Blog Feed

June 7, 2013

For my capstone project I designed and built the Science Leadership Academy mascot costume, the rocket. I decided to do this project because I felt this was something the school could use at sporting events, fund-raising events and even just use it to boost school spirit. I feel that all the SLA core values are represented within the project. From the moment it was decided that this would be my project all the way until now, the core values have been considered and returned to for guidance. 

This particular project definitely took a lot more planning then I had initially thought. The idea is simple enough, make a costume but the more planning that occurred, the more questions sprang up to delay the construction. But first things first, I had to find someone who knew what they were doing. Extremely luckily for me, a family friend owns a costume and display company, Character Translations Inc., where I was able to work under careful direction. After ensuring I would be able to work here, the fun began. 

The scale model phase took approximately 6 weeks. This included, choosing the main material, deciding on a basic structure and sketching and building models. After being sure of the desired structure and material, I began assembling the pieces. This involved making paper outlines of each type of piece so that they would all be identical. These outlines would then be traced onto sixty gauge plastic which would then be cut out. The next phase was assembly. Almost all the pieces on the rocket are riveted together, only excluding the inner harness, which was screwed in after riveting. After the rocket was in order, I began making the flames and fins. The flames are different sized materials that are all cut and sewn to an elastic band which is Velcro-ed to the inner bottom rim. The fins are made of hard foam that was cut, shaped, sanded, and painted. After drying, they were glued on to the bottom. At this point all major construction sections were done, so I moved onto to details. All of the plastic on the rocket was originally silver but using spray paint, I was able to add the some school colors. Before painting, sections of the rocket had to be very securely masked off to cover silver sections and fins. Once the paint had dried, all that was left to do was add the decals. Simple brown glue was used to place the “S L A” and American flags on each side. This entire process spanned over 5 months. 

The main problems I faced when trying to complete this capstone were time and knowledge. Finding time to come to the work shop in Norristown was difficult. I often used Wednesday afternoons and national holidays for work time on the project. Of course, things come up and I was not always able to make it to the work shop but overall, I feel I had the perfect amount of time to complete the project. My lack of knowledge proved to make this project more testing. I had no idea the amount of work I was signing on for when I chose this project. I knew very little about costume design/production and at times, it showed in my work. Without the help of employees at Character Translation Inc., this rocket would not exist. They taught me as we went along and I learned a great deal from working with them. In the end, my original obstacles became some of my favorites parts of this project. 

I am most proud of this project because it is something I can give back to the school that has given so much to me. Of course, I am happy with the way it turned out and the experience I gained but I am more pleased to be able do something that will maybe have a positive affect on the school. I learned a lot about design and construction but probably one of the more important things I learned was how to work with people in a professional atmosphere. The things I learned from the project and also the things I have learned from attending SLA for four years, are things that I will use and cherish for the rest of my life. Thank you. 

Jayd Jackson is a 16 year old who is the main character of the book. Her story starts when she goes back to school to South Bay High aka Drama High. She lives with her grandmother who is one of the many Louisiana conjure women which means she has powerful powers from Louisiana gods. Jayd has a lot of drama in her life because her grandmother is a conjurer and her next door neighbor is a evil voodoo queen who wants to take Jayd’s powers for her own. The drama is worse in school. It’s close to Valentines Day, and love is in the air sort of speak. Jayd has to face the fact that her crew is falling apart and her frenemy Misty is getting help from her evil next door neighbor. Jayd will need more than her inner strength. She'll need the help of her gifted ancestors, to save herself and her crew. 

I can relate to this book because it seems like my life is always filled with drama. My mom thinks it’s because I don't mind my own business which is somewhat the case, but at the same time people tell me everything and then it just goes downhill from picking sides or friends being mad at the other. At home it’s not as bad because my grandmother isn’t my main care taker. I live with my mom and she’s around when I need her. My relationship with my dad is like Jayd’s. I can’t say I hate my dads side of the family because I don’t really know them but my dad wasn’t really around he was in Ohio for 13 out of 15 years of my life. Sometimes he does try to be a dad but it doesn’t work out the way I want it to and it’s the same way with her dad. 

