During the Independent Learning period on Monday, November 9, selected members of the Class of 2024 made their mark as serious scholars.

For this year’s Fall FIRE Project, students were asked to combine their research interests with their skill as storytellers. More specifically, students were tasked to respond to the following prompt (with the expectation that they would fill-in-the-blanks): 

“As a ___________________________, I have lived a life of …” 

As an additional feature for this year’s fall FIRE projects, students were given access to the recent Dodge Poetry Festival, a prestigious annual event held virtually this year. This emphasis on poetic voices prompted especially creative projects this year. Not only did students compose innovative narratives, but many also created impressive works of art!

Below is just a small selection of this year’s excellent projects: 

Sunny Chen’s poem “Broken Mirrors” offers an intimate glimpse of eating disorders affecting both men and women: 

I am a mirror in the bathroom

I am old and cracked and full of gloom

I have brought so much pain

And damaged so many young brains

Strangers have now taken me to the dump 

I know my time of longing is coming to an end

Oh but how I wish I could’ve told those sweet souls

How beautiful they were

How beautiful their bodies were

How beautiful their eyes, their noses, their freckles were

How beautiful they all truly were.

Tori Fegley’s poem, “Obsessed and Missing Out,” takes on the perspective of a teenage girl who is addicted to her phone, yet yearns for something more. Three sources, including a cameo by Tori’s mother, Sheri Fegley, were incorporated into this piece to gain a greater understanding of what life was like before iPhones and mobile devices existed. 

Kanchan Gupta’s project takes on the fable of Sleeping Beauty, with a distinctly modern spin: 

Everything is wrong. Nobody truly understands what I went through. ... Nobody is willing to listen to my hardships, my pain, my story. Of course they’re going to make me look bad. The truth is Talia, Aurora, or whatever you think her name is, they made her look so flawless. Although I love her with my heart, I know the real truth about her. 

Ava Noel also addresses a legendary woman, in this case the real Ruth Bader Ginsburg (aka “The Notorious RBG”).  

As Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I lived a life full 

of perseverance. I have been pushed down, 

but I stood back up. I have struggled, but I 

persisted. I am an advocate, a fighter.

Finally, Ginevra “Ginny” Toso imagines herself as the famous statue of David in her project entitled “Io sono il Davide: As a statue, I have lived a life of liberation”: 

“I learned that ‘The David’ was both a biblical and political symbol at a certain point in history,” writes Ginny. Ultimately, Ginny depicts the David statue as representative of “the path taken by each of us when we are able to overcome our obstacles, and truly find ourselves.”

Ultimately, the Class of 2024 came together to produce many memorable pieces in response to this fall’s FIRE project, and we look forward to many more such achievements in the New Year!