What 11^th grade collegio project do students call stressful, challenging and full of hard work? It’s the Junior Research Paper. During each winter, the students of Rahner, Hopkins, Teihard, and Kostka collegio fill out countless notecards, lose sleep and ultimately produce an eight-page research paper on a historical topic of their choice. The topic focuses on issues of social justice and how different people have overcome adversity in the past.

Being known as the hardest project at Prep, students hear all kinds of rumors from upperclassmen about what the paper is supposedly like. Paige DeOra, a current junior, said she heard, “it’s really bad, but once you finish it the hard work pays off and you feel good about yourself.”

Junior Helen Sauvage said “I heard it takes up a lot of time but is a way for students to show their growth”.

Luke Jensen, another junior, added, “I think I heard someone say it is worse than UN.”

DeOra also said she thinks the project is “a lot of work, a lot of time going into notecards, and staying up really really late”.

Despite some of the negative perceptions students have about the project, the seniors have insight on how the project really turns out. Senior Rory Belcher said, “I learned a lot from my sister, hearing you wouldn’t get sleep. But I realized if you stay on top of your work and are interested in your topic it all turns out fine”.

Sara Rothrock, another senior, said that “going into it I was kind of terrified because I’m not an amazing writer, but after I turned it in I was relieved it was over but also really proud of what I had accomplished”.

There are also numerous tools students have that set them up to do their best. Rothrock said “the teachers are so open to meeting with you and want you to succeed. They’ll meet with you, tell you what’s bad, what’s good and what you need to fix”.

Belcher encourages students to “do notecards well and the right way, and find the right sources for resources” so that the entire essay writing process goes smoothly.

However, many juniors are finding positives within the project. Jensen and DeOra are looking forward to researching the topic they chose. DeOra said, “I am excited to explore my topic on Japanese internment camps, I thought it was really interesting”.

Jensen agreed and added, “I’m excited to learn about my topic because I don’t know very much about it”.

Overall, despite the hype the JRP gets from many students, it may not be as scary as it seems. Teachers are more than willing to help you along the way and it is a way to challenge yourself as a writer and gain knowledge on a topic you are truly interested in.