Kaplan 1

Maddie Kaplan

Mrs. Reed

AP Language, Period 5

13 May 2020

Senior Project Reflection

My Senior Project was off to a great start before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Stemming from my interest in mental health awareness, I first set out to investigate the question:

What are the symptoms of suicidal behavior, and how can we recognize these symptoms, and use

this knowledge to prevent people from committing suicide? In my letter of intent, which was

signed by Northgate’s school psychologist Mary Tsuboi, I stated my plans to host a guest

speaker session with mental health professionals at my high school, as well as my hopes to

volunteer at the Monument Crisis Center’s children’s after school program. My ultimate goal

was to bring mental health to the forefront of discussion, to help eliminate its stigma in my

community.

While the stay at home order barred me from completing the project and volunteer

aspects of my Senior Project, I did gain a lot of insight on my topic through my mentor interview

and in writing my paper. My mentor was Scott Chavez, the Director of Outreach and Training at

the Contra Costa Crisis Center, and I met with him in early March. Not only did he thoroughly

answer questions pertaining to my essay and shared about his own experiences, but he also

recommended many secondary sources for my research. The research that I conducted for my

essay provided me with new information about suicide - biologically, socially, and globally.
 Kaplan 2

Overall, my Senior Project taught me how to recognize the symptoms of suicidal

behavior and how to better help people who are in suicidal positions. It truly deepened my

interest in and connections with the mental health community, and brought about my hope to

stay active in this field now and in the future.