The Journeys Symposium at GWUOHS

Jumping into Journeys alludes to the 8th grade transition into high school. This course challenges 8th graders to become leaders of the middle school community and actively map out their plans for academic success, including course scheduling and progression, career exploration, self-reflection, and preparing for the rigor of high school.

Students explore and evaluate their personal interests, habits, and preferences through career exploration tools and guided experiences that give them greater insight into themselves and each other. Part of this “immersion in self-awareness” is an assessment of their learning styles and needs. Each student emerges with a concrete set of goals and an initial career preference.

Incorporating their developing self-awareness into the realm of team and community, students engage in a direct, hands-on service experience of their choice. Critical to this endeavor is in-depth analysis and reflection on the dynamics that lead to effective team action and community involvement. The result is a blueprint that students can use for skillful and responsible stewardship in the future.

Students continue applying their sense of self and community by building—and telling—their unique stories. This year in the Symposium stresses the conviction that every individual adds a distinctive, vital chapter to the whole human story. Through an iterative series of writing challenges, presentations, and discussions, each student crafts a powerful personal narrative that can be used as their college essay. Additionally, each student’s journey culminates in 11th grade with their postsecondary plan.

This final journey includes a practical focus on the college application process as well as a completion and defense of a senior year Capstone Project. Students research, examine, and report on various examples of courage, motivation, influence, triumph, and legacy fulfillment—current and historical—made more immediate and relevant through their pursuit of a self-selected, hands-on leadership opportunity in their area of concentration.

For the Capstone Project, each 12th grader picks an area of study based on their area of concentration. Participants work with their Journeys Symposium instructor throughout the entire Capstone experience. Once an area of study has been identified and approved by a faculty committee, students partner with a mentor and conduct research in their area of interest. Students present their completed Capstone Project to a panel of judges before the end of the semester.

Enrolled students must earn 4 credits throughout the Journeys Symposium to be eligible to graduate and receive a GWUOHS diploma. However, the requirements are slightly different for students who transfer to GWUOHS later in their high school careers. Students who transfer to GWUOHS in grade 10, 11, or 12 will only be required to take .5 credit of Journeys per semester of school with GWUOHS.