Every year, I hold exit interviews with seniors beginning in January. Here are a few of their responses to my questions about what CAS did for them and meant to them. They also offer candid constructive criticism and their frustrations. These exit interviews allow me to shift and change and adapt to meet students' needs, so the more they offer the better. I attributed names where students permitted me to, or where I remembered to ask permission.
Diana K. (GCM '20): "CAS, as an overall experience, was not a counterbalance to the academic pressures of the IB Diploma. I did not particularly enjoy having to write reflections about my experiences on a timeline. Instead, I did CAS in my own way and on my own time, unrushed. Whether or not this choice created good results is questionable and up to you, but I preferred it this way. CAS was an unnecessary stress on top of my already busy schedules both this and last year. "
Sean M. ('20): "Mr. Booz is intense. His emails are a bit overwhelming, and he is kind of intimidating. I mean, I know he is there to help, but he really pushes us. Maybe that's a good thing."
Hannah L. ('20): “At the beginning, my reflections were trash. I didn’t think that there was any progress or growth. I was getting it done, but I didn’t see the point of it. As the process continued, I started seeing the value. It wasn’t just logging things, but I was pushing myself to complete new experiences.”
Dhyana H.: “Reflecting made [CAS] a task. It seemed a bit inauthentic.”
Quentin S. (‘20): “Junior year, I didn’t know what CAS was.”
Nicole C. (‘20): “Here’s the thing I regret about CAS. I chose to participate in activities [experiences] that were not the most meaningful. It wasn’t until my senior year that I started focusing on things [experiences] that really mattered to me."
Ife A. (GCM '20): "Sitting down and reflecting was a burden to me. I reflect a lot but sitting down and putting it all of the computer was a lot...If you BS yourself on CAS, you are kind of BSing yourself. It's the only thing that we are given that is completely about you for...the diploma."
Pelumi S. (GCM '20): "CAS felt like a lot of work. I didn't put much into the outcomes of CAS. Because of the cognitive load [of school], there was a lot to complete. I felt like I was just writing reflections to check a box but there was little meaning in it...[The reflections] seemed insincere, but that was just me.
Eugene C. ('21): "Initially when I joined the diploma program, the purpose of CAS was unclear as it seemed like another requirement for the diploma... Now having been through the program, I see CAS as a benefit for us. CAS did allow me to take note of all of my activities so that I could prepare a well rounded college application, but it also allowed me to become someone who is eager to explore her interests outside of the classroom. It helped me reflect on how I could be the solution to some of the issues I saw in my community and to collaborate with others to find that solution. I think that if CAS were to be advertised as something to help students grow personally in addition to academically (through school), it will allow diploma candidates to take advantage of CAS earlier in their diploma program journeys."
Mayuk S. ('20): "Understand the weight of everything that you do… The ability to appreciate what you do during high school."
Tenzin G. ('19): Earlier in my high school career, "I was only a member of a few clubs." CAS helped me to "grow as a leader [and] forced me to break out of my shy shell [and to be] more confident."
Garreth B. ('19): "You cannot look at this as a rubric-based process. You [cannot replicate anything] because you are creating your own program... You have to make [your program] based on who you are. It's more about finding the meaning in what you are doing."
Patrick O. ('18): “ Before CAS, I was only interested in my grades...Now, it’s so much more... [CAS] has opened up new doors to me. I absolutely love playing the guitar, doing jujitsu. [These activities] are something that I will do for the rest of my life.”
Class of 2018 graduate: CAS "pushed me more to be involved in aspects of my life that I may not have and forced me to ask myself what do I enjoy doing?" It helped me in "finding elements to improve, in trying new things."
