Bay High students showcase creativity with passion projects

January 16, 2026

Cars, chords and creative writing were some of the ways that Bay High Focus Program students expressed their passions at a special showcase.
 
Hundreds of people filled Bay High’s campus this winter to view a series of passion projects. The semester-long assignments gave seniors a chance to pursue interests ranging from music concerts to car photography. They also gained lifelong benefits such as time management, organizational skills and community engagement knowledge.

 
Graham spent his semester snapping pictures of eye-catching vehicles at local car shows. He selected nine autos to highlight for his final project, which featured printed photographs and an assortment of related graphics. He said it was fun to learn why cars, trucks, buses and semis meant so much to their owners.
 
“I was most looking forward to sharing all of the pictures that I took, because these are special cars to the people who own them, and they want to share them with other people,” Graham said. “It was special to me to be able to share their cars with other people, too.”
 
Brayden was equally enthusiastic about his project, which focused on hardcore music in Omaha. He completed a 28-page magazine that included interviews with local bands, historical tidbits and photos from recent concerts. He added his finished product to a display table that also had music-themed tapes, apparel and art on it.
 
“I’m a musician and it’s something I love, so when we heard that for our senior project for our showcase we were going to use our passion project, I decided to do something about the hardcore music scene up there,” Brayden said. “I figured I should do something about the thing I’m most passionate about for my passion project.”

 
Bay High teacher Brent Jarosz said he was happy with the way students like Graham and Brayden tackled their projects. Jarosz said one of the main goals was to teach them about the importance of professional relationships. Students were paired with community mentors who provided ideas and guidance.
 
“It worked really well to have the community partners with them,” Jarosz said. “I think they learned a lot about the value of networking from it.”
 
That was the case with Brayden, who interviewed multiple musicians for the first edition of his magazine. He said their insights inspired him as the project went from concept to creation. He also realized that the words “Will you?” could be the starting point of many valuable life connections.
 
“It was really cool, because as a musician, when you’re growing up and you first get the desire to get into the music world, it feels really unattainable. It feels almost impossible,” Brayden said. “But when you ask people, ‘Hey, can I interview you for this magazine?’ or ‘I’d like to do a spread on you guys and I’d like to send over some questions,’ you get surprised at how willing people are to work with you. It’s one of those things where you just have to put yourself out there.”
 
Graham’s mentor also played a key role in his project. The mentor alerted him to a website that listed various fall car shows, and he turned that knowledge into many new friendships. Car owners immediately accepted him when they saw him with his camera, which helped him accelerate the assignment into a winning lane.
 
“It was so cool,” Graham said. “Everybody was so nice. They were talking about other cars that they’ve had in the past, and the amount of work that they’ve put into their current ones. They were all super happy for me to take pictures of their cars.”

 
Alaina experienced the same reactions when she traveled to car shows in Lincoln, Crete and Sprague. She created a portfolio website filled with pictures of cars that fit into a red, orange, yellow and blue color scheme. She narrowed her original 300 photos down to 90 for the website’s final cut.
 
Alaina said she learned many details about the vehicles while talking with owners. Those facts helped her decide how to position her camera by the cars and what the editing process should look like. The result was a product she was proud of.
 
“I had never edited pictures like I did for this project before,” Alaina said. “I was completely new to editing, and that’s probably why it took me a long time, but it was really cool to see the very last picture I edited versus the very first one. It was a drastic difference. It really was a good feeling.”

 
Brayden said Bay High’s wide-ranging curriculum made it possible to complete his project. The interviewing, designing and photography talents he acquired in classrooms as a junior paid off in shining ways as a senior.
 
“Bay High does a really good job of teaching you those all-around skills that you have to have,” Brayden said. “This is how you do public speaking, this is how you market something, all of those skills needed to create a magazine. It’s really good.”
 
Graham said the projects were an example of how Lincoln Public Schools is helping students explore their current and future passions through focus programs.
 
“I’d definitely like to do more of these projects in the future,” Graham said. “I’m definitely going to continue going to car shows and taking pictures just like these ones. It was honestly a lot of fun to do this for my project.”
 
Inspired by these Bay High Focus Program seniors? Choose your journey with LPS Focus Programs.
 
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