For her Senior Spring Project (SSP), Katie Baker ’23 volunteered at Spruce Street, a nursery school for children ages 2-5 she herself attended, and interned at Locke Lord Law Firm, where she conducted due diligence for lawyers. At school, Katie played JV Golf, took a Beatles seminar taught by Upper School (US) Math Teacher Chip Rollinson and occasionally participated in ceramics classes as an independent study with US Ceramics Teacher Christian Tonsgard.
Before volunteering at Spruce Street Nursery School, Katie worked as a nanny. She was eager for an opportunity to interact with children once again during her SSP, she said.
“I knew that I wanted to work at Spruce Street,” she said. “I love it there. I love the people there. I’m volunteering in the same class with the teacher that I once had.”
Katie found her internship at Locke Lord by looking at the list of opportunities provided by the school, thanks to its partnership with alums, parents, and local businesses, and consulted a parent she knew who worked there.
“I’d never had a professional internship before Locke Lord nor worked in an office, but I loved it and am looking forward to starting my career in an office one day,” she said.
Learning how to conduct due diligence was important for Katie because of the role it plays in investments, which is a field she may pursue a career in, she said.
“I definitely want to go into business, so I’ve had the opportunity to learn about the legal side of private equity at Locke Lord, which is fascinating,” she said.
Tess Holland ’23 volunteered at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester and interned at an eco-friendly home goods store in Arlington called YES! Your Eco Source for her Senior Spring Project. She also played alongside the Varsity Golf Team and took a cooking class offered by Upper School (US) History Teacher Steele Sternberg and Assistant to the US Director Rachel Efstathion.
Her love of science guided her choice of projects, she said.
“I’m interested in environmentalism and science, more generally.”
Naturally, Tess was excited to garden at Wright-Locke Farm, she said.
“I love working at the farm; I’ve been doing it for a year or two now, so I knew that I wanted to continue volunteering there because I like the people there and enjoy gardening,” Tess said.
She discovered the internship at YES! Your Eco Source through the list of internships the school provides and applied because she thought she might pursue a related field of study in college.
At the eco-store, Tess researched the safety of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and investigated to determine whether or not it was a microplastic. Her internship gave her courage, Tess said.
“A takeaway from my Senior Spring Project is to try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone,” she said. “I was a little nervous about taking the internship at the eco-friendly store but I’ve gained a lot from it, and I’m glad I took the chance to push myself,” she said.
“A takeaway from my Senior Spring Project is to try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone,” she said. “I was a little nervous about taking the internship at the eco-friendly store but I’ve gained a lot from it, and I’m glad I took the chance to push myself,” she said.
Alisa Ishii’s ’23 Senior Spring Project consisted of an independent study with architecture teachers at the school, lessons from a local architect, and an internship with the Upper School (US) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Global Education office. She also participated in Impact, a self-defense seminar, a Formula One seminar, and Resilient Voices, a show organized by Nejma Reza ’23.
Alisa’s passion for architecture began when she was a sophomore in Introduction to Architecture. She later enrolled in Advanced Architecture during her junior year and in an Advanced Architecture II/Independent Study during her senior year.
“Architecture is something that I fell in love with during high school, and I’m currently not sure if that’s something I want to continue in college or as a career, so I decided to make the most of something that I learned to love in high school,” she said.
For her independent study, Alisa worked in the school’s architecture studio for seven hours a week in preparation for two art shows at school. She designed a collection of bus stops for the Petropoulos Show and created public restroom designs for the Senior Art Show at the end of the year.
While working at local architect David Whitney’s P ’18 ’21 firm, Alisa sat in on his meetings with his clients about the progress of the construction of their houses, and had the opportunity to create and analyze her own blueprint of a house.
Alisa learned the importance of balancing the client’s hopes for their homes with the architect’s ideas and expertise, she said.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned through my internship is patience,” she said. “The clients that I am shadowing tend to be particular about what they like, and by mirroring the way David approaches his clients, I’ve learned patience and the importance of communication,” she said.
Alisa said that her internship with Mr. Whitney has made her realize she would not like to be a full-time architect, but might want to pursue a job connected to design.
