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Senior Students Declare Projects
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D-Day arrived for Riverbank High seniors on Thursday.

It was a day to announce their Senior Project, declare their commitment to finishing it by May and explain its content to their peers, teacher Nancy Garcia explained.

Some 175 students crowded into the RHS school library, and came to the front one by one to display a poster and make a short presentation about their chosen subject.

Standing before their peers, some were eloquent, some were tongue-tied. But all came neatly dressed in black to signify their seriousness. They hurried or struggled through a brief talk to outline the written research paper and physical work they will do on a subject related to their career interests.

Diana Cruz, for example, spoke of fitness, nutrition and taking better care of the body, especially in an age and country beset by obesity and laziness. Cruz will be leading some classes at Curves in Riverbank.

Jose Coralejo is interested in joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation and will research the duties of that organization. His physical project involves working with Modesto Explorers and learning some basic police work.

Noting she's better known as a cheerleader, Maria Lopez said the performing arts would be her subject and under the guidance of cheerleading coach Emily Herrera she would choreograph a dance that grade school students would perform in an RHS game halftime.

Bill Graham said he became interested in becoming a firefighter and paramedic and would design and make a splint for a broken leg that anyone could improvise in an emergency.

Lupita Lozano, whose father runs a dairy farm, said she and her family drink a lot of milk so she will investigate its hormones and contribution to human health, besides studying the eating habits of cows.

Diego Avalos, who hopes to become a pilot, will write his research paper on the manufacture of airplanes and build a small model to illustrate their parts and how they fly.

Jennifer Gonzales had wanted to bring a live puppy to the gathering to back her interest in veterinary services but was dissuaded by Garcia. She had adopted the puppy because it had been rejected by its mother and she is currently feeding it from a bottle. For her physical project, Gonzales plans to volunteer at an animal shelter.

Jovanna Gutierrez said she became interested in becoming an obstetrics nurse after getting the chance to volunteer in a hospital nursery ward. She's developed strong feelings on the sanctity of life and would always argue in favor of adoption rather than abortion, she explained.

Ryan White, who is a culinary arts student, said his project would involve cooking and serving a substantial dinner for friends and family. His father is a professional cook and the younger White said he will probably follow in his father's footsteps.