Air Academy High School seniors in Honors literature presented their product projects on March 20 to attendees of parent-teacher conferences. At the beginning of February, the seniors were tasked with a project that allowed them to connect and interview professionals outside of AAHS. Many students successfully researched, designed, and presented a product that reached and benefited a select audience but this success had its fair share of hardship.

“Seeing my product project come to fruition was very rewarding, It was one thing to consider the impact it would make but it was surreal to see the impact,” senior Nina Guevara stated.

Many schools have seen an influx of innovative projects such as this, it’s a great basis for education. Instead of just doing an essay, the seniors were tasked to go outside of the school and interview a professional in the field they were interested in. Although the project was successful many seniors found it very challenging.

“It was difficult to always balance the project, other academic obligations, and personal commitments. Though there were times when I felt overwhelmed, I learned a lot about time management and priorities from it,” senior Luke Bullow expressed.

Furthermore, many students took the project to the next level creating something creative that could truly benefit others. One senior student even took it to the next level creating a legacy project student Michael Ellsworth built a recording studio within the walls of AAHS that gives way to future Air Academy students interested in music production. Giving the students the month to create and design their products made it possible for exciting endeavors.

“Showcasing our projects at the conferences gave us a high unlike anything else. Sharing a part of ourselves and our enthusiasm with the community was just as important as merely exhibiting our work,” senior Jaime Pyrtle highlighted.

As the participants reflected on the experience, they all agreed that the Senior Product Project is an essential opportunity that sharpens critical thinking, problem-solving, and project management skills—much more than just an academic requirement. It’s a chance to explore personal passions, have a real influence, and get ready for the difficulties of life after high school.

“There was a substantial fear of failing, particularly in the beginning. It took quite a lot of work and of itself just to get overcome overthinking and learn to view failures as teaching opportunities,” senior Avi Kumar noted.

Following the success of the senior product project come the hopes and aspirations to renew the project next year for incoming seniors. Though the project had its highs and lows, it taught students many different life skills such as collaboration and time organization.

The senior product project will go on to be very influential and an incredibly Innovative way of learning many students noted the success of the project as a whole; however, when struggles were prominent the seniors learned from those struggles and turned them into something good.