Senior Keystones
Each year, seniors at JCHS participate in a year-long “Keystone” course, pursuing their passions while serving the community and creating impactful products.
Throughout the year, they might do anything from conducting interviews with professionals to planning elaborate events, as they design projects that both pursue an area of intellectual interest and also create a sense of personal identity within their larger communities. While members of the public and school community may attend the final Keystone presentations in May, not everyone is aware of the setbacks, ups-and-downs, and complex processes that are part of if not integral to the learning experience.
Sophia Brodie-Weisberg (’18), who is “organizing a dinner event to raise money and awareness to fight hunger,” only decided on her topic after “changing my mind ten times.” In fact, most seniors initially struggle in deciding where to place their emphasis, knowing that the commitment is one of many hours and immense dedication. Even after one decides what to focus on, they must constantly be refining their topic based on the information (or lack thereof) they receive from professionals or external connections. Hodi Miller (’18), initially set out with the general notion of wanting to her Keystone to “contribute to my passion for music and songwriting.” In the end, she decided to “collaborate with prisoners and learn their unique stories and transform them into song.” Understandably, a major setback for her has been difficulty making contact with previously and currently incarcerated individuals, which makes it especially hard to “feel like I can authentically use my voice to tell their stories through song.”
While many begin the path of Keystone with optimistic and perhaps overly ambitious goals, they often find that communication in the real world is the most challenging part. The constant struggle is “trying to stay in contact with professionals who tend to forget about me and my project,” says Sophia Brodie-Weisberg. While the final products never fail to come together and amaze the audience, there is no doubt that the Keystone process often presents more obstacles to students than it can resolve. But therein lies the beauty of the project, which prepares seniors for the real world by not only allowing them space to pursue interests, but also helping them to overcome setbacks and learn the nuanced language of professional communication.
