The Seniors Final Project at the ISC is finally taking place at school this May 31st after 2 years of virtuality as COVID restrictions and school protocols lighten their restrictions.

This year, seniors are trying to become factors of change more than getting in touch with companies and pursuing things related to their future careers. They want to know what’s going on in their community, with their ecosystem, and many other global issues.

“The purpose of The ISC for me is to open our eyes to the real world and for us to start thinking about how the world works and how we can be agents of change within the world, within the environment, and within our community,” Sofia Valencia, Senior, said.

This process began six years ago and used to be only an internship where students chose a career path they wanted to pursue as future professionals and worked with a business prepared to provide this expertise and experience. However, the demands of society change their ideas into realizing that acquiring significant information through an internship was not enough, therefore the course was redesigned to be a conscious attempt to touch society in a positive way through a creative concept.

“My personal input to the project was to expand the impact not only on society but also on the environment and the economy. Starting this year, the students are allowed to innovate through their own entrepreneurship skills and profit from their experience.” Camilo Hoyos, Project Leader, said.

Not only that but teachers and students feel proud of what has been achieved in this year’s ISC, as they believe that this project could bring a real change in our society, something that could benefit all of us.

“The final projects show the real success of a whole year of construction; the students who engaged with honesty in every lesson from day one, are in fact the ones with the best projects. The results of this year’s ISCs make me feel motivated to keep teaching this course,” Hoyos, said.

The ISC is a very strict project which needs to address a real issue in the community and needs to be supported by trusted references. It is so strict that there is a system in which the seniors show their ideas, presentations, and mentors/partners for the system to decide whether to approve or reject their project.

“Realistically speaking, most projects don’t reach their final stages before graduation. This doesn’t mean that the project dies with graduation even if it hasn’t achieved a measurable impact. The ISC needs to be designed in such a way that the student’s presence is not needed for it to be successfully functional,” Hoyos, said.

From the challenges, difficulties, and restrictions multiple projects have risen, many of them focusing on human interest and wellbeing, like Lola Saldarriaga whose ISC is focused on helping Girls take care of their bodies.

“So our idea is to make girls more interested in how to take care of their bodies. Because I think that girls are really misinformed, schools don’t do a good job in making them feel calm and included in seeing that this is normal,” Lola Saldarriaga, Senior, said.

The impact that this project has on the community all depends on how well it is designed and the determination of the students to continue it after graduation so that it can be constantly seen as helping the community.

“I feel that the students who truly give meaning and heart to this project gain a life-changing experience, for themselves and the community. I also feel that if we could expand ISC to other schools and make it an inter-school project, the community could really benefit from a cultural evolution on a national scale,” Hoyos, said.