Elise E. ('20): When I started CAS, I was not good at it. I wrote okay reflections, but tended to write all of them in a single night. I reflected for the sake of filling the requirements. However, the moment CAS became easy for me was when I began to use it as an outlet- as an outcome of my work. Reflecting on all of the activities that I do makes me feel like there is an end-product to what I am doing. Instead of doing week after week of activity with no end, I have goals and outcomes that I am trying to reach. This created a sense of accomplishment for my hours. I began to enjoy reflecting now because I could just talk about what I was doing. I get to talk about the things I'm doing and the things I care about. Rather than mindlessly reflecting, I now reflect when I want to. When I actually complete a goal, or need to talk about something in one of my activities, and sit and write about it. My CAS portfolio now serves as somewhere between a compilation of reflections, a diary, and a starting point for college essays, but I have made it what I want it to be because I have learned and appreciate the importance and benefits of reflecting.
Sydney R. ('19): “CAS is less about [doing] service and more about reflection.”
Lily T. ('19): “The point of CAS is not the number of hours but the reflections.”
Ethan N ('19): The reflections helped in "clarifying [my] thought and helped me in changing directions, thinking about using more effective drills in marching band."
Eleanor H. ('19): "It was the reflections that were the most meaningful. I can't always recognize why what I am doing is worth doing until I reflect on what I was doing."
Alyson R. ('20): “I found it useful when writing college essays. I finally understand the purpose as I [chose my prompts].”
(Many seniors): The reflections helped me with my college essays.
Andy A. ('18): The reflections helped me "to see what impact I am making...having to reflect on everything showed me what I learn[ed] in the [previous] months."
Emma W. ('18): "Most of my college [apps] required me to write about service, so I was able to take the best concepts from my reflections to use as my essays. It saved a lot of time."
Angele M. ('19): "I was just going along with everything and fulfilling the hours that I had to do. When I began writing the reflections, I began to see my progress. This year, I reread what I had written and began to realize how much I was changing and growing...I included videos and pictures, and it was fun to see what I had accomplished but also [to see] the setbacks and how I coped with the problems. Near the beginning, I was very lost in trying to accomplish that goal.”
Emma S. ('19): “For certain parts [of my college essays], I revisited my reflections and that helped.”
Lauren E. ('19): “CAS is much more about the reflection than the things you do. What matters is what you get out it... If something went wrong, then I was able to write a reflection about that setback.”
Rishil M. ('19): “When I play the violin, I am thinking about myself. One of the [elements] of the reflections was the focus on other people. The reflections allowed me to think about opening up to other people in the orchestra.”
Michaela H. ('21): "Overall, it's been really helpful to have CAS because, although it was a lot of work, it made me stop and think about the things I was doing, and the reasons why I was doing so, which have contributed to more self-awareness and personal growth."
Kaja S. (‘20): “CAS helped me to practice failure in a non-academic way.”
Chloe U. ('20): “I found myself being more engaged with people at work. I DO know how to be more collaborative.”
Kenny Q. ('18): “CAS gave me a structure to what I do. What am I doing? Why I am doing this? How will this help me?”
Gwyneth M. ('18): "I felt like I was working on the self outside of the requirements for IB." CAS did "provide balance."
Class of 2018 graduate: CAS "puts into perspective how well you take in the actions you do" and helps you to think "about how experiences affect your life, how your environment may have some impact on you."
Nate H. ('18): CAS made me "[realize] that the things you do can have a lot more meaning. I was learning more than just content when teaching others."
Katie W. ('21): "For people who are in the beginning of the CAS process, here is some advice. CAS is a journey, not a race to the finish line. Spread out the reflections because it will allow the journey to progress. Racing through CAS is not a good idea because there will be more reflections to be done than needed. That will take away time that could be spent on other things such as sleeping and studying."
Connor S. ('21)): "If I were to .... do CAS again, I would begin with a higher focus on the self-development. When I was writing the initial descriptions, I noticed that I was writing more about what the activity was versus my personal goals within the activity. That way I could set clearer expectations for myself, especially ones that didn't seem forced or unrealistic. Ultimately, I liked the fact that CAS definitely helped me grow as a person, which is something that I wasn't really expecting to happen."
