For seniors, the end of their high school experience is fast approaching. It won’t be long before the Class of 2014 steps out of its comfort zone and into a whole new world, just like they did four years ago when they arrived at Trinity High School. But there’s a difference between then and now.

Trinity is a college preparatory school and as such prepares its young men for college — and for the real world. Every senior this year will graduate with at least 26 credits in a variety of courses, but many students may not realize the ways they can apply what they’ve learned in those courses. Mr. John Kahl, who teaches honors senior English classes, brought real-world applications to life by modeling a project after the popular television show “Shark Tank.”

“I’ve been doing ‘Shark Tank’ for many years,” Kahl said. “It’s a great way to apply all of the knowledge these guys accumulate.”

The “Shark Tank” project is based on the ABC reality show of the same name. In the show, an entrepreneur with a unique product must present a business plan to a group of judges, explain the benefits of using the ideas, and how he or she plans to make the business profitable. The entrepreneur tries to convince the judges — “sharks” — to invest in the business plan.

Kahl’s guys did pretty much the same thing in front of a variety of sharks Apr. 21-25 in the Trinity convocation hall. Kahl arranged for about 15 “sharks” to judge through the week, many of them Trinity graduates.  If mimicking a reality show like “Shark Tank” doesn’t seem applicable to real life, think again.  In Trinity’s backyard is the business Tom + Chee, which got a big boost on “Shark Tank.”

The students’ “Shark Tank” projects had to be very in-depth.  “The students have to research everything you can imagine,” senior Ben Corder said. “They need to know how whatever they’re making works, look at the financial market of whatever they’re making, calculate advertising, production and shipping costs, profit for the loaners, everything.”

Research wasn’t all that was required. Groups had to be prepared for their presentations. The group of Corder, Sean Dageford, Patrick O’Brien and Daniel Volz had a 2-D, scale model of their solar-powered grill.

Alex Dugan and his group had an entire video about their windshield display projector.

There were other ways seniors tried to prepare. Some groups dressed up in suits while presenting to the judges. Giving believable pitches was a necessity, too.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking,” O’Brien said, “having to remember all of these business terms and everything.”

The presentations resembled a job interview, as the presenters had to present their product in a positive light, while remaining professional in the face of the judges’ questions.

Corder, Dageford, O’Brien, and Volz presented their Solar Chef, or a solar-powered grill. Designed specifically for tailgating and camping, the lightweight grill could provide a safe alternative to gas and propane grills. Dageford explained the mechanical makeup of the grill, stating that the technology was based on normal hotplates but integrated into a solar panel.

It would take several hours to fully charge but could cook while charging. At full power, it could keep pace with the grilling speeds of traditional gas grills. The grill would come in two sizes and a variety of colors. They asked the judges for a $200,000 loan to pay for advertisement and production of their new product. The judges accepted.

In years past, Kahl has been the sole judge for all presentations. This was the first year he brought in outside help to do the judging. Two of the judges were Mike Daily and Kelly Graef.

“I think it’s awesome,” Graef said of the project. “When Mr. Kahl asked me, I thought it was a good idea and it could be a great learning experience.”

“It was great to see how everything we’ve learned comes together,” senior Michael Corrigan said. “I’ve learned a lot.”

Kahl spoke to his students about the value of the project: “This comprises every academic course you’ve taken in high school into one project. Your business courses, your communications courses, your computer courses, your science courses, your writing courses — they’re all used in this project. You probably sat in your classes as a freshman and asked, ‘What am I doing this for?’ Well, this is it, right here.”

Did the students’ projects meet Kahl’s standards? You bet.

Kahl said, “I loved them all. They all showed creativity and imagination. I am so proud of what they’ve done.”