GDS Experience

Senior Projects

Seniors at Greensboro Day School participate in a self-designed Senior Project during the last four weeks of the school year. The Senior Project provides students with the opportunity to utilize the skills they have acquired during their GDS education and explore existing passions or career possibilities before entering college. They are able to intern with non-profit organizations, government agencies, and businesses located in Greensboro, out of town, and even internationally. Seniors can also choose to work with artists, chefs, surgeons, scientists, financiers, and myriad other professionals, learning what motivates their mentors in their everyday work. The projects encourage students to practice effective written and oral communication, solve real-world problems, and learn independently.

The Senior Project is the capstone experience of a GDS education. The program is designed to address the following desired results for student learning that the faculty has established as important goals for all Greensboro Day School students: 

  • Effective reading and research skills
  • Effective written and oral communication skills 
  • Collaboration and leadership skills
  • Real-world problem-solving 
  • Creativity and entrepreneurial spirit 
  • Independent learning and self-knowledge
Kelsey ('17) completed her Senior Project with the United Way of Greater Greensboro.

"One of my tasks today was to fill bags with a few books for various elementary schools in Guilford County. United Way and agencies linked with United Way have donated these books to schools who are lacking a surplus of books for their young students. I also put together bins and placed the "United Way" label on them. Some of the "Book Bags" also included educational flash cards for younger students. We are sending these bags of books to Archer, Foust, Jones, and Wiley Elementary Schools.

It feels good to know that packing books into hundreds of bags, a mindless task, is helping to educate young students in the Greensboro area. It's cool to think that thousands of words will be learned by a couple hundred students from reading these books. It shows how important books are in educating our community's youth."
John's ('17) Senior Project is titled The Art and Mathematics Inside a Grand Piano. He worked at a piano restoration company.

"My project is centered on the construction and maintenance of grand pianos. There are a myriad of intricate parts that go into a grand piano, and diagnosing, tuning, and repairing a grand involves a wide array of problem solving skills.  My goal for the project is to utilize the skills I have learned in applied physics and mathematics and take them into real world practice. Additionally, I aim to develop my engineering skills as well as my woodworking abilities, which are necessities outside of the classroom. I also am very excited to learn about my own piano, so that I could potentially tune and fix it myself. I look forward to sharing my experiences in the weeks to come!"
 
Greensboro Day School develops the intellectual, ethical, and interpersonal foundations students need to become constructive contributors to the world.