Nikita A.: ('21): "If I could do CAS all over again, I would definitely be more proactive with reflecting and try to schedule a time to do them so that I was always on top of it. I think sometimes I used to reflect a lot over a couple of weeks and then take a break for a few weeks in a row when I got stressed or was lazy. I think if I could do CAS again, I would set reminders on my phone to record reflections because I have realized that it really does not take long to do, I just have to dedicate time to do it."
Sheily R. ('21): "If I were to do CAS all over again, I would make sure all my reflections are sincere rather than trying to follow the exemplar reflections. After beginning to find what formatting worked for me, the weight of CAS that I had initially felt went away and it turned out to be more enjoyable."
Rachel O. (GCM '21): "If I were to repeat CAS, I would have changed my outlook from the beginning. I felt really overwhelmed by all the work that needed to be done so much so that I was not able to really see the benefits of CAS until the end. Not only did it initially force me to create a program that I now really love, but my CAS project also helped me bulk up my college applications to stand out. I wish I could have known how all this work would have made me really think about the choices I made and help shift my mindset to better myself. I have never put so much thought into my afterschool volunteering activities. Now that I have, I feel like I gain so much more from them because I can see how I have changed and how these skills can be used in the real world. I would also not put so much pressure on myself to feel like I have to complete all the goals that I created."
Liz E. (GCM '21): "I don't think CAS needs to be overwhelming or difficult at all. Maybe something that could be done better is a better introduction to what the requirements are. I'm sure part of this experience is figuring out what to do when thrown into something (and that was the thing I was most proud of), but if that wasn't intentional on your part I would suggest a mini "field trip" running through how to reflect. Also, reinforcing the importance of the website because that really is the biggest help."
Esheka G. (GCM '20): "Being honest in the reflections and focusing on how you didn't meet your goals" matters more than pretending [to always be successful]".
Shruti S. (GCM ‘20): “CAS isn’t the fulfillment of hours… Focus less on creating plans and more on creating goals. Goals allow for greater flexibility. The plans may help you be more organized, but they don’t help you consider the situation and the different types of scenarios that you may encounter.”
Wilson T. (GCM ‘20): “Focus on the experiences that you want to do. Taking the time to reflect allowed me to take a break from school and think about me. Ignore formatting. Just put your thoughts on a piece of paper. It’s far more enjoyable that way.”
Daaniyaa S. ('20): "If I had one piece of advice for the upcoming juniors, it would be to treat CAS like a glorified diary/journal of the following two years of your high school life. Reflect in a way that makes it personal to you and that makes a whole world of a difference in actually writing these. My initial mistake was following the example reflections and experience formatting too rigidly and it was extremely suffocating to have to do; Once I found my groove, it was almost enjoyable to reflect on my experiences knowing that I could look back at this at the end of senior year and be proud of what I have accomplished :)"
Jayla A. ('20): For students just starting CAS, I would tell them to not consider CAS reflections as seriously as I did when I first began writing them. I thought they all had to be formal, but many of my informal reflections were the most honest and reflective ones that I had written. Overall, CAS did not have a significant impact on my life, but did push me to try and think more critically about my experiences and the effects they had on my life. While the reflections were tiresome, they did help me identify any progress that was occuring [sic] in my experiences and goals.
Sophie T. and Riya S. ('20) "I didn't really read the documents [Booz provided] until the end of the year. I mean I read some of the them, but...everything you need to know is in them. They are actually really helpful."
Jad M. (‘20): “Consistency is key in CAS.”
Nicole C. (‘20): “Things that I thought were stupid were actually beneficial, were actually helpful, like coming to see [Mr. Booz].”
Will H. ('19): "What was most important were the one-on-one meetings with" any coordinators.
Grace G. ('19): “I found the questions on ManageBac really helpful, and I just began to deal with the different stages in my experiences.”