Senior Exhibitions 2016

The seniors become the teachers for a day.
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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Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.