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Photo by Heather Nguyen

At New Mexico University junior Riley Miner helped give a presentation for her competition on Oct. 19. This is one of Riley Miner’s many passions, which she has also been able to turn into a CAS project. “Within robotics we do all sorts of stuff like STEM and STEAM programs at middle schools and elementary school.”

Scholars in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program take part in helping their community by creating CAS projects as a part of their curriculum. 

These students have a passion for what they are doing. For example, many of the individuals in IB choose to be part of groups that they love and take them a step further by organizing creative projects to help those around them.

“I’m working on my own CAS project with National Honor Society,” junior Riley Miner said. “We collect blankets for the police department since oftentimes, when there’s a fire at someone’s house, kids are left outside with nothing to keep them warm.”

The purpose of these projects are to also help the students grow. Through the IB curriculum, well rounded students are produced throughout the world. Even IB alumni like El Dorado High School IB coordinator, Pauline Hernandez, is still affected by the lessons she learned from her own IB high school experience.

“You learn not to just worry about yourself,” Hernandez said. “It’s not about what you want to be when you’re older — it’s what you are going to do with the resources that are given to you.”

Along with the personal growth and creativity that comes with these projects, IB students are able to learn from their community. Students do their CAS projects out of personal interest, therefore they are able to gain knowledge from the experiences they endure while carrying out their project. For example, Aixarret Hernandez worked on a project called Love4Elders at Viba Life Senior Living Center.

“When I got into public school I realized nobody really volunteered for the elderly,” senior Aixarret Hernandez said. “So I decided that they do need companionship, and I thought it’d be really nice to get their perspective on the world.”  

These projects have even helped on world issues, such as climate change. Students take action by joining clubs like It’s Your World where they do clean-ups along highways. In this way, students are able to stay informed situations we face in today’s world. 

“I joined this club so I can learn about our environment and be more involved,” sophomore Keidy Palma said, “I think that informing yourself on these topics is very important since it’s a problem we are currently facing.”