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Editor’s note: This continues a series that follows a group of Bonner Springs High School students as they work throughout the year on their senior projects, which are required for graduation.

The end is in sight as senior class members at Bonner Springs High School turned in the final products of their senior projects on Feb. 25.

While many of the students completed the physical part of the project during the summer, there was still plenty of work to be done leading up to this point. From filling out forms to creating a notebook to showcase the steps of their projects to writing a research paper, seniors have been busy creating a project that will make them proud.

Senior Teran Holter said her project was pretty much completed during the summer leading into her senior year. Holter shadowed three cadets from the Kansas City, Kan., Police Training Academy as part of her project. She said the project wasn’t hard because she stayed focused on deadlines.

“I’m not nervous just cause I’ve got my project done,” she said. “I’ve been looking at the forms before hand, so I knew what was coming up.”

Several forms have been due since the beginning of the year that asked students to summarize their progress as the months go on. Holter said most of the forms she completed in her English class along with her research paper.

Holter said that the project had been an enjoyable experience. Because she wants to have a career in law enforcement , Holter said this project was the perfect way to make that happen.

“I think (my project) came out really good,” she said. “I got my foot in the door. I picked something I wanted to do in my future and not just something to do because I had to do a project. That made it really fun. This might give me a step up. The next time they’re hiring (at the training academy), I might know something more that others don’t, and that’ll give me a better chance to get a job.”

Another student who also has found that keeping deadlines has made the process easier is Stephen Call. Call volunteered to paint the Church of Christ in Linwood, where he attends.

He said that because he worked hard during the summer to finish the majority of his project, he had a lot more free time during the school year to enjoy.

“I feel pretty confident,” he said. “I know I put in my best effort, and I think I’ve done pretty well through the whole thing.”

Call said the most important aspect of a senior project is time management. While he still has a few loose ends to tie up before his presentation for senior boards on May 8, Call said he’s not worried about getting everything done.

Fellow senior Cali Hackney agreed that time management was the biggest issue when it came to senior projects. Hackney has been working on her project of building a playhouse for her young cousins since the summer and just completed it two weeks ago.

She said the project was harder than she expected it to be and juggling school work and sports was a challenge.

“I think I’ve learned more about how to finish something with the best of my abilities and be proud of what I did,” she said. “It makes me happy that (my cousins) like what I did because there were a lot of times that I felt like quitting, but it makes it worth it in the end.”

But even with the challenges that came with construction, Hackney said she was not looking forward to the speech the seniors were required to give during senior boards.

“I just never believed I would have the whole project actually done,” she said of the construction phase. “I feel like I can actually calm down more. Now I just have to worry about my speech for boards.”

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