Independent Study and Mentorship students presented their research and career finding on Monday at final presentation night. Through the class, students get to work with a mentor to create a final product in a field of their choosing.

“ISM also allowed me the opportunity to explore my field, quantum reinforcement learning, in great detail,” senior Satvik Duddukuru said. “My mentor, Mr. McInroe was a vital part of this process as well. As a somewhat niche topic drawing from both quantum computing and machine learning, it was difficult to read research papers and then apply that knowledge in my final product, a Julia programming library that helps facilitate quantum reinforcement learning research.”

Besides diving deep into their passions, students also get the chance to practice their public speaking skills through their 30 minute speech.

“Final presentation night actually helped me realize how much I’ve learned from ISM,”  junior Aaron Xu said. “Through the course, I gained so much theoretical understanding and practical experience of my topic, and I also became a much better speaker and professional. These skills and knowledge were on full display during my final presentation.”

For final presentation night, students got to invite their friends and family to come listen to their work and their peer’s work.

“It was really fun to come and watch all my friends’ presentations,” junior Anushka Diwivedi said. “I learned a lot about different topics and it was nice to see what all my friends have accomplished this year.”

As the last event of the class, students got the opportunity to reflect on their learning and experiences.

“These guys have researched their career fields for an entire year and they have showcase their work in various ways through research speeches, through assessments, through gallery walks, through showcase and now leading to final presentation night,” teacher Heather Whitcomb said. “It has been an honor to facilitate my students learning this year.”