MFS held its first-ever Upper School Capstone Showcase on December 10, displaying seventeen seniors’ final projects. While Tuesday was the first time MFS hosted a showcase, the program itself has been evolving for years. 

The Capstone Program “[begins] in the spring semester of junior year and [runs] through the middle of senior year[.] The program has participants engage in scholarly work, community-engaged research, and/or creative design under the guidance of the Capstone Program Advisor and a project-specific Faculty Project Advisor,” as highlighted by MFS’ E-News.

Upper School Director Noah Rachlin explained that the research process was a rigorous journey for students, citing perseverance and revision as core values.

“No one here tonight is presenting exactly what was their original idea,” Rachlin said, reflecting on the immense effort that went into these projects. “It’s about iteration, challenge, and struggle — and then improving and growing along the way.”

Capstone advisor Mary Anne Henderson echoed Rachlin’s sentiment, sharing that “the research process involves a lot of having to go back, revise, and sometimes even start over. That resilience is what makes the projects so meaningful.”

This year, students enrolled in the program were required to write a literature review to aid their understanding of a topic of their choosing. Nicole Weber, the Capstone Program Director, emphasized how the addition of a literature review enhanced the overall process for students. 

“The lit review really gave all of the projects a solid foundation,” Weber explained. “It allowed students to situate their work within the broader context of their chosen field. Whether their project was creative, scientific, or community-oriented, understanding what’s been done before and what hasn’t worked helped inform their next steps.”

Weber’s own academic background largely shaped her approach to mentoring. 

“My research background is in the social sciences, and I’ve taught undergraduate students at Rutgers. When designing the Capstone Program, I thought a lot about what skills I wished undergrads had before they arrived at college,” she said. 

Weber explained that the Capstone Program is structured to prepare students for college and their future paths. 

“The program is a chance to expose students to high-level independent work and push them to think critically, preparing them for what’s next.”

Weber added on that “The Capstone class introduces students to foundational research skills like literature reviews and project management,” she said. “From there, they design their own projects and take ownership of every step, but with the guidance of advisors and faculty.” “Now, we match students with advisors after they’ve been accepted into the program, considering their interests and the faculty’s expertise.

Looking forward, Weber hinted at potential changes to the Capstone Program’s timeline: giving students more time to work on the design and implementation of their projects by “moving up the timeline” for the literature review. 

Along with the literature review and the actual showcase itself, another recent change to the Capstone Program was the selection process for advisors, chosen during their Junior year. 

Weber highlighted how this change made the program more inclusive and less centered around students’ pre-existing relationships with MFS faculty. 

“We used to ask students to pick their advisors during the application process, but that limited who could be involved,” she explained.

This approach not only broadens the pool of potential advisors but also fosters unexpected collaborations. Weber recounted one memorable match, saying, “We had a student working on advocacy for animal shelters, and it turned out one of our development staff members [who the student did not typically interact with] had a background in fundraising for shelters. It was a perfect fit.”

Reflecting on the showcase itself, Weber emphasized how important it was for students to have a platform to pursue their passions and present their work to a live audience, to the point where she suggested possibly holding the showcase twice on the same day to reach the widest audience — once in the evening for families, and once during the school day for students and faculty.

“This would allow more students and faculty who couldn’t attend at night to engage with the projects during the school day … The showcase is about more than just showing what you’ve done,” she said. “It’s about communicating your ideas, receiving feedback, and seeing the impact of your work in real time.”

For many parents, the showcase was a chance to see their children’s hard work not just in real time, but in a professional setting. 

“[It’s] really nice to see some of these kids, who I’ve known as three-year-olds, really mature in their curiosity and pursuit of learning,” said Pamela Zee, a parent of a senior participant in the Capstone Program.

Zee also noted how the showcase offered an experience similar to watching their child on the sports field, an analogy offered earlier by Rachlin and Henderson. 

“Academic teams are similar to sports; I’m glad to be an academic team fan,” Zee said.

When asked what showcasing her Capstone project meant to her, senior Sarah Huynh said, “Getting to showcase my Capstone allowed me to reach an audience that I might not have been able to if I just submitted a website. My project is very community-oriented and dependent on community support, so I got to talk to interested students and families and hand out more information to them directly.”

Huynh reflected on the program as a whole saying, “I thought [that] the Capstone project process was very fulfilling and allowed me and my other Capstone peers to delve more into personal interests and passions. Having all of our friends, family, and others in the MFS community come to celebrate the completion of our [yearlong’s worth of] work and to learn more about our projects was exciting and really made all of the time spent worth it.”

When asked about the biggest strength of the physical showcase, Rachlin pointed to the breadth of topics and the passion behind each project. “The Capstone Program is really like a vessel,” he explained. “You can fill it with whatever topic or area of focus you want. What connects it all is students’ passion.”

Henderson agreed, noting how the showcase highlighted the community-wide effort behind each project. 

“No student did this entirely on their own,” they said. “They all took big swings in wonderful ways, but also did that with the support of a bunch of other folks who helped lead them or sometimes just stood by their side along the way.”

Reilly noted that the new showcase format allowed “the opportunity to interact and ask questions definitely [added] a [new] dimension over something like reading their work,”

Reflecting on the evening, Zee said, “It’s really nice to be able to see the final product. But what’s even more rewarding is seeing [students] explain themselves, interact, and showcase their passion and curiosity.”

Despite this year’s various changes and the potential adjustments in the next cohort to come, Weber wrapped things up by maintaining that the Capstone Program’s core mission will always stay the same. 

“It’s about giving students the tools and confidence to take big swings,” she said. “And when they do, the results are always worth celebrating.”