WHAT IS CAPSTONE?

It is a three-week, student-generated experience that fosters innovation and engagement in a real-world context. It gives students opportunities such as...

• A chance to explore, test-drive, or jumpstart a potential career path or college major

• An intensive investigation of a central question or problem that each senior articulates to guide their experience:

  • Question and explore,

  • Understand,

  • Evaluate perspectives,

  • Synthesize ideas, and

  • Transmit what they learn to others

Seniors begin their Capstone journeys on the very first day of class their senior year. They explore many options in their initial push to find a topic that will comprehensively display their CSS experience while also developing a deeper appreciation for a personal interest. Through networking exercises with professionals, seniors then conduct informational interviews and formulate the Essential Questions to answer during their Capstone project itself. An assigned Faculty Sponsor and the Capstone Director meet periodically with each senior throughout the year to solidify each project's plan. Normally, seniors also secure a Community Mentor, an expert in their chosen field, to help guide and supervise each project.

This year, however, with the required stay-at-home orders, the seniors of 2020 worked feverishly with the Capstone Director and Faculty Sponsors to redesign their projects to be more online and homebound than anticipated. As a result, each senior was able to revise their plans while still preserving the essence of the Capstone experience. Although the projects may have changed in several ways from their original design, these seniors clearly showed an impressive ability to adapt and thrive, both hallmarks of a true CSS graduate.