DIXFIELD — Nearly 70 Dirigo High School seniors on Friday presented their final project that details how their education has helped prepare them for life and work after they graduate.

They were in the gym along several long tables with their displays pertinent to their anticipated profession or career path. Many wore outfits or uniforms that fit their career path. Some have attended or are attending the Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico to learn trade skills.

“When I grow up, I want to be a writer, so that’s what I based my tri-fold (display board) on,” Lea Nolette, 18, of Dixfield, said.

The purpose of the portfolios, which are a requirement to graduate, are “to show what you’ve learned at Dirigo over the years,” she said. “It’s to show what Dirigo has done for you as you enter your real life.”

Five or 10 years from now, Nolette said she hopes to be living in Ireland, writing books that sell worldwide.

Chris Henderson, 18, of Peru, attracted a large crowd of mostly boys with his display. He mounted his tri-fold board behind his dirt bike and at one point, was wearing the garb from head to toe of a motorcycle racer.

“I brought my dirt bike in because that’s what I want to do when I get out of high school,” he said.

“I want to machine and weld my own dirt bikes and eventually race them,” he said. “I brought the dirt bike in for extra appeal, you know. I’m in my second year of metal trades at Region 9, so I’m doing good in that and that gave me a jump-start into what I want to do for a career later in life.”

Five to 10 years out from graduation, Henderson said he sees himself in machining college. After graduation, he said he wants to enter the workforce and get a job to save money for college so he doesn’t get out of school in debt.

Devin Mills, 19, of Canton was dressed in the outfit that a horse rider would wear for dressage competitions and standing beside her western saddle in front of her tri-fold board.

It was decorated with her horses that she has trained and ridden, and accompanied by her education history and goals. She said she wants to be a horse trainer living in West Virginia and has trained three to four horses since she learned to ride them at a young age.

“I have two young (horses) that I’m in the process of training right now,” Mills said. “I just love horse training. It is my pastime and my hobby and my everything. In August, I’m moving to West Virginia and going to college for horse training out West.”

She said she wants to start a farm in the near future after two years of college to rescue discarded foals from the thoroughbred industry and to board horses.

Ming Feng Schnorr, 17, of Dixfield, said he wants to be a chemical engineer. He wants to minor in renewable energy engineering at the University of Maine. He views the portfolio presentation as a way for seniors to brag about their education.

“Ten years from now I see myself working at a company that focuses on sustainable energy or other kinds of alternative energy,” Schnorr said.

tkarkos@sunmediagroup.net