Senior Spotlight: Jocelyn
how do you feel your time at cwhs has shaped you as a person?
What has shaped me the most in my time here has been learning how to be a more communicative individual. I've learned, specifically with the smaller class sizes, how to speak up for myself. And since we are a smaller class, sometimes an opinion is not a very shared opinion among the group, or you just have a very unpopular comment or something, and I learned how to speak up for myself and how to ask for help.
Our class has very productive discussions where it's like, “Okay, you see something this way, I see it this way,” and we’re not arguing about it, but more sharing with each other a new perspective. That's a very helpful skill that I've learned that I think is going to help me in my life.
what's been your favorite morning lesson that you've taken?
The Developmental Biology block with Ms. Hasanbegovic! I mean, there was just so much. There were really cool drawings on the boards and I just enjoyed learning how the body works. We learned how blood flows through the heart, how the eyes receive things, and how we perceive color. It was just like a really cool block.
Looking back at your time in high school, what are some memories that stick out to you?
I think the trips, honestly. In ninth grade, when we went to Missouri, it was the first time that I stayed away from home for a really long time — it was a brand new experience and it was very daunting. I was very nervous when I first went into it.
All the trips that we've gone on, I feel like I come back knowing a lot more about myself. Last year, we worked at a farm (and I've never worked on a farm before) or the year before that we went to build houses and it was my first time using power tools. So, not only coming back with physical skills, but also I feel like I've become more independent. I think the experience of the trips is going to help me so much in college.
Tell us a little bit about your senior project, the process, and your final presentation!
For my senior project, I'm doing a research project on how the cyber world impacts Generation Alpha. The focus will be on seeing how technology being a prominent part of their childhood will affect their development. I'm specifically focusing on the mental development, physical development, and social development — based off of my research, those were the three things that called my attention the most.
What inspired me to do this project is my family, specifically my younger cousins, and seeing how their childhood is different to mine and how their play and imagination is different to mine. I’m curious to see all of the differences and what impact it has on their lives.
Is this a topic that you've always been interested in or was it newly exciting as you were brainstorming potential projects?
It was one of those topics that came up when I was brainstorming. I was originally thinking of doing a presentation like why water is important — why it's important to drink enough water, the benefits it has, and why it's a really important part of our body. I was also thinking about doing a deep dive on ballet folklórico, which is a certain kind of dance style that isn't really talked about here in the States.
But I ended up feeling the most connected to this topic because it's something that I saw in my life and in my family. It was something that's also so recent and upcoming and there's a lot of research coming out about it right now. So it just felt very timely.
What are your plans after you graduate?
It depends on which school I choose for college, but I’m planning on pursuing a path in the IT field (more specifically focusing on either computer science or IT management and analysis) because it's a profession I would like to pursue after graduating from college.