Senior showcase
Driven by his love for the beach and surfing, senior Matthew Tucker aims to address environmental harm caused by industry standard surfboards made with toxic materials by creating a sustainable surfboard, made from cedar wood and a plant-based epoxy.
As traditional surfboards typically emit around 165 kilograms of carbon dioxide, Tucker was able to
significantly reduce his surfboard’s carbon footprint in comparison to only 15 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Tucker plans to make a second model in the future, improving his design with a plywood skeleton that could decrease a surfboard’s weight and waste.
“I want to take this as far as I possibly can,” Tucker said. “We only have one ocean, and I really want to try and help it as much as I can.”
Working behind the bar, senior Lea Bygrave spends her shifts preparing and mixing drinks while attentively serving customers.
Bygrave completed a two week bartending course to earn a bartending license. Bygrave said the job also helped her to improve her confidence, develop her communication skills and step into a leadership role. However, Bygrave faced challenges from her cheer coaches as her practices overlapped with bartending classes.
“They were threatening me, saying they’re going to take me off matt, and they eventually did, but that was just something that I had to learn as I grew up,” Bygrave said. “I’ve been doing cheer since eighth grade, and I really loved it, but I was not gonna get pushed around.”
Working after school and on weekends, Bygrave earns around $700 to $800 per week. She plans to continue bartending in college.
“I wanted a project that would be a stretch for me, especially because I struggled to talk to people,” Bygrave said. “Now it’s part of my job, and I’m still working on it to this day.”
Squinting into the bright sunlight, senior Allen Neff watches as his model rocket shoots 1500 feet into the sky.
Neff’s senior project involved him earning the National Association of Rocketry Level 1 High Power Model Rocketry license, which required him to build, launch and safely recover a model rocket with an H or I class motor. Motors are classified based on their impulse, and the license allows Neff to purchase H and I class motors, which are typically shipped as explosives, without the need for extensive paperwork approval.
“I’m going into aerospace engineering, and while it’s not directly related, [getting the license] does show that I am responsible,” Neff said. “It’s also just fun to build model rockets.”
