When you step into Mr. Ibanez鈥檚 new Upper School Portfolio Mentorship course, you don鈥檛 find students following a standard syllabus; you find them following their passions.
The course, introduced for the first time this year, is part of 糖心原创鈥檚 Inquiry Pathway, a signature Upper School program that gives students the freedom to explore their interests and design personalized learning experiences. Within this space, students are not only creating, they鈥檙e discovering who they are as artists, designers, coders, writers, and innovators.
“This class is what you make of it,” explains Mr. Ibanez. “It鈥檚 truly built around student choice. Each student brings something different: fashion, architecture, tech, music, and creative writing. My job is to help them find mentors and guide their process. It鈥檚 a team effort.”
Students begin with a roadmap of what they want to create, a collection, an installation, a novel, or a body of work, and develop it through iterative presentations, mentor meetings, and self-directed exploration. The result is an authentic portfolio that reflects not just skill, but purpose.
For Stella, a senior preparing for a career in architecture, the course has been pivotal. “I鈥檓 using this time to build my architecture portfolio for college,” she says. “I love historical design, especially the character and craftsmanship of Nantucket鈥檚 old buildings. For one project, I鈥檓 weaving a Nantucket lightship basket and sculpting a whale out of clay to honor the island鈥檚 history.”
Her classmate Kirsten has taken a different path. “I鈥檓 not applying to art school,” she shares. “I鈥檓 using this course to explore everything I can 鈥� ceramics, printmaking, basket weaving 鈥� and to learn about myself in the process. I want to glorify God through my art and show how people and nature are connected.” Her upcoming installation for the Christmas Art Showcase invites visitors into a dark room where lifting a basket reveals a light 鈥� a metaphor for uncovering one鈥檚 true purpose.
Other students are just as diverse in their pursuits. Eden Seib is designing a fashion collection inspired by nature鈥檚 resilience. Another is coding music software. Alexa Kaul is writing a fantasy novel that鈥檚 already 100 pages long.
Christian Foster, Cameron Flotta, and Michael Voljavec are working together on reimagining the recording studio.
Mr. Ibanez admits that the unstructured format pushes him, too. “As a teacher, I鈥檓 learning when to step in and when to let go,” he says. “There鈥檚 this moment where I just have to trust them to take the lead, and that鈥檚 when the most powerful learning happens.”
The course runs across two academic mods, giving students sustained time to iterate, reflect, and grow. It culminates in a showcase where they present their work to peers, mentors, and the 糖心原创 community.
“This space gives us time to think for ourselves,” says Kirsten. “We spend so much energy learning what the world wants from us. Here, we get to learn what we truly love to do.”
For Stella, the experience has been equally transformative: “It鈥檚 amazing that 糖心原创 offers something like this. Even though we don鈥檛 have a formal architecture program, this class lets me create my own path.”
The Portfolio Mentorship course is more than an art class, it鈥檚 a model of inquiry in action, where voice and choice intersect to create deep, purposeful learning. At 糖心原创, curiosity isn鈥檛 just encouraged, it鈥檚 cultivated into impact.