They may have graduated on Tuesday, but the Tabor Academy students who worked on senior projects this year have developed skills they plan to pursue for years to come.

Take Adam Fraley for example.

With only one test left for his emergency medical technician certification, Fraley said, “I’d feel comfortable delivering a baby.”

Fraley isn’t being overconfident. The Bar Harbor native has spent hundreds of hours with firefighters and EMTs since becoming a junior firefighter in middle school.

As a freshman at Tabor, he joined the Marion Fire/EMS Department as a recruit firefighter, and when it came time to do a senior project, everything fell into place for him to take EMT classes and shadow local EMTs.

“I’ve done way more than I ever thought I’d be able to do with them,” Fraley said of his years with the Marion Fire Department. “They really opened it up for training for the new guys.”

Fraley lists a litany of calls he’s attended since his freshmen year: garbage trucks catching on fire on I-195, rollovers, gas leaks, medical emergencies, downed power lines and forest fires.

The self-described adrenaline junkie, who also rides dirt bikes and motorcycles, said he could ride on fire engines and use ladders as extra manpower for Marion Fire, though he was not permitted to go into a burning building.

For his senior project, an optional program at Tabor, Fraley decided to focus more on the EMT side of things.

“I realized I needed some more formal medical training, so the senior project opportunity allowed me to take a step back. I didn’t think I would have time until after college,” he said.

Fraley spent more than 200 hours taking EMT classes, and already took (and passed) three of his four exams.

He also worked at the station for more than 50 hours this spring, though he didn’t get the opportunity for a ride along.

“This will be something I do for the rest of my life for sure,” Fraley said.

Marion native Holly Francis says she’ll also continue the skill she worked on for her senior project.

The executive officer of the school’s schooner, Tabor Boy, Francis spends a lot of time on the water and decided to delve into the icy waters of Buzzards Bay to learn kiteboarding.

The sport requires mastering a board, the wind and a kite with 100 feet of line.

“Picture wakeboarding but being pulled by a kite,” explained Francis.

The easier thing to do is follow the kite downwind, she said, but part of navigating kiteboarding is to move upwind. That was Francis’ challenge.

Before attending Tabor, Francis spent a year sailing with her family around South America, where she took kiteboarding lessons in the Virgin Islands, Columbia and Panama.

That taught her a few safety basics, but learning the sport in Spanish with limited time at each location proved difficult.

Luckily, her sailing experience came in handy in understanding how to handle wind currents.

“I kind of picture the wind flowing over [the kite] and how the lines can affect that,” Francis said.

Beyond simply staying upright, she attempted some jumps.

“I tend to spin around backwards and lose the board and crash the kite. I do get into the air,” said Francis.

Francis said she was glad she got time to devote to kiteboarding.

“I hate when I don’t finish things that I start,” she said. “It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for the past five years.”

For Renee Chen, a student from Shanghai, the senior project put two years of music courses to the test.

Chen scored a silent film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplain.

“It was a good opportunity for me to concentrate on something I’m very passionate about,” said Chen.

She researched films in the public domain from several countries before landing on Chaplain’s “The Kid.”

Splitting the movie into three parts, Chen created distinct pieces using a variety of instruments, including a traditional Chinese flute.

She used software to create all of the music and sync it to the film.

Chen’s previous experience with scores included writing music for a Chanel nail polish commercial and composing pop songs.

“I found film scoring more challenging,” she said. “You need to think about how to match with the emotions in the film.”

She said the project has changed her own moviegoing experience.

“I didn’t pay attention to film scores,” she said. “It’s affected the way I watch films.”

At graduation, Chen was awarded the Andrew David Heitman Award for the Outstanding Senior Project.

Get the link to watch “The Kid” with Chen’s score at SippicanVillageSoup.com.