Twelfth grader Stazanae Tidwell sits on a stool facing three teachers and two students, ready to present her thesis, the product of four years of hard work.

She looks nervous, but confident as she begins her College Success Portfolio Defense at Envision Academy in Oakland, Calif. Tidwell will have to present three different projects she worked on during her senior year, laying out her thesis, providing evidence to support the thesis and connecting interdisciplinary ideas. She also has to show that she’s developed a personal philosophy of learning and that she can connect her academics to her personal life.

Read more from reporter Katrina Schwartz, of KQED’s MindShift blog, in her profile of Stazanea and Envision Academy!

Envision Academy Seniors Heading to College