Upper School

Niara Sherrod '26: Northwind Animal Hospital

I was inspired by my love for animals and the need for clarity. I have many interests, and though I plan to major in animal behavior in college, I wanted to explore fields relating to animals more thoroughly.

Shadowing vets and techs at Northwind Animal Hospital gave me an opportunity to see behind the scenes of those who work with animals and their daily tasks. I also have a dog — who goes to Northwind! — and I figured this opportunity would allow me to understand her better as well.

Sophie Winter '26: Haptics and Medical Robotics (HAMR) Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University

When I was brainstorming Senior Projects, I saw it as an opportunity to learn about types of jobs that I may be interested in. I want to help improve healthcare on a broader scale than direct patient care, so in college, I will be studying biomedical engineering. As an engineer, I will have two main pathways: industry and research.

For my Senior Project, I wanted to explore research at one of the high-quality universities in the area, so I read about different labs, and I reached out to principal investigators (PIs) and connected with the Haptics and Medical Robotics (HAMR) Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, working with the prosthetic hand researchers. The experience was invaluable. I've learned about the work environment and gone to meetings, and I've learned standard electrical engineering skills, including working with sEMG sensors, which read electrical signals from muscles.

One of the most valuable takeaways for me, however, is that cold emailing does work, and that people are happy to offer opportunities if you give them the chance by asking. The lab offered for me to stay on into the summer, so I am continuing my work there and, when I finish my Senior Project, the goal is to exhibit it at the Maryland Science Center, which will be yet another fantastic opportunity.

Maya Rodriguez '26: Northwest Hospital & Hunger Free Zone

I was inspired to do a volunteer-based project because I wanted to feel as though I was spending the time given to us for Senior Projects in a manner that is meaningful to me. I chose to spend half of each week volunteering at Northwest Hospital, since it fulfilled my desire to give back to my community and experience the medical environment I am interested in exploring as a career path.

I spent the latter half of each week volunteering with Hunger Free Zone (HFZ), where we cooked and distributed free, hot meals to food deserts of Baltimore City via food truck. I have worked with HFZ for five years now and have become very passionate about supporting their mission, so I knew I had to allocate some of my Senior Project time to the organization.

Chandler Julianelle '26: FIRST Tech Challenge & McDonogh Middle School

I was inspired to make a robotics course for Middle School Academy to help support our FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team with their outreach for next season. Spreading the values of FIRST and teaching STEM to younger students is a big part of the FIRST mission, and using the Academy program to do so helped greatly to expand our outreach efforts. The experience meant a lot to me as it will continue to help the team be recognized for their outreach in the community even after I graduate, and it will hopefully bring in more members to the team that will continue to move it forward.

Kylie Mentzer '26: North Carolina State University

My godfather is the athletic director at North Carolina State University, so I grew up around college sports. I've loved playing and watching sports for as long as I can remember, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to use my Senior Project as a way to explore a career in sports.

I shadowed many people throughout my week in Raleigh, and I quickly learned that "working in sports" can mean so many different things. I was so impressed by everyone I had the opportunity to meet with, and the whole experience exceeded my expectations.

Max Rose '26: Baltimore Ravens

I chose to spend my Senior Project as a scouting intern with the Baltimore Ravens because I have always been passionate about sports — football in particular — and wanted to learn more about the personnel side of the game and what goes on behind the scenes.

The experience gave me the opportunity to study film, write scouting reports, attend organizational meetings, and work alongside professionals in one of the NFL's most successful front offices. It was an incredible experience that showed me the amount of preparation and work that goes into building a successful team. More than anything, the project gave me a firsthand look at a career field I hope to pursue and further strengthened my passion for the game.

Ava Sesay '26: McCarthy, Winkelman & Mester, L.L.P.

I worked alongside my friend Tess Mester '26 at McCarthy, Winkelman & Mester in medical malpractice law. During our time there, we visited the Circuit Courts, spoke with female judges, and assisted in the office by researching lawsuits, reviewing depositions, and completing other tasks that gave us a realistic look at life in a law firm.

Although much of the work involved the behind-the-scenes details that keep a firm running, it was rewarding to feel like we were contributing to important cases and helping the attorneys do their jobs effectively. This experience was especially meaningful because I hope to work within the justice system one day, and seeing successful women in the field inspired me while reinforcing my desire to make a positive impact on others' lives.

Vivie Labellarte '26: The Authentic Irpinia & Antica Trattoria Di Pietro

For my Senior Project, I had the unique opportunity to combine several interests: anthropology, linguistics, language, entrepreneurship, and cooking.

One of my hosts was Sarah Pompeii, an American who left her job as a political campaign manager in California to start a company, The Authentic Irpinia, in the Italian region where her grandparents were born. My other host was Anita DiPietro, who leads a family-run restaurant focused on local traditions and locally sourced food: Antica Trattoria Di Pietro.

I was immersed in culture, customs, challenges, and traditional cooking methods where food is not fast, and relationships are forged over every aspect of sharing a meal. It left me with more curiosity about how the regional values affect cultural differences — for example, Antica Trattoria Di Pietro emphasizes slow, locally sourced food rather than off-season, globally sourced food.

I experienced a region, town, and community that is mostly undiscovered and holds onto its values, and so much more.

Shivank Gupta '26: Private Consultancy Partnership

I worked alongside Dr. Arik Brown, where I designed and coded a website for his engineering consulting business and reviewed the MATLAB code in his textbook to ensure all graphs were generated without any errors.

I chose this project because, as a future engineering physics major, I wanted to gain experience with MATLAB, since I hadn't used it before, and improve my coding and presentation skills. I enjoyed working with Dr. Arik Brown and am grateful for this experience, as it gave me the opportunity to learn more about MATLAB as well as HTML and CSS.