In The News: Showcasing senior projects

When Alex Stefanovich decided last summer that he wanted to become a paramedic and firefighter, it naturally followed that he would base his senior project on his future career.

A regular volunteer at the Newberg Fire Department, Stefanovich connected with fire marshal Chris Mayfield and gave fire safety presentations to every classroom at the five elementary schools in the Newberg Fire District.

Connecting with a mentor was a key component for all of this year’s senior projects at Newberg High School, which is inviting them, former mentors and the rest of the community to the school Thursday to see what the class of 2015 has been up to.

TigerCon: Senior Showcase will run from 6 to 8 p.m. in the NHS Commons and feature more than 300 projects.

The hope is that the community will reciprocate the students’ engagement by brainstorming, refining ideas, conversing or getting to know their future plans and in doing so, perhaps open up some possibilities for the school’s younger students.

“We have lots of students doing sports camps with youth in the community,” teacher Colin Schaeffer said. “Some students have been doing blood drives. Some are doing fabrication, connecting with businesses like Newberg Steel. I had a student who did a horticulture project for the city, planting and building a garden in certain places. It varies all across the board.”

A native of Russia, Stefanovich and his mother moved to the United States five years ago to live with his stepfather.

After connecting with Mayfield, Stefanovich set a curriculum for each grade level and worked with the principals at Antonia Crater, Edwards, Ewing Young, Joan Austin and Mabel Rush elementary schools to set up a schedule.

For younger children, Stefanovich focused his presentations on a few key lessons, like not playing with dangerous objects, listening to their parents and, most importantly, what to do in case of a fire in their home.

“In an emergency situations, a lot of people would panic,” Stefanovich said. “What we’re trying to do is set the foundation so when something does happen, kids know what to do. We all do fire drills in our schools, but not a lot of people do at home.”

For children in fourth and fifth grade, his presentations centered on the consequences of good and bad peer pressure because at that age, peer pressure becomes a bigger influence on their behavior.

Stefanovich said it took him a few presentations to get the hang of things and before long it became quite enjoyable.

“They enjoy seeing firefighters, so it was easier to talk to them,” he said. “I had to adjust my speaking a little bit, simplify some terms, which was also a good activity for me to learn how to talk to younger kids and teach them effectively.”

The Newberg Fire Department Fire Academy is normally reserved for students 18 years old and older who have finished high school, but an exception was made for Stefanovich to attend during the current semester.

That and the experience he had with his senior project have convinced him he has made the right career choice.

“It was just a lot of fun,” Stefanovich said. “I enjoyed it and would do it again and again. It’s just a very good experience to have. I became more confident in myself mainly because I’m able to do things I wasn’t able to before.”

Written by: Seth Gordon