For all four years TRHS has been open; seniors have been required to take the Senior Project class to graduate. But Senior Projects have been a requirement from the State of Idaho for much longer than that. Senior projects have been a controversial topic, as the debate surrounds if the projects are helpful for seniors or a waste of time. With seniors already stressed out with trying to graduate, adding an additional class can add to that stress. 

Emma Bryd, a senior at TRHS has expressed how stressful her senior project was. Byrd said the class adds more stress on the graduation deadline and she would rather be taking classes she is more interested in. Bryd took the class first trimester, and for her project she chose to make sensory bags for the fire department to keep in their trucks for people with disabilities to help with the stress. She enjoyed being able to help people but would rather do it without having to get a grade.

Byrd expressed that senior projects can be helpful to the community but really shouldn’t give you a grade on how well they think your service was or how well you presented your project. A big part of senior projects is to try and help seniors decide what they want to do in their futures, but according to Bryd, it was just a class to pass and move on. But her advice to future seniors is to start early so you can have it done and the stress to be more bearable and not last minute. 

Maybe schools should start to hear how seniors feel about the classes they are required to take and help to change them to be a better experience. Senior year is a big part of a student’s life, and why make it stressful with a big project instead of one last year of fun before adulthood?