Meeting a special effects makeup artist or going and watching a surgery are opportunities provided by the new program iLab.

iLab is a program brought over from Clint Small Middle School, dedicating a space, in the library, for students who want to go above and beyond the basic curriculum and expand their knowledge about a career they might want to pursue.

The iLab is a great addition on campus because it provides many resources for students with wants or needs to further their understanding of something that they enjoy. Some of the opportunities in the iLab are meeting professionals in certain career groups visiting, and using the many materials they couldn’t use in class.

Not only is this space good for students academically, it is a nice and calm social environment for those who need it. Being social is very important in our society. It helps by making students stronger, be it learning or living. Many students aren’t able to learn by just sitting in a classroom, so the iLab gives them a space to study outside of the classroom walls with reduced stressors.

For me, it is a much needed space. I have used this space to relax from daily stresses, pursue career opportunities that really interest me and collaborate with other students on projects. Students are given an opportunity to complete a passion project that is about the student and allowing them to fall in love with learning. At Small, I completed a project where at the end of the year we got our own beehives. The iLab helped me by providing a space where I could work with no distractions. Some of my best work came from being in iLab. There are many others such as studying cosmetics, that give the students their own understanding of the world around them. A few of the projects being started here are about astrology, one on biology, and one is about speed cubes.

Isabelle Salazar, the iLab coordinator, helps with getting resources together for the programs and providing support for students to get through completing their passion projects.

iLab makes students try to understand how the world works around them for themselves. It’s not just a place where students to goof off after work is finished; students are pushed to do what they want and show who they are and want to be. Most of the work done in iLab is completely independent with little help from the director.

 It’s an exciting process to be a part of this new addition to our school and it will really help the students in iLab in a positive way.