Seniors Earn AP Certificates

Two McKinley Seniors Earn AP certificates

Achievement requires advanced studies and independent research

By Lisa Reicosky, CCSD Communications

Paige Lowry and Kassandra Ketchum have earned the prestigious AP Seminar and Research Certificates by excelling in their Advanced Placement coursework. Over one million US students participate in AP coursework each year but only 7000 earn these certificates. Rhonda Kates, CCSD Coordinator of Gifted Services, said that unlike traditional AP subject exams with a single end-of-year assessment, AP Seminar and AP Research assessments are project-based and evaluate skills mastered through group projects, presentations, and individual essays completed throughout the year. “Instead of focusing on one specific academic discipline, AP Seminar and AP Research are interdisciplinary: students are empowered to create research projects based on topics of personal interest, and they are assessed on critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management, and presentation skills needed to complete their projects,” she explained. Kassie also earned the AP Scholar Award when she scored above the national and international average on at least three of her AP exams! Kates credits their teachers, Jessica Friesner, Manuel Halkias, and Cheryl Bissmeyer for presenting an in-depth curriculum and investing in the students’ success. Friesner, their research teacher said AP Research can be very daunting. “Students have to design and conduct their own research to fill a gap in what has already been written about their chosen topic. It takes quite a bit of time to sort through the scholarly literature, design and implement a method to collect new data, and analyze the results of their study,” she explained. “The choice of topic is completely open to each student, which can be overwhelming, to say the least.” Friesner said the girls never gave up, even though there was uncertainty in the beginning. “Many times they doubted themselves and their choices -- all a natural part of the process -- but trusted me enough to stick with it. Their perseverance made me so proud!” she said. AP Seminar teacher Halkias said both girls showed an inquisitive approach to the research process and were very eager to learn and go into depth on chosen research projects. “They are thorough, concise, and intellectual students. I am so proud of them,” he said.

Kassandra Ketchum

Bissmeyer, AP English and Language Composition teacher said she only had the pleasure of having Kassie in her class and that she is one of the most self-motivated, highly engaged students she’s ever taught. “She is always highly engaged during class activities, discussion, and reading sessions. Her work is always thorough and thoughtful. In every way, her outstanding attitude leads to outstanding work,” Bissmeyer said. “On a personal level, Kassie is a young woman of strong will and solid values. The classes I teach afford me ample opportunity to get to know students personally, given that each subject is discussion- and issue-based. Kassie has strong opinions, based on deep thought and analysis, but she is also open to other points of view,” wrote Bissmeyer. “She is not only willing, but anxious, to hear and to weigh what others have to say.”

We asked the students to tell us about their projects:

Kassandra Ketchum Q: Tell us a little about your AP research project: A: My AP Research project was centered around the American feminist movement and the early 2000s TV show, “Gilmore Girls.” I wanted to see if there was any correlation between the growth of the American feminist movement and the television show and if Gilmore Girls had any impact on that growth. I chose to connect “Gilmore Girls” to the movement specifically because the show focuses on a single mother and her teenage daughter and it is a remarkably feminist show in itself. In the end, I found that there was no correlation between the two, and if there was, there’d be no way to prove that unless every woman who watched the show as it aired was interviewed, which was something I was incapable of doing. The project was still incredibly interesting, and it helped me to learn a lot about the American feminist movement and how it can relate to the content I consume. Q: What were some of your challenges? A: One of my biggest challenges was a lack of resources. As I already stated, I did not have the means to interview women who watched the show as it aired to see if it changed their feminist beliefs. I also did not have access to scripts from the show, and there was not a lot of research on my topic, two things that challenged me greatly. Time was also a huge challenge. I only had around nine months to research my question and write the paper, and towards the end of the process, I was rushing to get it done. My own personal bias was also a huge challenge to overcome. Gilmore Girls is my all-time favorite TV show, so moving past my feelings for the show and looking at it objectively was extremely challenging. Q: What did you learn about yourself in this process? A: Through this process, I learned that I am not the greatest at time management. As previously stated, I had to rush a lot at the end. While some of that is because of the time restraint, some of it is also because I did not manage my time wisely and was convinced I had more time than I did. I also learned that researching a topic I’m genuinely interested in can

“Kassie is meticulous. She has an eye for detail and spent months carefully taking notes to collect her data. She doesn’t shy away from a challenge … Her humor and wit made our lessons fun, and her willingness to ask questions helped create an environment where not knowing the answer right away was not treated as weakness.”.

~ Jessica Friesner