(June 11, 2010) — After a whole school year of preparation, the presentation date for senior projects had finally arrived. All seniors were expected to complete the task in order to pass their English classes and were given the opportunity to choose what topic they’d like to focus their project on. Senior William Reinoso decided to work around the area of culinary arts. “Ecuadorian cooking is part of my background and has always been something on my mind,” he said. “I wanted to learn and be familiar about it.” Reinoso intends to major in life science but said that if it does not work out he could always have culinary arts as a minor from having gained knowledge through his project. Cooking was not something he was familiar with at first. “It’s not as simple as people would think,” he said. Reinoso went through a lot of burned dishes but was still very proud of his accomplishments. At first he thought the project was pointless but he said it actually got him closer to something he was interested in. Having interest in the topic is exactly what got senior Leo Setian to do his project on expanding his skills with playing the acoustic guitar. Setian has been playing guitar for four years and wanted to develop his skills in writing music and learning how to record in a studio. Setian worked with his mentor who had experience with recording, and created a four-track acoustic album for his final product, which he entitled Away From the Light. All the tracks were recorded in his room and had to be performed precisely in one play in order for them to sound good on the album. He thought it was a decent product but recording in his room was not the best place. “I’m my hardest critic because I know what’s wrong with it and I could have done better,” Setian said. The senior project may have been extra work, but to both Reinoso and Setian the project was a rewarding learning stretch. Reinoso said that it opened a new window to his future and that he has become closer to his background. As for Setian, the project made him develop real life skills. “I learned how to manage my time, work on my own and become a strong individual,” he said.