From the first day of class, Spanish teacher Ms. Meredith Blackmore has made a goal for her senior students. Her contemporary Hispanic Studies (CHS) will not just prepare students by teaching them Spanish, it will prepare them to be active members of our society.

To do so, the students have created a final end of year project, requiring the seniors to take action and solve a problem they see in the world. Each student chose a topic ranging from immigration, religious intolerance, abortion, to the homeless.

“For my project I chose to focus on the education programs,” said senior Nick D’Angelo.

Blackmore asked her students to do more than just present on the topic; she asked them to take action as well.

“I am writing a letter to try to reform the learning process. I think there should be less busy work and less standardized testing because we all learn differently,” said D’Angelo.

Other students have launched clean water campaigns, raised funds for charity organizations, or volunteered their time in underprivileged school districts.

Blackmore encouraged her students to use their strengths to make a difference. For example, senior Brandon DeMaio identified graffiti as a problem in many neighborhoods.

After raising awareness for the problem through his presentation, DeMaio will be using his own art skills to transform negative graffiti into positive works of street art.

“I think the project was valuable because the main part of it was actually taking action,” said senior Molly Gearin. “It helped us learn that it doesn’t take much to help people or organizations that are less fortunate and need our help.”