Call it saving the best for last.

Entering 12th grade, Bow High School seniors have spent the majority of their lives in the classroom, learning through books and lectures. As one of the final requirements of their education, students must take a course in which they have to complete a senior project. It’s in this course that most students learn their most valuable lesson not from a teacher, but from themselves.

“The best way to describe this is that it’s really a self-driven project,” said senior Katie Foy, who completed a project on human rights. “It’s really what you make of it.”

Each student in the class must write a research paper on their topic of choice, and also find a way to apply what they’ve learned. Foy volunteered with local refugees, even learning Swahili to better understand them.

Three years ago, Adam Cantor relocated to Bow following Hurricane Katrina, which hit Louisiana. He found a fitting way to finish out his three-year education at Bow High School.

“When I came here, I saw how little people knew about New Orleans and that area,” said Cantor. “It was interesting because I spent three years here, and now at the end of it I found a way to give something from my home. It all comes back.”

Cantor’s project brought some New Orleans culture to Bow, teaching children and others to cook food from his home state. Depending on the interest of residents, he hopes to hold a crawfish boil for charity in the near future.

Project topics touch a variety of areas, many of which focus on helping the community. Ellie Hahn raised $1,000 through a walk for juvenile diabetes, Alex Grip did research on Alzheimer’s and did housework for town members, and Jamie Faulhaber worked in a soup kitchen while learning about hunger and malnutrition.

“It was really rewarding seeing that I could do that by myself. I didn’t realize how much I could make a difference,” said Faulhaber. “I learned how to be less judgmental. Everyone might need some assistance for something, and for different reasons. After four years here, we’re finding out how to be responsible for your whole person.”

One of the senior projects that may be in place for years to come is Lindsey Segal’s, as she started a group in the high school called Glam R Us, focusing on positive image awareness and stressing that beauty comes from within.

Mason Hill is currently working on his senior project, and it is a time-consuming one. Analyzing his carbon footprint on the environment, Hill is writing down every impact he has on the environment for the first month, and slightly altering those patterns in the second month to see the impact.

“One of the main prospects of this is awareness. I want people to understand the power of one. People support environmental causes, but don’t act. I want to show that small changes can help,” he said.

The project helps stress the Bow School District’s philosophy of community awareness.

“It doesn’t take much to get out and involved in the community,” said Alex Grip. “Everyone needs a hand, and you don’t have to be a qualified professional to give that.”

Although the project is rewarding, it can also be demanding, said Grip.

“The hardest part was managing time,” he said. “It can be overwhelming. Balancing the work and managing high school life was tough.”

Robin Steiner, Bow High School dean of humanities, said the project is one of the most important aspects of the four-year education.

“We feel it’s a culminating experience that ties in things for a purpose,” she said. “We’re pushing students beyond their comfortable experiences, which is the most important thing.”

Another key aspect of the projects is the preparation for the next level of education.

“It prepares them a lot to see that once they leave there isn’t going to be anyone pushing them,” said Steiner. “With this project there is a person giving them deadlines and working with them, but it’s more open and self-designed, which prepares them for the college style of learning.”

Although history, math, science and other classes offered in the curriculum teach students many important lessons for down the road, Steiner said she believes the senior project is crucial to the overall education of Bow High School students.

“I think it’s one of the most important classes that we teach,” she said. “Kids who are successful or the kids who aren’t completely successful both can take something out of it. They see what it’s like to face obstacles, and to overcome them.”