May 15, 2006

MOORESTOWN FRIENDS STUDENTS EXPLORE LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL THROUGH MONTH-LONG SENIOR PROJECTS

MOORESTOWN, NJ - Moorestown Friends School seniors are spending the last four weeks of their senior year studying life outside the classroom in locations ranging from a digital recording studio to a university medical research laboratory.

The four-week long senior projects are sanctioned by Moorestown Friends School under a program begun more than 25 years ago to allow seniors to explore career options, service opportunities and fields of interest.             

Among this year's placements:

• Rob Leili-Marrazzo of Allentown is learning about digital recording at two locations: Emergent Partners in Medford and Smash Palace Studios in Merchantville. He is helping the studio convert from analog to digital recording.

• Alec DeCrosta of Moorestown is aiding the music therapy coordinator of Samaritan Hospice of Moorestown by playing piano for clients.

• Ashley Alter of Collingswood is helping Wilma Theater in Philadelphia prepare for its summer camp by developing scripts based on West African Folktales.

• Emily Riggins of Moorestown is designing and constructing costumes for Arden Theater Co.’s spring production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

Medical-related placements include working with doctors in the fields of obstetrics/gynecology and spine rehabilitation therapy. Students are interning at the neonatology department at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; the psychiatry, fetal medicine, cardiothoracic surgery departments at Cooper Hospital; the anesthesiology department at Frankford Hospital and the pharmacy department at Virtual West Jersey Hospital in Voorhees. Two students are assisting dentists. Sean Lee of Mount Laurel is working at a medical research laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania.

Students also are working with physical therapists at Temple Sports Medicine and studying nutrition and exercise programs at Great Life Wellness Center in Mount Laurel.

Caitlin Baiada of Moorestown is working with Francis Cauffman Foley Hoffmann Architects, Ltd., in Philadelphia and Loren Yu of Moorestown is working at Qb3 in Philadelphia, also an architectural design firm.

Learning about the business of government are Allison Bernard of Merchantville, who is working at Merchantville Borough Hall and at the West Maple Neighborhood Preservation Association; Cornelia Colijn of Port Republic with Assemblyman Jim Whelan’s Office in Northfield and Jessica Greenberg of Moorestown at the Burlington County Courts in Mount Holly. Megan Seyler of Port Republic is working on an auction fund-raiser for Court Appointed Special Advocates.

Having placements in law offices will be Maura Burk of Audubon, who in interning with a Haddonfield attorney and  Chris Santorella of Medford who is at the law firm of Post & Schell in Philadelphia. Jared Smith of Lumberton, who is interested in entertainment law, is working for a media company’s marketing department.

In addition, students will study mechanical engineering, information technology and business development at Lockheed Martin in Moorestown and at Syntes Engineering in West Chester, Pa.

Students interested in art and design have placements at a photographer’s studio, a design company, an art gallery, at McGuire Air Force Base’s media office and at Penny Loves Kenny Shoes

Among the non-profit organizations at which students are working are the youth ministry programs at Bethany Baptist Church in Gibbsboro and at Easton Bible Church in Hainesport, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, the Franklin Institute and the main branch of the Camden City Free Public Library. One student will research gay history and develop a web site for the Equality Forum while another will write a study guide to accompany “Motherless,” a documentary about four women whose mothers died during botched illegal abortions.

Business placements include Punk Stop Independent Records in Pitman, Sarcone’s Bakery in Philadelphia, the Burlington County Times, Smith Barney investments, Winzinger Inc. Construction Co., Louis Christian Wayne Roberts Salon & Spa, Mid Atlantic Financial, Nardella Inc. fruit company in Philadelphia and the Costume Gallery in Burlington.

Students interesting in educational careers will assist in classrooms at Friends School Mullica Hill, and at Orchard Friends School.

Senior projects help students expand their self-knowledge and explore a vision of themselves in the world beyond Moorestown Friends School. The course of study could be called "Reality 101" as students encounter the "grunt work" that comes with entry-level positions, learn to work with individuals of varying ages and find out how their expectations did or did not jibe with workplace reality. They must cope with a variety of workplace experiences, from dealing with traffic during a commute to working lunch into their daily schedule.

This extended exposure to their chosen career field allows Moorestown Friends students to get beyond impressions that may have been formed by television shows or vague notions of the actual work that is involved in a given career before they invest four or more years of college study preparing for their future roles. Some students have found summer jobs or even gone on to careers based on their experience in their senior projects.

Senior projects are a graduation requirement at Moorestown Friends School. Students arrange their own placements with the aid of faculty and administrators. Project proposals must be submitted for school approval. The unpaid internships require that seniors work six hours a day, five days a week, keep a daily journal and report to a faculty advisor once a week.  The faculty advisor also makes field visits. When the projects end, students make presentations on their experiences.