At Spectrum, the Senior Capstone course helps seniors have variety on their college applications, these Senior Capstones are a way for our seniors at Spectrum to get involved with our community and for something to put on their college application to make them stand out from other high schools.  

Yet these Senior Capstones are important to the Spectrum students for many different reasons.

“I think they are important for a lot of reasons,” Etta Glinsek said. “They connect our seniors with the rest of the community, kind of get us out there, they put our names out there for colleges, to see something unique and different from other schools. Like the Elk River isn’t doing anything like this. I also think that it is just important to be involved with your community in general and make a difference in the world, and learn about it. “

Yet, even though our Seniors do these Capstones over the summer, they each have a different reason, choice, or idea that they want to do. Even though our Seniors are working hard to make their Capstone stand out, they each have something meaningful that has drawn them to that specific project.

“I have always been interested in conservation and the environment,” Glinsek said. “It is something that I might consider going into in the future. Which was kind of the outline of our project was to find something we might want to do and base it around a career that we might like to have, so I choose to do something with the environment and begin outside. I really had a good time too. “

Glinsek’s senior project was to help the environment and the regrowth of natural wildlife. 

“I moved invasive species from a park in Saint Cloud with some volunteers. Siberian Almam and Box Elder,” Glinsek said. “We just cut down trees and sprayed them with pesticide so that they don’t grow back. Then they are going to burn it in the spring so that all the other wildlife can grow back from there.”

Glinsek had worked hard to help out the community so that they have a healthy environment for the plants and animals. In doing this, she helped clear out around 22 acres of land to help the environment and natural resources for wildlife.