“The entire goal is to equip students with skills so that they can go and impact change,” Head of Upper School Cory Zeller said. This is one of the overarching concepts considered when planning and executing the Senior May Term.
May Term is a capstone project for seniors, and it’s the last major academic work they do as Parker students. Zeller is working with this year’s mentors, Visual Art Department Chair Travis Chandler and Upper School English teacher Christine Hoffman, to make May Term the best it can be, as it is their responsibility to plan and manage the logistics of the project.
Three years ago the Upper School teachers and administration decided to bring back the Senior May Term after a 50 year hiatus. Since then, May Term has become an opportunity for seniors to learn and has been reinvented to benefit the students and the community.
“We have some records of the old May term stuff in the archives, and it was vastly different,” Chandler said. “It used to be entirely based on internships. The modern May Term that we’re doing now has no internships. We want you [the students] to not have to go to work yet. We want you to explore something you’re passionate about and try to help society out a little bit.”
The need to find and complete an internship over the period provided stressed out the previous senior classes because of the pressure to develop and discover what they wanted to accomplish with the rest of their lives.
“My hope is that every student would design their own project, that they would have an idea of something they are interested in,” Zeller said. “Last year, Alex Ehrhart, Ellie Alden, and Skye Harris did this project that was based on happiness, and like what makes you happy,” she said . “They went out and around the community talking to all of these strangers, just asking, ‘What brings you joy? What makes you happy?’ It was so positive and took work, but it was so fun, too.”
One thing new for the 2024-2025 school year, is connecting the senior class with Parker Alumni. Not only do the seniors get to choose what topic they want to hone in on, but they also have different opportunities to find ideas and hear processes.
Zeller connected Hoffman and Chandler with Director of Alumni Relations and Institutional Events Chuck Lira, who brought in speakers to share how they used their Parker education to make a greater impact.
“They had an environmentalist come in, a lawyer, and a few other alumni present. I think that’s new for seniors. They were trying to figure it out. It’s sort of like an extended career day,” Zeller said.
Since its return, May Term has delved even further into supporting the Parker mission and specific ideas. Parker’s mission is to educate students to think and act with empathy, courage, and clarity as responsible citizens and leaders in a diverse democratic society and global community. In acting on these beliefs, students can help strengthen democracy and find more of themselves.
“We used to have it as much more of an open-ended passion-based project, and now it’s true to our mission,” Chandler said. “It’s more aligned with civic responsibility, but even before we found our way with that goal, we still did have some fascinating projects.”
In the past, students have stood out by building a rocket and launching it on the field, building a pizza oven and cooking in it, as well as connecting with PAWS Chicago to bring in an emotional support dog on the library patio. Although these projects are all wonderful, the administration wanted projects to come across as more meaningful. The more places students can gain inspiration from, the better.
“One of the major shifts we made was thinking about how we can have students clearly articulate where the spark of the project is. Like was it with a teacher or was it with a lesson, a class, a project, maybe, really being able to name where the inspiration is coming from and then articulating the civic resonance,” Zeller said. “These were the ones that stood out to me the most. It’s like I could tell exactly where that interest had started for them.”
Chandler agreed., “There’s been some really good student work as far as research projects go, and things that they’re passionate about sharing, and I thought they were delightful,” he said.
Not only does May Term help students share their interests, but it also helps teach them skills and helps them start to ask themselves questions.
“I hope it gives students a chance to really use their well-earned ability to choose,” Chandler said. “As you’re going through Civic lab, we’ve [the administration] structured things for you. When you get to your senior year, you finally get to pick it [your focus], and I hope that students appreciate that choice. But, it is still honest to the school, the institution, that tries to help people other than themselves.”
The May Term presentations will take place before Class Day, between the last two finals in the Upper School, for the purpose of family and friends all visiting together. Students of all grade levels are encouraged to attend the share-out day, so they can see the wonderful work that the seniors have done and gain inspiration for what their projects in the future could be.
