Throughout the course of the year, ISM students have continuously enhanced their professional skills through intensive research into their career of choice, presentations and speeches, and mentor visits and interviews with professionals. One such important factor of the  ISM program is the end-of-year final presentation night, a culmination of all the work and research gathered over the course of the year. 

Final presentation night at LTHS this year was memorable to ISM students for various reasons, whether through public speaking skills, or the ability to demonstrate significant interest in their topic. 

“For me personally, final presentation night served as the last milestone in my ISM journey. It was an accumulation of all of the knowledge I obtained this year and it was honestly a confidence boost to stand in a room and give a 30 minute presentation about my topic.” junior Gia Shetty said. “I feel like as a whole, final presentation night gave me a sense of closure to this amazing journey I’ve had during ISM.”

According to the students, the ISM program as a whole has highlighted many facets of social and communication skills needed for students’ future advancements. 

“I think ISM helps LT as a whole because it helps students become better communicators which will help them in all of their classes, not just ISM.” junior Aaryaa Moharir said. 

ISM also provides opportunities to leave the class period to work towards a career path while also being part of the school day. 

“All of us are very competitive students and this course gave us an advantage and an opportunity not many people get to have.” Shetty said. “I would recommend this course to anyone looking to get a feel for their field while in high school as it is both useful but also sets you aside from the competition.” 

The class has also served as a method to gain networking skills and communicate with other professionals, but also with one another as young adults prior to entering the job market. 

“Some of the closest friends I made this year came from ISM. We were together every other day doing the work of adults but as high school students and having a mutual struggle with a common goal pushed all of us to reach the final presentation night and the creation of our final products.” Shetty said.

Ultimately, ISM served a valuable purpose in allowing LTHS students to further their goals in the future through real world experience.