Every year students of the NRAS Capstone program develop projects of their own to showcase at a special night for their classmates, family, and teachers to view. This year’s event will be held on May 17 at 5pm.
The capstone program is designed as a class for seniors to take as a way of “capping off” their studies. Magnet program students in all strands including the animal strand, plant strand, and the natural resource strand, all complete a project.
One capstone student, senior Kaylea Carter, completed her research on “sea turtles, and how humans are affecting their stranding populations, and whether natural or human caused strandings are more prevalent.”  Carter chose this project because she will be studying marine science at Coastal Carolina University.
To get the information needed, it was necessary for Carter to contact “professors at colleges and universities.” This proved to be a challenge, as according to Carter, she faced “rejection, especially being a high school student, people don’t really take you seriously.”
Another senior, Carly Cabral, went a different route for her project. She is growing hydroponic lettuce in the greenhouse. According to Cabral, she chose to study this because she “liked plant science, and wanted to do something relevant to that.”
However, she ran into an obstacle while trying to grow it in cooler temperatures, as the plants “wouldn’t grow at all, so [she] had to find a resolution to that problem.” Cabral is still trying to decide on a major for her college career at Harford Community College.
Senior Josee Cantin is part of the natural resource strand, and each has completed a capstone project featuring an area of interest. Cantin identified her focus was “analyzing chemical water quality in different aquatic vegetation.”
Students in other strands also have an opportunity to feature their research, including senior Charece Michel (animal strand).  Michel said she has done research on th  effects of chemo on canines with lymphoma, and fellow senior Savannah Blythe (animal strand) conducted research on porcupines in captivity and the rate at which they forage and what factors influence that behavior.
While many of these students could have attended a wide range of Harford County schools, they chose North Harford for various reasons.  Blythe commented that she originally wanted to be a vet, and because the NH campus had a barn, she felt that would give her great opportunities.
Blythe explains “I got to have hands on experiences with the animals instead of just reading out of a textbook.” Michel also admits she had a passion for animals beginning at a very young age,  and “when I discovered this program I thought it would be a good idea to have a chance to experience it.”
Johnson knew he wanted to further his knowledge about agriculture at the NH Ag Magnet, and now the senior will head off to  Iowa State University next year to  pursue a career in ag systems technology.
Likewise, Cantin will be attending St Mary’s College, where she will get to continue working with capstone type-projects during her post-high school experiences.  As far as her capstone at The Nest, she said that initially she thought it was going to be easier, but all the hard work she did prepared her for what she wants to do later in her life.