Over all Holidaze was a good /interesting book. I’m a sucker for drama books, mysteries occasionally I like horror and romantic books. I love the Drama High series once I start reading the book I can’t get enough of it. I have actually recommended the series to two of my friends who have also enjoyed the books. I want to keep reading the series until I finish all the books. The one thing I think can be cut back on is Jayd’s powers. I think it’s great she has them but her and her grandmothers traditions go against my religion. Sometimes it’s a lot to read about and it’s the same thing, I want something fresh. That little problem still doesn’t stop me from reading my book. When I’m done the series I’m going to wait for the 16th book in the meantime I am going to be reading The Other Boleyn Girl, I will be writing a book review for that so stay tuned. Book cover is shown below

I recommend this book for people teens and young adults of the age 13-20. Adults can read it because my mom enjoy the books too but it reaches out to kids in high school. This can be for both genders but it seems like girls would understand the drama that’s in the book. To boys it would probably be silly the stuff they fight about in the book. Overall this book is good for people who can tolerate cliffhangers and don’t mind reading more than one book to get to the ending. It’s a romantic drama for teens. If you give it a rating it’s rated P.G 14 it has it’s moments where it gets graphic with violence and the language. It’s a book that will keep you reading because you want to hope that Jayd will get a better life outside of South Bay High. The first book in the Drama High series is The Fight.

The Secret: My Secret

My Secret,

The One that holds me back,

The One that no one knows,

Except the friends I’ve told.

Not even my mother,

Nope not at all.

I feel that this secret is not me,

But, yet a phase.

One that will go away,

Just a feeling in the moment.

But, the feeling, it overshadows me.

Keeping me in the dark and not wanting to come out.

My thoughts, they’re mines,

But it takes over when the oppurtunity presents,

When it presents, it wins,

All the time.

No, I am not ready to accept my secret, 

The Lie that I tell myself everyday.

You probably no by now,

But, I am still not ready to share.

To me my secret is an untold truth,

But a lie to myself being.

It may be true,

But, right now, I am not ready to accept, “The Secret.”

                My capstone addresses the SLA core values in many ways. For one, collaboration was a major, if not integral, portion of my capstone. It was often necessary to reach out to coworkers to give feedback on my proposal as well as research paper. I also had to gain the backing of a knowledgeable team. With a great team behind me, it was easy to move forward with conducting our research. Another very important piece of this project was research. Countless hours were spent understanding the water hyacinth plant, removal and disposal methods, and its anatomy. This information was vital to properly conducting the project. Understanding the growth pattern of water hyacinth along with the tidal patterns of the Delaware made conducting research easier. In terms of the value of presentation and reflection, a great deal of attention was paid to the detail within the research paper. After reading some other published research papers on water hyacinth and its applications, I made sure that my paper was read over by many pairs of eyes. This ensured the quality of the project was evident in its documentation.

                To complete this capstone, four steps were followed. Research, comprehension, application, reflection. These steps were used countless times during the process of my capstone. Research was used to layer the basic understanding of all elements incorporated into my capstone. From understanding scientific measurements of the biology of a river to using probes for water quality testing. This research was often revised and revisited. Comprehension played a key role in the project. After conducting all the necessary research, the team got together to ensure that all information was not only relevant, but that it could also help us to direct our study areas to those in which finding/identifying water hyacinth would be possible. This step was also used to devise the course maps for the project. Application was the manifestation of our research and planning. We took everything that we learned and went into the field to collect our data. Over the course of two days, the team managed to visit 6 different sites. Three sites were on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River while the other 3 were on the Pennsylvania side. These sites were chosen after careful deliberation with the project team. We ensured that all sites had a relative proximity as well as being easy to navigate to. Reflection was the final step in completing this capstone. Reflecting on the team’s work, it was evident that our research could have a long term impact in the quality of our river. After conducting the project, it was evident that we needed to reach out to other agencies to ensure that the right people were aware that water hyacinth may have spread to Pennsylvania as well as New Jersey.

