List of 4 items.

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  Astronomy Research

  Katie has been a trailblazer in the newly energized astronomy program here at Thacher since her freshman year. To invest more time and energy in her study of the subject, Katie developed an independent project that allowed her to spend her afternoons conducting real-world astronomical research at the newly renovated Thacher Observatory. She worked with Dr. Jon Swift, the director of the Observatory and a math, astronomy, and physics teacher at Thacher, on his NASA-funded research into transiting exoplanets. Over the course of the project, she designed and carried out observation of a transiting exoplanet and conducted data analysis, deepening her skills and knowledge in the process.
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  Mountain Biking

  Before Thacher, Liam combined his dual passions for speed and the outdoors in a commitment to skiing. Seeing that the opportunities for hitting the slopes were few and far between in the dry, ever-sunny Ojai Valley, he soon took up mountain biking and loved it. Noticing that he was trying to fit 8+ hours of biking a week into his busy Thacher schedule, he decided to take up an independent project in partnership with another student and set aside dedicated time for the pursuit every afternoon. Focusing on technical skills, fitness, bike maintenance, and backcountry riding, the two trained hard in preparation for two competitive races in Southern California, as well as a big summer riding trip from Denver to Durango, Colorado. Liam noted: “We used weekends throughout the Independent to start to find our limits in the backcountry, exploring 20, 30, 40 miles at a time into the Los Padres National Forest. The skills, fitness, and experience we gained from those adventures were crucial in Colorado.”
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  Film Promotion & Nonprofit Work

  During the summer, Cara held an internship working to promote the film SOLD. Directed by Academy Award-winner Jeffrey D. Brown and based on a best-selling book by Patricia McCormick, the film follows the story and survival of an 11-year-old girl who is trafficked in India. The team behind the movie has also partnered with a number of nonprofits working to support survivors of sex trafficking—Cara’s work gathering support for screenings and instructing inspired groups on hosting their own screening helped raise awareness for the issue and the organizations working to combat it. She was so inspired by her summer work that she took it up again through an independent project. Of the experience, Cara said: “At the risk of sounding cliché, my heart fills with gratitude and warmth every time I feel like I make a difference, which, with my Independent, happens almost every day.”
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  Trail Mapping

  In the fall, Edison likes to incorporate trail running into his cross country training regimen. During the course of his many runs, he noticed something: the existing map of the trails that crisscross the hills and mountains around Thacher was sometimes inaccurate and incomplete. He set off to change that during his trail mapping independent project. Edison spent his afternoons running the miles and miles of trails near campus with a GPS tool in tow that collected the map data. He also conducted research about the history of the trails in the School’s library archives and put together a website where members of the community could view his new (complete, accurate) map and the associated historical information all in one place.