One of the culminating experiences of being a student at ECS is the Senior Oral Defense. As part of the Senior Capstone Project, students write a 15–20-page Christian worldview paper and defend it in front of a panel of faculty members who ask them questions about what they wrote. In the Senior Thesis, students write a section articulating their understanding of the Christian worldview. This section focuses on the themes of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. Students then choose an aspect of the Christian worldview that they must defend against a contemporary criticism. Students write on topics such as the existence of God, the problem of evil, the sanctity of life, and the Christian view of marriage, countering what the world says about these topics. The final section of the Senior Thesis involves students applying the Christian worldview to a topic of personal interest. They write on such things as how their faith guides their enjoyment of art or music, their involvement in politics, or how they plan to integrate their faith into a particular career or course of study.
Having fully expressed what they believe as a Christian and how it applies to real world issues, they then face off against teachers and administrators who challenge them on what they have written, seeing if they can defend it in the face of criticism. The goal of the oral defense is to ensure that each student leaves ECS with a biblical understanding of themselves and how they relate to the world they live in. This is where students are called upon to own their faith and articulate it clearly. It is something our seniors readily admit to being nervous about but also say is incredibly rewarding. We are immensely proud of each of them for completing this milestone!