McGehee School | Mentorship

Sustainability at McGehee: Why Your Individual Impact Matters

Rosie Odem ’19, Texas Christian University

Rosie Odem’s goal was to make McGehee more sustainable as a school and to encourage a sustainable lifestyle amongst the McGehee community. After lots of surveying, research, and educational presentations to the student body and faculty, Rosie developed a 10-year sustainability plan and presented it to the Board of Trustees so that the efforts to minimize the school’s eco-footprint carry on and McGehee could set an example for other New Orleans independent schools.
Manifestations of and Responses to Modern American Sexism

Lucy Bryan ’19, University of Virginia

Lucy Bryan’s motivation for her mentorship was to answer the question: why does sexism still exist despite the fact that most people in our country agree no one is superior to others simply because of their sex? Lucy wanted to understand what modern sexism looked like so that she could better understand how to fight it. Using an “iceberg” metaphor she organized her research and formed her thesis: that the majority of sexism is the result of subconscious attitudes (the submerged portion of the iceberg). Her year long research included examinations of sexism in the political realm, workplace, personal relationships, and beauty culture.
Outdoor Education as a Solution to Nature-Deficit Disorder

Julia Beery ’19, Vanderbilt University

Julia Beery ‘19 explored the idea of Nature-Deficit Disorder: that our distance from nature in our everyday lives has impacts on our own physical and mental health as well as how we treat the environment. This motivated her to research and write a lesson plan framework and example lesson plans to equip teachers to teach their lessons outside. The culmination of her project was coming up with the concept for a McGehee outdoor classroom which will provide additional study space on campus and make outdoor learning more accessible for students and teachers alike.
French Fairytales of the 18th and 19th centuries

Claiborne Beary '16, Middlebury College

After studying French fairy tales en francais, analyzing their structure and examining the culture of that time, Claiborne wrote her own fairy tale set in this period en francais.
A Gender Journey into Politics

Grace Perret '16, Georgetown University

Why the paucity of women in politics and government? Grace wanted to know what are the influencing factors. Along with her research she held a forum on campus with three locally elected female politicians: Helena Moreno, Julie Stokes and Diane Bajoie.
A Study of Sustainable Architecture

Maria Espinoza '14, Tulane University

Maria designed a house to fit a specific site in Peru, her ancestral home. She built several models with the goal of making the house self-sustaining, operated by solar power and built with local materials.
Regional Identities of America

Kathryn Rydberg '15, Stanford University

Kathryn's mentorship focused on regional cultures in America. She wanted to know what defines regional cultures and if they are becoming more or less distinct today. She researched the different factors that influence regions in America, including geography, history, values, politics, economics, and culture. Examining all these perspectives, she was able to see correlations between all of these factors and conclude these distinctions are not diminishing in America today.
Vaccine Controversies

Sofia Cabrera '16, Swarthmore College

Why would someone be against vaccines despite all of the scientific evidence that supports vaccination as a means to prevent disease? As a summer volunteer in a medical setting in Mexico, Sofia saw people with diseases that vaccines prevent. She wanted to know why. Her research included scientific findings regarding vaccines as well as explored persistent questions. She surveyed students and faculty on these topics.

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Mentorship

Our Mentorship Program offers our seniors the opportunity to further distinguish themselves academically by pursuing an independent course of study during their final year at McGehee. Seniors admitted to the Mentorship Program are granted the opportunity to pursue an individualized field of study in which they have a deep and passionate scholarly interest.

Application to the Mentorship Program is made in the second semester of Junior year. A rising Senior may apply for admission to the Mentorship Program if she has an overall GPA of 3.0 and an A average or higher in the related field of proposed study. The faculty selects eligible Seniors based on the merit of submitted proposals. The Senior who successfully completes a rigorous plan of independent study with her faculty mentor graduates with “Distinction” on her diploma in her chosen field of study. Participation in the Mentorship Program is first noted on her transcript at mid-year.

Guided by her faculty mentor, a Senior designs and executes an independent course of study. In order to be accepted, a written proposal must provide an in-depth and detailed outline for her plan of study. Successful candidates for Mentorships are highly motivated, independent learners who carry the responsibility for the timely execution of their Mentorship Program.

For the last several years students and faculty have embarked on independent studies surrounding such topics as the role of antibiotics in modern medicine, women in politics, the art of typography, the history and literary influence of French fairy tales, vaccine controversies, the life and works of William Shakespeare, the works of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Rape Culture in America and What Came First the Rhythm or the Blues?

Complete details of the Mentorship Program and application process are available through the College Counseling Office.

Madeleine Moise '16, University of Southern California

My classmates and I used the Mentorship Program as a way to explore something we were already interested in under the guidance and structure of the program. At the end, I said, Wow, this is totally what I want to do, branding and different forms of communication. It clarified for me how I want to spend the rest of my life. Not only did it help me pick my major, but I am one of only 12 freshmen who were admitted to a class at USC and I think it's because of my mentorship.