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"At
Midland, I learned that good leadership comes from living by the values
you advocate. As freshman prefect, I found that simply asking for a
clean room or an honest confrontation wasn’t enough, I had to
expect the same from myself. Keeping up with my own rules and expectations
really allowed me to examine what was reasonable, fair, and worthy of
punishment. It also allowed me to trust my girls to question me and
my policies in a mutually beneficial manner."
~Fahrunnisa B, 2003
Being a senior at Midland means balancing
several responsibilities at the same time. In addition to keeping up
with classes, seniors serve as prefects and heads of jobs, demanding--and
authentic--duties (see the Leadership
page for details). Our philosophy is to give our seniors more than they
are comfortable handling, the idea being that getting through the senior
year at Midland prepares you for any future challenge.
College
Enrollments, 2001-2008
Senior
Thesis
During
the second semester, seniors choose a topic of their interest to research.
Working closely with a faculty advisor, each senior then produces
a 10+page thesis and presents his or her paper to the school. Recent
topics have included: Sustainable building; Adolescent medication;
Bible as mythology; Horse riding as therapy; Hydrogen and hybrid engines;
A study of Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison; and Humanism in science
fiction. Once the theses are finished, students who receive an A-
or above have the opportunity to present their theses to the school,
with the chance to earn a scholarship for their first semester's books
at college. The photos below show Emma Munger presenting her art project
(a portrait of each of her classmates in a different genre), and Sarah
Bellak, whose thesis explored how the UN does or doesn't respond to
genocides.
Senior
Symposium
Seniors
participate in independent projects, often related to their theses,
during Midland's Experiential Week, which happens each spring while
the juniors are in Mascota, Mexico. Each senior conducts research
to find a mentor in theirchosen field, and then spend the week apprenticing
with that person. A selected list of the Class of 2008's senior projects
follows.
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Vanessa
Barrera: Orange County Groundwater
Replenishment System—Orange County, CA
Sarah Bellak:
Education Towards Courage—Fort Ross, CA
Un Soon Choi: Teach English at an Orphanage—Korea
Naia Cobb: Gazebo School at Esalen Institute—Big
Sur, CA
Zeph Colombatto: Jeffrey’s Men’s
Fashions—New York, NY
Katie Cromack: Family Homeless Shelter—Santa
Ynez Valley, CA
Gabe Cruz: Psychiatrist/Professor—Berkeley,
CA
Emma Duncan: Educational Office at the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival (OSF)— Ashland, OR
Lilly Evans: John Berggruen Art Gallery—San
Francisco, CA
Ian Farmer: Meru Networks—San Francisco,
CA
Tasslyn Gester: Ukiah Valley Medical Hospital—Boonville,
CA
Chana Hodosh: Equine Therapy Program for Children—Malibu,
CA
Alexis Kidd: San Luis Obispo New Times Newspaper—San
Luis Obispo, CA
Daniel Martin: Architect—San Francisco,
CA
Sky Shin: GG Style, Inc.—Los Angeles,
CA
Megan Smith: Counter Balance Sculpture—Bainbridge,
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