One
of the first impressions the judges will have of you will come from this
letter. The purpose of this writing is to give the judges an introduction to
you as whole person, beyond the work you have done on the Senior Project. They
will be able to see you as a young adult with goals, interests, and opinions.
When they hear you speak at Senior Boards, they will most likely brine these
insights into their understanding and consequent assessment of your
presentation. This letter, therefore, must be in your best writing and must be
a sincere expression of how you perceive certain aspects of yourself. Let YOU
shine through!
The
letter may include any of the following topics: family background, schooling,
hobbies, goals, driving principles or passions, individual talents, handicaps,
or unusual circumstances, experiences with the Senior Project or other intense
learning activities, reflections on your high school years, expressions of
regret or gratitude, or views on any subject you think will give the judges
useful information about you as a graduate. (The list above is only to give you
some suggestions. You can write on other topics or choose only one or two to
develop in detail.) Word-process this letter and use a formal business letter
format.
La
Mesa, CA 91941
May
20, 2000
Judges,
Senior Project Board
Helix
High School
7323
University Ave.
La
Mesa, CA 91941
Dear
Judges:
As a
soon-to-be graduate of South Medford High School, I will take this opportunity
to tell you about some things I learned this year. I learned that
procrastination is not the answer, graduation is earned (not just given as an
automatic ticket at the end of the senior year), and I can accomplish more than
I ever realized I could if I work hard and stay with it. These lessons will be
very useful to me when I leave here and go on to further training and into the workforce.
I
was not sure if I could make it through four years of high school and graduate.
My family has moved several times, and I often fell behind in school. Whenever
we would move into a new area, I would go to the nearest school, but often it
was very frustrating. I would have to repeat something I had already learned,
or be confused because I came in during the middle of the unit. But it has
always been important to me to get a good education because I want to have a
productive life for myself and for my family in the future. I will be the only
member of my family to have graduated from high school. They are very proud of
me, and I am proud of myself.
The
choice of my Senior Project on carpentry relates to my career goal. I want to
be a master carpenter. I love wood and working with it. I can see myself making
beautiful pieces of furniture and cabinets for new homes. Too many people these
days don’t appreciate the time and skill it takes to make quality furniture. I
would like to draw their attention to the craft of carpentry. My family really
appreciates my hard work in this area. In fact, my parents and brothers and
sisters are currently fighting over the maple dresser I made for my project. I
want to leave something of myself with them when I move, so I gave it to them.
Although
I had to cut back on my hours of work at a nearby restaurant to work on school
assignments and projects this year, I am now very happy that I did. I found
that I enjoyed researching about my career goal in carpentry, and I gained a
great deal of satisfaction from making my maple dresser.
Thank
you for taking the time to read my portfolio and for listening to my
presentation. I hope you have found them interesting.
Sincerely,
Sara
N. Wrap