North Stonington — Every year, for one afternoon a few short weeks before graduation, seniors at Wheeler High School engage in a little role-reversal.

They dress up in formal attire, stand at the front of the classroom, and lecture on topics like how to de-rust the inside of a fuel tank or how to produce a graphic novel. Their fellow classmates sit at the desks and take notes while teachers and parents listen from the back.

These are the senior project final presentations, an annual event where students show off their yearlong dive into the real world.

On Friday, students with larger scale projects led their audiences outside to show off the product of their work: the horse they learned to ride, the tractor they meticulously restored and in one case, a small remote-controlled quadcopter.

The preparation is painstaking: each student decides at the end of their junior year what they plan to work on and teams up with a mentor from the region, who guides them through their project. From their mentor, they learn the ropes of an industry or a skill that can help them prepare for a career.

For senior Donny Davino, who plans on majoring in physics and mathematics at the University of Connecticut in the fall, his senior project studying drone photography was an opportunity to "explore a different path."

He worked alongside mentor Tim Yakaitis, owner of the aerial photography company "DroneOn" who spent last summer shooting footage of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock in North Dakota.

Davino is a drone hobbyist, but over the course of his project learned how to shoot, edit and produce video from the aerial vehicles, even in poor conditions. His favorite experiences included filming a boat retreat along the Mystic River from a small, waterlogged dinghy and photographing the unveiling of a ¼-size model of Fenway Park for a Make-a-Wish event, both tricky to photograph.

He came away impressed with his mentor's passion for his work.

"I learned how important it is to love and be engaged in your job," Davino said.

Other students came in with projects that explore longstanding questions about their own chosen careers.

Senior Mackenzie Turrisi, an aspiring singer-songwriter, has been singing in the youth choir at her church since the third grade and plans on studying the music industry at Drexel University. She wanted to know a little more about how the music business works.

"When we were kids, our parents told us we can be whatever you want, but how do you get there?" Turrisi told her audience.

So she worked with bassist Luke Cloutier, who managed his Ledyard punk band Homestead, to see how they got gigs and played shows.

She used her experience to arrange a charity concert that will take place on the evening of June 9 on the Wheeler Library lawn. It will bring together local musicians and a speaker from Hartford to benefit the nonprofit Guitars Not Guns, which offers music lessons for underprivileged youth.

Ultimately, she said, her experience learning about the careers of many different musicians encouraged her not to sweat over her first foray into the music business and to focus on what fulfills her.

"I got relaxed," she said. "I'll get my degree and see where it takes me."

n.lynch@theday.com