By DAMIAN MANN
Mail Tribune

CENTRAL POINT - For most schools, the deadline of 2007 to meet the new Oregon graduation requirements seems a long way off.

However, 34 seniors at Crater High just couldn't wait for five years.

Last week, they became the first students in the Rogue Valley - and some of the first in Oregon - to fulfill the Certificate of Advanced Mastery, or CAM program.

"We found out about it and decided to go for it." said 18-year-old Travis Fiebelkorn.

The Oregon Board of Education this year adopted the requirements for the CAM, but gave schools until 2007 before making it mandatory for graduation.

"Some of the students think the CIM and CAM are pretty stupid," said senior Valerie Boggs. "But I think the CAM really extends what you learn in the classroom. It kind of completes everything you've learned and it's a nice recognition of it."

To meet the requirements, Boggs raised a hog for market, calculating the number of hours needed and the amount of feed.

Last summer, she worked 35 hours a week as a planning department assistant, fulfilling the internship requirement.

Under the CAM, students will embark on a career path by taking classes, writing papers and developing expertise in a particular subject.

Crater Assistant Principal Todd Bloomquist said the decision to award Crater's version of CAM this year was almost a no-brainer. "We asked ourselves, 'Are we meeting all the state requirements,' and we said, 'We are.'"

Students undertook psychology projects, marketing campaigns and a microbe analysis of Bear Creek - spending two years to meet all the requirements.

Crater Principal Karyn Lynch said the CAM is broader and more involved than a typical senior project.

"The internships (at a local business) count for a lot," she said.

Heidi Zlatek, 18, said students only found out that they were going to be awarded the CAM last Tuesday, before the ceremony was held on Thursday.

"There were a couple of us who were really excited," she said. "There are only 1 percent of students in Oregon who have the CAM and I'm part of it."

The CAM is designed to better prepare students for a career path and to give more relevance to the classes they take.

Many high schools plan to use senior projects to help students focus on their goals, others will require smaller projects to show their expertise in an area of study.

Meeting the requirements was no picnic for students at Crater.

Heidi first did an analysis of starting a clothing company in Australia.

"The paper ended up being 64 pages long," she said. "Mr. (Mike) Rogan and Mr. (Todd) Bennett expected a lot out of us and really pushed us."

After this project, Heidi decided to tackle setting up a business plan for a store in the Rogue Valley.

In prior years, this has helped other students from Crater. "A couple of students have gone to the banks and have given them a business plan and they gave them the funding," said Heidi.

The name of her theoretical business is "Monde de Jus," which is French for "world of juice."

"We had to figure out who our suppliers are and who is our competition," she said.

Heidi even picked a possible location for the business, on Main Street in downtown Medford so that it could be close to the professional center, providing a place to have smoothies, juice, sandwiches and desserts.

As if Heidi's plate weren't full enough, she also did a three-hour-a-week internship at the courthouse. "My goal is to be a judge," said Heidi, who will head to the University of Oregon in the fall.

If a career in law doesn't work out, Heidi said, "This (the business plan) is definitely something to fall back on. Just in case I want to start my own firm."

Travis also followed a business management career path for the CAM.

Besides completing a 60-page paper on running a business in Egypt, he created a business plan for an Internet-based grocery delivery store, dubbed "I deliver."

He said he got the idea because, "I've worked at a grocery store for two years and countless people say 'I wish you delivered.'"

With plans to go into business management or financial consulting, Travis said the experience will prove invaluable.

Receiving the CAM took a lot of time, but Travis said it was worth it.

"It just makes me feel that I achieved at a higher level than other students," said Travis.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com