of Human Gene Editing Marc Jiang — The Art of Magic: Rational Tricks with Irrational Effects Nick Johnson — Economic Crises and the Suspension of Disbelief Elsabet Jones — Kumana Presentation Jahmari Josiah — Conscious or Commercial?: The Rise and Evolution of Popular Rap John Kern — Interstellar Space Travel Doug Klink — Nuclear Power: Myths and Realities Jean Li — Behind You Laptop: Cyber Warfare and the US-China Relationship Alessandro Lorenzoni — Drugs and Money: The US Pharmaceutical Industry Kathryn Lynch — Political Correctness in the United States: Controversy Analysis Spencer McCune — Saving Our Coasts Valerie Mendez — Ride or Die: The Impact of Gang Culture on Los Angeles Youth Sammie Muckle — Banksy Uncovered Hayton Oei — Wealth and Influence: How the Catholic Church Became the Most Powerful Institution in History Lydia Paxton — Like a Virgin: America's Obsession with Sexual Purity Jack Pierrepont — Future of Transport Brooke Porter — Crazy, Stupid, Love: The Nature of Romantic Love Katie Rauner — How to Buy an Election Reade Rossman — Frailty, Thy Name is Woman President Kevin Ryu — Gaming: The Art of Visual and Immersive Storytelling Elliot Schiff — The Necessity of Teaching Hip-Hop Miguel Sierra — Gang Violence in Honduras Colly Smith — The Bizarre and Confusing World of Performance Art Griffin Sohn — The Benefits of Downtime Max Sondland — Need a Hand? A Look into the Future of Prosthetics Ashley Song — The Ugly Price of Perfection: Plastic Surgery in South Korea Margaret Troast — Kumana Presentation Colin Troughton — Let There Be Light: Lighting and Production Design for Concerts Toto Van Son — The American Country Club: An Evolving Landscape Morgana Van Peebles — Success in Our Generation: How Do We Succeed? Santi Vargas Garcia — Approaches to Educational Inequality: Failures and Promises Sarah Voss — What do Mean Girls and Politicians Have in Common? The Psychology of Persuation Serena Warren — Dyslexia: Why Some Smart People Can't Read Robert Welch — Changing Fate: How We Face the Same Problems as the Ancients Teddy Williams — Disruptive Innovation: How Big Businesses Fail to Innovate Mia Zaldastani — The Story of Tatoos Fernando Zamora — Sound Design in Electronic Music Elizabeth Zhang — Thank You For Smoking: An Exploration of Tobacco Ads
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