Haley Keen planned and hosted a youth retreat for junior high students at her church. She researched issues facing church groups and discovered participation was lower than membership. The retreat was a success, though coordinating schedules was difficult. Haley learned she enjoys working with children and music, and hopes to become a band teacher. She believes senior projects give back to the community but thinks grading should consider the entire project, not just presentations.

1. 1550 Owens Store Road
Canton, GA 30115
April 18, 2012
Judges, Senior Project
Creekview High School
1550 Owns Store Road
Canton, GA 30115
Dear Judges:
My name is Haley Keen, and I am a senior at Creekview High School. I have been a flutist in
the Creekview Band Program since my freshman year. I am also a member of the Creekview
Marching Grizzlies and Winter Guard. Outside of school, I am an active youth member at
Hickory Flat United Methodist Church and a member of the Hickory Flat Youth Praise Team
since freshman year. After I graduate from Creekview, I plan to pursue a career in music
education at Reinhardt University. While at Reinhardt, I hope to intern for my church’s music
ministry. For my senior project, I planned and hosted a youth retreat at Holbrook Campground
for the junior high school youth members at Hickory Flat United Methodist Church.
The product of my project was the youth retreat my facilitator and I had planned together. That
decision was greatly influenced by the research I conducted for my senior paper. I researched the
issues facing church Bible studies and small groups and the problems that may cause a decrease
in student participation. As my research continued, I discovered that many of the techniques
used to increase the number of students in church groups were fairly easy to duplicate. By this
time, I had begun to notice that the amount of junior high kids who participated in small groups
and Bible studies was significantly smaller than the number of kids signed up on the junior
high youth member list. It was then that I decided to do something for the junior high youth
that would encourage them to be more active at our church. During the process of creating the
youth retreat, I had to overcome many obstacles. One obstacle was coordinating my facilitator’s
busy schedule with mine. He was the Junior High Youth Pastor at the time, and learned during
my project that he was moving to Virginia to accept a position as a full-time senior high youth
pastor. My busy schedule included homework, as well as marching band, winter guard, and
praise band. To overcome this we decided that we would meet on Sundays after our church
service, and on Wednesdays during dinner at church. Another factor that caused frustration was
the issue with parents not returning my emails about the retreat. This obstacle was overcome
with lots of patience and the hope that the parents would respond. After the process of planning
the retreat was over, and the frustrations and struggles passed, it was time for the retreat, which
turned out to be a huge success. The itinerary worked out perfectly. The kids had a great time,
and the volunteers and I also had a lot of fun. After it was all over, the kids thanked me one by
one their gratitude had a tremendous impact on me. Their thanks certainly made the project

2. worth while.
The topic of my research paper, and the research I conducted on the subject drew me towards a
career in youth ministry. Unfortunately, I also learned that youth ministry does not pay well, and
the demand for youth ministers is low. During the project process I learned that I love working
with children, especially through ministry. I also discovered that I am a procrastinator and that
I needed to learn how to stay organized in order to overcome the habit of procrastination. This
project also helped me work on my organizational skills. Despite the fact that I am not going
into a career in youth ministry, I hope to use my love for music and my love for working with
children to become a junior high school band teacher.
Now that the senior projects are over, I have a better understanding of the benefits they can
bring to seniors and also the flaws. I believe that students should have senior projects because it
gives them a chance to give back to their community. The project also encourages strong work
habits, and can give seniors something to look forward to at the end of the year. Although senior
projects bring good things to seniors, I have found one thing that I do not agree with, which is
the way senior projects are graded during senior boards. After a mock senior boards practice, I
realized that my product was not the item graded, but instead, my powerpoint presentation and
my speech were graded. It is my opinion that there should be a grading mechanism that would
incorporate all aspects of the project, so students are graded on their overall effort. In spite of the
obstacles and frustration, I still believe the senior projects are very beneficial to seniors.
Sincerely,
Haley Keen