Students will launch the school celebration project by analyzing mentor event materials and kickoff experiences, then use those observations to identify audience, purpose, inclusion, and participation factors that will guide later user research and planning.

Students will gather firsthand perspectives from current students, alumni, families, and staff; analyze patterns in what makes a school celebration feel welcoming and memorable; and produce an evidence-based empathy artifact that identifies user needs, barriers, and opportunity areas before moving into concept development.

Students will turn user research into an evidence-based design brief, generate several distinct celebration concepts, and select one direction using criteria tied to inclusion, participation, logistics, and school spirit.

Students will turn selected celebration concepts into testable prototypes, gather targeted feedback from peers and adult stakeholders, revise their materials and logistics based on evidence, and present a refined event package that explains how user needs shaped design choices.

Students will present their polished school celebration packages to an authentic audience, collect final stakeholder feedback on inclusion and feasibility, and document how their evidence, revisions, and design choices shaped a meaningful event plan.