The countdown to senior projects has finally begun. With spring approaching, many seniors are preparing to leave campus and start their internships. “I’m really excited for the opportunity to gain experience working with something that I’m interested in,” said senior Gaby Mezzacappa.

Spanish teachers Diane Remenar and Margaret Randazzo, leaders of the Senior Project program, believe that senior projects are a great opportunity for students to “get off campus.” “Come May, senioritis is in full bloom, the students are ready to move on and the teachers are happy to see them move on,” they explained.

The senior project program was created as a way for seniors to explore an area of interest to them while at the same time gaining educational experience outside of the school environment. “It gives [the seniors] insight into what the real world is like when you start to work,” Ms. Remenar commented.

Joey Gutfleish

Senior Joey Gutfleish is certainly looking forward to the end of her senior year. For her upcoming senior project, Joey will be working with East Coast Assistance Dogs, ECAD, an organization in Dobbs Ferry, New York, which trains and places Assistance Dogs with disabled people in the tri-state area. Founded in 1995, the non-profit organization has specialized in allowing autistic children and returning veterans with PTSD a chance to gain independence and mobility with their Assistance Dogs.

Joey’s job at the organization will be to work with the incoming litters of puppies in order to prepare them for their grueling training process they must go through in order to become official Assistance Dogs. The puppies must interact with others before they begin working with their disabled owners. “I’ll help with their training, like learning how to cross streets directly and how to develop emotional connections,” said Joey.

ECAD uses all different breeds and variations of dogs in their program, though Joey will work mainly with the incoming litters of puppies who are just beginning the training program. “I’ll be more involved with the younger dogs, because as they get older, you can’t play with them as much because they’re more professional dogs and require a larger skill set to train,” said Joey.

Joey is no stranger to ECAD, as she’s been working with the organization since she was young. “I volunteered there when I was younger and we would always have family friends who would host some of the dogs for a couple of weekends to help with their human interactions,” said Joey.

Joey’s family has also long been involved with the program which is based in Dobbs Ferry, where Joey used to live. “We always used to go to these fairs in town that would help raise money for the organization because it’s non-profit, and we also went to a couple of the dog graduations, when they graduate from the program,” said Joey.

Joey didn’t pick her senior project based on any particular career path she wants to take in life. “I just wanted to do something for my senior project that wasn’t sitting behind a desk, but a place where I could enjoy my last three weeks of high school,” said Joey, “And now I get to give back to the community where I used to live. I can’t wait.”

Nia Vogel

Things are looking sweet for senior Nia Vogel. For her upcoming senior project, Nia will be working at Sherry B Dessert Studio in Chappaqua, New York, owned by Hackley mom Sherry Blockinger, parent to eight grader Jocelyn Blockinger.

Working at the bakery, whose dessert options include cookies, brownies and cupcakes, should come second nature to Nia. “I really like baking, not necessarily as a career, but definitely as a hobby,” said Nia.

At Sherry B, Nia will have the opportunity to help out in the kitchen by baking pastries and other goods for the bakery, while also helping with the management staff and greeting customers at the front desk. Though she’s ready to explore all of these sides of working in a bakery, there is one area in particular that she’s most looking forward to. “I’m really excited to bake real, professional cupcakes; I think that will be really cool and a lot of fun,” said Nia. She is certainly aware that the job is a great opportunity for her. “I want to get the chance to do it while I still can,” said Nia.

Spanish teacher and leader of the senior project program Margaret Randazzo was vital in helping to plan Nia’s internship at Sherry B’s. “I told Ms. Randazzo that I was interested in baking and she set the whole thing up; she was incredibly helpful in all of the planning,” said Nia.

Though many seniors choose their projects based on the specific career path they plan to take in life, Nia did the exact opposite.

“I don’t think I’ll be pursuing it as a career, so I can just enjoy with job without having any future implications coming from it,” said Nia. However, she is aware that this may end up opening the door to the greater possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead for her in the field of baking. “If I learn that this is something that I am really good at and enjoy doing, maybe I’ll be able to continue doing it in the future,” said Nia.

Nia is sure that she will enjoy this next endeavor in her path. “The one thing I really want to get out of this experience is to have fun,” said Nia.

Mike Leonard

Rather than saying goodbye to Hackley for the spring like many other seniors, Michael Leonard will be staying at school to be a student teacher for his senior project. Michael will be teaching ninth grade math and science classes, working with physics teacher Seth Karpinski and possibly math teacher Keshena Richardson. This is ideal for Michael because he is passionate about math and science, hoping to studying engineering in college.

Although many students need some time to think about what they might want to do for their senior project, Michael knew almost immediately that he wanted to be involved in student teaching. “I chose this project because I have been working in peer tutoring for the past two to three years, and I really enjoy that [one to one teaching] aspect, so I want to continue that. I want to teach a class and see how it’s different, because I enjoy everything about it,” said Michael.

Senior projects are a great opportunity for students to think about what they may want to follow as a career path, but Michael isn’t sure yet if teaching is something he wants to pursue in the future. He wants to stay focused on his engineering studies in college, but thinks that student teaching will be “a fun project to do.”

Besides the fact that student teaching is a great way to continue what Michael loves from peer tutoring, he also hopes to strengthen his leadership skills. “To me, a big component of [leadership] is explaining things to people, so teaching really shows you how people think differently,” said Michael. “You have to have patience and be able to work well with different sorts of people.”