Isabel Novak proudly shares her Animatronic Penguin project with students in class.
STEM School Seniors Shine
By Benjamin Rickert, Communications Department
There’ s only one place in Asheville to see a talking mechanical barn owl, organic irrigation systems, mixed martial arts, and a fresh analysis of Amelia Earhart’ s historical flight. Senior Project night in all BCS high schools is a time when students come together to provide innovative solutions for today’ s world, conclusions of in-depth research, or new takes on classic questions, as they prepare for life after graduation.
At the Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr. Discovery Academy, students waited eagerly to walk into the classrooms where they would present their work. It was the culmination of months of dedication. They were seen clutching their laptops tightly, reviewing their notes, and making final tweaks to their machines or prototypes. These were the first Senior Project presentations since the Discovery Academy began in 2014.
“ They’ ve been impressive from the start,” said Principal Nathan Allison, who recalled seeing the students walk through the door as freshmen just a few years ago.
Following the evening’ s presentations, he was most impressed by his students’ professionalism and deep knowledge of a variety of subjects. At the Academy, every senior is required to do an internship their senior year, and these internships give students an inside look at real industries in our region, from farming to audio recording, or dental science to aeronautical engineering. Students then chose their topics based on what inspired them from their internships and classwork.
Senior Lauren Ballard’ s internship with The Collider, a local climate science center, inspired her to design a custom carbon emissions testing module for airplanes. John Inman used his newly gained computer
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