Independent studies are a great way for USN students to explore and learn more about their passions while also receiving credit for their work. From French Literature to Theoretical Concepts of Classical Composers, the diverse range of subjects chosen by these students piqued the interest of the McMullan Scholars. They, in turn, hosted an exposition on Thursday, May 9, to showcase the students’ research and hard work from this past semester.
“People who do independent studies have really interesting projects and things they learn about, and there hasn’t been a way for them to showcase that to the broader community,” said McMullan Scholar Kate Vaughn ‘24.
The Durnan Auditorium was transformed with foldable tables around the edges where each student set up their booths. In the middle sat a huge table of pizza and candy. Some students used their tables to present artwork they had created, others set up tri-folds, and Mason Lack ‘26 used an interactive model to display his work in discrete mathematics.
At the beginning of the day’s X-Block, high school students began to filter in. Many students initially came because of the promise of free pizza but ended up finding themselves enraptured by the work of their peers. The McMullan Scholars also invited parents and the USN community to attend a second showing of the expo later that evening.
“I came for the pizza [but] stayed for the projects,” said Cameron Thompson ‘24, as his friends nodded in agreement.
One thing that caught everyone by surprise was the large number of lower school students who had shown up to learn about older students’ independent studies.
“It’s really great, especially for kids who are thinking about what high school is going to be like, and it gives them a really impressive model for the type of things they might have the ambition to do as high school students,” said independent studies coordinator Michael Hansen.
Hansen has been in charge of the independent studies at USN for the past three years. Prior to this year, he has felt that this work has flown under the radar. But the expo solved this problem.
“The independent studies program always has a lot of really cool stuff, but often the only people who see it are the student’s sponsor and maybe a few faculty when they present at the end of a semester. But looking around right now, I bet you there have been well over one hundred people in the room so far,” said Hansen.
Many of the students presenting booths agreed.
Eliana Gorden ‘24 and Clara Smail ‘24 were set up adjacent to one another as lower schoolers and high schoolers alike stopped for a few minutes to talk to them about their presentations. Gorden’s independent study was in letterpress printing, while Smail’s was in French Literature.
“I think this whole thing is a really good idea, and I think it’s a cool opportunity to see what other people are interested in and to learn about your classmates,” said Gorden.
“It’s also cool because most people do their studies solo, and people don’t get to share it a lot, so it’s just cool to see what everyone else is doing,” echoed Smail.
Throughout the expo, the McMullan Scholars — Vaughn, Eli Galentino ‘24, Nick Venable ‘24, and Gidgie Bass ‘24 — walked around the auditorium, ensuring everything was running smoothly. Bass had a booth of her own where she showed off her work in filmmaking.
Overall, the event appeared to be a huge success, and the scholars are hopeful that their hard work will lead to this becoming an annual or even biannual event. Having one in each semester would bring even more attention to the independent study program, and it could inspire high school students to create their own independent studies.
