Senior project is the Ultimate rush | Yakima Herald-Republic Online

BECKY PAULSON / Unleashed Ultimate Frisbee, a team sport involving throwing, running, and intercepting passes, was part of the joint senior project planned by Dujie Tahat and Andy Terrell, who hosted a tournament and barbecue that benefited Children's Village.

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One of the new graduation requirements for 2008 graduates in the Yakima School District is completing and presenting a senior project.

These projects can be anything the student chooses as long as they're geared toward community-mindedness. To that end, a group of four senior boys at Eisenhower High School chose to do their
culminating project together.

Seventeen-year-old Dujie Tahat was planning on having a live music event at Yakima's Franklin Park. He asked 18-year-old Andy Terrell if he would be interested in having an Ultimate Frisbee tournament at the same time. Terrell had started an Ultimate Frisbee Club at Eisenhower two years ago, after a couple years of pickup games
Sundays at Franklin Park.

In the end, Tahat and Terrell planned an event that included live music, an Ultimate Frisbee tournament and a barbecue. The venue was changed to West Valley Community Park when the boys realized Franklin Park was booked for the date they were planning their event.

Other Ultimate Frisbee members decided it looked like a fun project and decided to help. Ross Lee, 18, is an Ultimate Frisbee veteran. He wanted his senior project to resemble Chris Gee's. Last spring, the 19-year-old Ike graduate hosted a concert in Franklin Park to benefit Shayla Holwegner, a student who's been battling cancer.

Another contributor was 18-year-old Josh Thomas, also a regular Ultimate Frisbee player: "It was Andy's idea, and we kinda rolled with it," he says.

The boys charged each team a $15 entry fee. The barbecue cost $1 for a hotdog, $2 for a hamburger and $1 for a soda. The boys also
accepted donations.

And all proceeds went to Children's Village, a Yakima facility that serves children with special health care or developmental needs and their families.

The turnout was larger than the four boys expected. They say they had a great time doing the project, and at the end of the day felt a sense of accomplishment.

They had advertised at school, on MySpace and by word of mouth. They were expecting to raise roughly $200.

But they were able to present Children's Village a check for $477.80.

Leftover food was donated to the Union Gospel Mission.

Seven teams competed in the recent double-elimination tournament. There were two Ike boys teams, two West Valley student teams, two Ike staff teams and an Ike girls team. A Davis High School student team dropped out the day of the tournament.

Eighteen-year-old Ike senior Carly Cole says her favorite part of the event was playing against the teachers. Thirty-nine-year-old Ryan Froula, a teacher at Ike, says he participated because "Andy Terrell asked nicely if I'd play." The teachers didn't practice, but "just winged it," Froula says.

Another Ike teacher, 51-year-old Janey Peterson, also participated: "I'm always up for a challenge, and Josh Thomas and Andy Terrell are in my Cadet Connections class," she says.

Both teachers say they really enjoyed themselves, adding the tournament was a "hard workout" and they felt sore the next day.

Entertainment was provided by many artists during the event, including Tahat, 16-year-old Sundus Tahat, 16-year-old Daniel Ullom and 18-year-old Alex Rumbolz, all students at Ike.

But the main attraction was Stefan George, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Washington in Seattle. The 2007 West Valley High School graduate is a multi-talented singer and songwriter. Players took a break from playing Ultimate Frisbee to listen to him perform.

Jennifer Johnson, 18, also an Ike senior, plays Ultimate Frisbee almost every Sunday at Franklin Park with Ike's Ultimate Frisbee club. The boys, she says, "take it competitively, but I don't."