After an entire year of researching, experimenting and writing the IB seniors finished their Extended Essays (EE) last week.

“I am incredibly proud of this IB senior class,” IB coordinator Kate Hauenstein said. “Not only did everyone turn it in on time, but I have seen some amazing research. This year’s senior class has had some of the most innovative and interesting topics I’ve seen in a while, and I’ve been happy to see students who were passionate and legitimately excited to talk about everything they learned through their EE research.”

The EE is a core part of the IB program that all members must participate in and constitutes for ¼ of the requirements for students. As juniors, they begin to pick a topic they are interested in for any subject and then narrow that down to a research question. They then start the process of creating a 4,000 word paper that is sent off to IB to be graded. According to senior Ariana Vieira, the EEs are helpful due to the way they prepare students for college and the kind of papers that are written while there.

“The EE has prepared me for the future for when I need to do a research paper in college,” Vieira said. “It has also forced me to learn time management.”

The students are free to choose anything they are interested in which leads to a huge variety in specific topics.

“My question was: to what extent did Iraq’s use of chemical warfare in Halabja in 1988 affect the people socially,” senior Skyllar Duncan said. “I chose to answer this question because I wanted to incorporate chemistry into what I researched, and when I found this topic while investigating I was really interested in learning more after I read about the devastation and impact it had on the people since it was so significant.”

As the current seniors finish the process, it is time for the current juniors to begin.

“I’d recommend to future seniors to stay on top of your work but try not to stress over it,” senior Summer Gerhart said. “It may feel like too much but you will be able to get it done.”