On and Off Campus Blog: Senior Spring Project is the Perfect Qay to End Senior Year
By: Rania Mankodi ’25
Senior Spring Project. The home stretch of time every exhausted sophomore and burnt-
out junior looks forward to during their BB&N career. SSP, for me, has created a break
between accomplishing high school and the work that’s to come soon in college. I’ve
continued to keep busy as I did in the rest of the school year, but in a new fashion, in a
way that feels more explorative than ever before.
I’m only on campus on Mondays and Fridays because I’ve been taking the morning AP
Macroeconomics seminar to prepare for the AP exam I took last week. Later on
Mondays, I meet with the “Breads & Spreads” senior seminar with my friends. Then, I
spend the afternoon in the Alumni and Advancement Office, helping them with a variety
of tasks. Fridays are simpler as I only have to attend the senior class meeting, and then
I’m off campus for the rest of the day.
On the days I’m on campus, I have these strange blocks of time between my class and
other activities. That first week of SSP, I spent about an hour or so at Starbucks,
pondering what I should be doing with the time I’ve never had before. It felt like there
were things or work that I had to be doing–it was definitely an adjustment to use that as
relaxed, social time. I began to use the time brunch with friends I wasn’t as close with
before SSP.
On my off-campus days, I volunteer at my old elementary school, The Chestnut Hill
School. I spend most of my Wednesdays and Thursdays there in fifth and sixth grade
classrooms. I’m also a dancer, so that four-day time commitment has carried over into
SSP. Sundays are reserved for making the bread of the week with my friends.
And now, just as I’ve come to love this rhythm of class, elementary school, work, dance,
and social time, it’s ending. SSP has given me so many gifts, including the gift of time
and relaxation. I also want to share two takeaways.
SSP provides the opportunity for seniors to explore new passions or hobbies they may
never have otherwise. A lot of the “passions” high school students do in their four years
are solely to look well-rounded on a college application. What you do in SSP goes
nowhere other than into your portfolio. It truly allows seniors to do what they’re
interested in. I chose to go back to my elementary school instead of doing an internship
in my field of study. Would an internship have been better for a resume? Yes. Was that
what I wanted to do this spring? No. Do I have any regrets about it? None.
Having all the academic pressures and worries out of the way also means that it’s easier
to connect with new people. You can strike up a genuine conversation with someone on
the crosswalk from Legion to campus, or in the Commons when no one else is around.
Maybe this can be credited to the fact that we’re all graduating and understand that we
won’t see each other again, so there’s no harm in talking to people you wouldn’t usually
talk to. Whatever it is, I’m glad our class has become more friendly. In such a small
school, it would be sad not to be.
So, it’s safe to say that I’ve genuinely enjoyed every moment of this spring and all of the
fun that’s come with it. There’s no other time in life quite like SSP, where you’ll find
yourself in such a big transition with so much time on your hands. I haven’t had time in
what feels like years between school, extracurricular activities, and a job.
SSP has given me a glimpse into what real life looks like. I am incredibly grateful for the
freedom and growth opportunities SSP has offered me. It’s the calm before I embark on
my next significant chapter and I wouldn’t want to have spent it any other way.
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