Senior Options Signals Shift From High School to Life Beyond

The Senior Options program gives graduating high schoolers the opportunity to explore unique internships in the month leading up to graduation. With classes finished and AP exams completed, students are required to enrich their learning in the most immersive way possible: working in professional fields. Whether it be assisting their favorite elementary school teacher, being an accompanist at a music school, baking cakes, working for government officials, or even writing this article, the depth of the Senior Options program is one of Scarsdale High School’s highlighted features. Even though many other schools in the area have similar programs, the networking provided by Scarsdale and the range of experiences is next to none.

Students may choose to work on independent projects rather than internships, which could entail creating an hour-long magic show or even writing a novel. However, the vast majority opt for internships.

The 392 graduating students must complete a total of 168+ hours of work across 28+ days which must span six weeks. At face value, that may seem like a lot, but if only school days and non-holidays are worked on, that would still equate to just six hours per day – the same length as a normal school day. Many students find themselves smashing the above numbers with ease. For some, the transportation time is eye-opening, but it is not too difficult of an obstacle to overcome.

Upon conclusion of Senior Options, there are always some mixed reviews. A majority of students return with a new outlook on the workforce thanks to more immersion than they thought they would experience. Others say their experience was more or less what they expected, but still satisfying nonetheless. And, unfortunately, there are times when a handful of students admit they were bored out of their minds during senior options because they thought they would be, for example, in an operating room, but instead, they were instructed to read textbooks the entire time.

Personal anecdotes about the first couple of weeks of Senior Options show the depth with which students are enabled to learn in these new settings. 

Eli Greenwald is working at New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ district office. He has worked primarily as a receptionist. Greenwald explains, “Most of the calls come from constituents who have problems and need support from the government, but there are also a lot of other calls for various other things.” Greenwald is working with high-ranking government officials

He has also had the opportunity to get involved with other important government work such as writing proclamations and organizing COVID test-kit distributions. “My favorite part so far,” Greenwald described, “has been going to two Salute to Senior events to hand out Covid tests because the events are senior appreciation events and it feels good to help people and see how governments at every level work together to help people and help their communities.”

Janmariz Deguia is working for the Sandbox Theater in Mamaroneck while also being a director for the SHS Senior Class Musical production of Willy Wonka. “These past three weeks, I’ve done everything from being an assistant teacher to assistant director, to costumes department head, to backstage hand, to lighting assistant, and office hand. For Wonka, I am one-third of the drama directors for the show and, well, we direct!” Deguia said.

Going more in-depth, Deguia stated, “I’ve worked on Annie Jr, Snow White – the class I teach the most - and Descendants, where I mostly work backstage. We block, we teach, and we put it all together with other aspects. Luckily for us, one of our directors is also a choreographer.

Deguia juggles multiple theatre duties“My favorite part is getting to see someone light up on stage. I know it’s corny, but it’s magical. Whether it be that 6-year-old singing the Tomorrow finale at an elementary school or one of my classmates on stage in the auditorium dancing along to the Candyman, it makes me happy to see them happy. It is great to see the Class of 22 come together, especially through art…I’m very honored to be selected as a leader in this event.”

Megan Chu’s Senior Options Internship is directly tied to planning events for some of the most renowned names in the United States. Interning for Imagine Party and Events, a luxury event planning company, she contacts companies, customizes apparel, researches, and helps out on-site at high-profile events.

Chu is enthralled by the opportunity, saying, “My favorite part of this work so far has been the luxury aspect and seeing these extravagant events come to life. A recent event took place at various restaurants at Hudson Yards in New York City. Being there to listen in on the planning of the event and seeing the event come to life in person is really amazing to experience.”

Working at non-profit organization Adaptive Design Association, Ken Zhu is able to gain special insight into a niche but necessary and important industry. “It’s a really cool place,” he explains, “that makes custom adaptations for people with disabilities. I work with their design and fabrication team to design and build the adaptations out of wood, cardboard, metal, etcetera.” He then raved about how he is loving the amount of hands-on work he has been able to do.

When it comes to discussing how their internships affect their outlook on what life in the “real world” will be like, all shared similar points of view.

Greenwald works at some of Stewart-Cousins' biggest events“I think this job is preparing me for real life because I’m getting a sense of what office life is like and I’m seeing the inner workings of the government and how it interacts with practically every aspect of life,” claimed Greenwald. He admits the biggest challenge has (understandably) “been answering the phone because it can be a little nerve-wracking to get these calls for the senator and transferring calls isn’t always easy and I don’t want to mess it up. But I’m starting to get the hang of it and everyone at the office is supportive and helps me when I make a mistake. Thus, I’ve also learned how a good work environment can make challenges less difficult to overcome.”

Deguia detailed how her future endeavors tie into this internship. “I’d love to be a teacher and I’d love to work in theatre. If I could be a theatre teacher, even better. I am going into human development, which is an interdisciplinary course in sociology, social work, psychology, poli-sci, philosophy, education, etcetera. I plan to go to graduate school for education and a double minor in theater tech and performance, so this internship is very fitting.”

For her, despite her already extensive experience in the industry, there have been some valuable challenges she has grown from. “Working at Sandbox gives me an opportunity to see what I like and what I don’t as well as what I’m good at and what I’m not. I learned I am not good with stage management or soundboard operation because it is a little stressful and I get bored.”

Similar to Greenwald, the value of a cohesive work environment is viewed as pivotal to progress. “I genuinely wouldn’t be able to do anything without my team,” she continued. “Without them, I’d have too many challenges. I love my bosses Susan and Jason at Sandbox, and everyone I’ve worked with like Maya and both Rachaels. All the credit to the entire Wonka production…I’m so proud of all the performers and so grateful to the crew.”

Chu believes the lessons she has already learned about consumer interaction are of immense importance, stating, “I think that this has prepared me for insight on business meetings and customer interactions. This job revolves heavily around going above and beyond to ensure that the clients are satisfied and the planning suits their vision. Overall, the internship has given me a direct insight into the business world and the hecticness of this industry.”One of the venues Chu helped to rent out for a corporate event

The tenseness and sense of rush as an event approaches can be a challenge, but the event planners are still “on top of each and every moment,” showing once more how immersion into a workforce team is proving an important dividend to most people’s Senior Options internship.

“My internship is preparing me for college because it is helping me to develop skills that I may need when studying engineering,” exclaimed Zhu. “I’ve been able to practice the design process and improve my design skills.”

For these students, their Senior Options internships have been successful, entertaining, and informative, as will be the common sentiment found amongst most students. Such absorption into professional industry teams leads to tremendous, unteachable-in-school growth. For those who are not enthralled with their Senior Options internship, this will provide a strong wake-up call before college to direct them towards fields or teams they may be better suited to. Regardless, no matter the students’ individual experiences, positive or negative, valuable life lessons will have been digested and understood to an extent previously untapped.