At Oakton High School, each class does a capstone project that highlights a part of their learning inside or outside the classroom.  Freshman must do the Exhibition Of Learning which requires them to present about a subject of their choosing. It could be about a subject school or a special experience which gave them a new perspective.  Sophomores and Juniors must write a research paper about a topic that interests them and present their research at the end of the year Exhibition Of Learning. Seniors follow this project up by applying their research into a real world scenario.  There are two road maps a senior can follow, an internship or project that will have them use the research they conducted the year prior. The process starts with every student writing a letter to an elected official about their research topic. The next step is picking either the internship or the project.    

The more popular choice among Seniors is the internship route.  The next step is to research an internship that is relevant towards their research topic.  An internship proposal must be written explaining the details of the internship. Students must form a plan of implementation and logistics within the proposal which will be checked on by teachers.  The proposal must also explain why this is a logical follow up to their research paper written last year. The actual internship will take place in the last two weeks of May. Seniors who choose this option are excused from school for those two weeks as the internship will take place during school hours. 

Talking to one senior, “The internship seems to be a great option for seniors because it gives us a chance to investigate a particular field of study in our future and gain real world experience.  The skills we can learn will be extremely valuable in our future and it’s better to start learning them as early as possible. The internship opportunity will give us that possibility.” Following the internship, students must present their experience at the Presentation Of Learning as a graduation requirement.  The Oakton high school internship experience looks to serve as a way to provide seniors with real world experience in a file of study from their choosing.