                One major obstacle that presented the project team early on were the effects of the sequestration. Due to the sequestration, it was unclear at times whether or not the research project would be able to move forward. Another factor that affected the project was the equipment needed. The boat that was set to be used had not yet undergone its inspection and checklist. For this reason, the course map was redrawn to allow us to visit sites in which we knew water hyacinth could exist while having access to the shore. In the end, these two factors caused the project to be conducted from shore instead of using the boat. During the course of the project, there were often many a time in which other knowledge bases were needed. Often, I tapped in to my coworkers. They proved invaluable with a plethora of information about conducting research projects, writing a clear research paper, and quality assurance standards to use while conducting research.

                I am most proud of the experience given by this capstone. Most students in high school do not get to conduct their very own research project. Having the experience of conducting and leading a research team for a project was very exciting. It showed me a lot about collaboration as well as effective use and consolidation of resources. When we found that we could not use a specific program or tool, we quickly turned gear to find another way of doing things. This project has also taught me a lot about environmental science as a major. It gave me a deeper understanding to the things that environmental scientist and engineers do on a daily basis. If I could do this capstone over again, I would change the timespan of the project. Having the research conducted in two days was sufficient for the scale of this project however, with a greater timespan, we could most likely get more locations surveyed.

                My capstone has made SLA a better place because of the people that I have inspired. When underclassmen would ask me about my capstone, they were instantly intrigued that I got to lead and conduct a research project. This also allowed me to network people to bring about more resources and materials for science learning at SLA. 

            Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC) originates from mutations in calcitonin-producing parafollicular C cells of the thyroid, is a rare malignancy, accounting for 3-4% of all thyroid carcinomas. It occurs in a hereditary form (HMTC, 25%) or in a sporadic form (SMTC, 75%). The prognosis for patients with MTC is poor, as the tumor metastasizes at early stages; and the only curative therapeutic option so far is radical surgery. Genetic analysis helps identify inherited cases at a stage where prophylactic surgery can be offered to carriers of such mutations to prevent the disease. This approach may also be used to determine better treatment options for patients who are already diagnosed with MTC.

The goal of this project was to develop a comprehensive mutational panel for the detection of clinically relevant mutations in MTC samples. A total of 143 mutations (nucleic acid variations) in 8 human genes were selected from numerous papers and public databases and included into the MTC mutational panel. The selection criteria were based on the coding mutations (mutations that occur in the coding area of the genes) that were reported to occur in MTC patients and considered functionally relevant. Some of the mutations included into the MTC mutational panel (such as BRAF gene V600E mutation) were also described in other types of thyroid cancer, but most of the mutations were unique to MTC (such as all RET gene mutations). The entire assay design was carried out using Sequenom's online design tools (ProxSNP and PreXTEND (https://www.mysequenom.com/Tools) and Assay Design software (v. 3.1)).

The final file comprised from 115 assays corresponding to all 143 mutations included into the MTC panel. This file will be further processed using the SEQUENOM® Mass-ARRAY iPLEX® platform for DNA genotyping of clinical samples by the cancer research scientists at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

            Save for Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma (ATC), MTC is the second most aggressive type of thyroid cancer. Hereditary mutations that could lead to HMTC need to be found as rapidly as possible, as the onset age is only 5. This Mutational Panel is one of the best ways to diagnose any type of MTC, be it hereditary or sporadic, and give a small beam of hope to the poor person diagnosed with the mutation.

            The decision to make this panel was a hard one, as at the time that I started it, I was going to take pre-calculus in Drexel University. It was an insane amount of work, but I managed to compile the list of mutations over the summer, and continue the analysis during autumn. The actually write-up was finished much later, when I decided that I could use that project as my capstone.

            Simply put, the project was not easy. It took me a long time to understand the basics, and even a longer time to be able to manipulate small details, but in the end, the project was amazing. I have to say, that out of all the work I did while I was in SLA, this capstone project is the one I am proud of the most!

B. Explain how you found negative space in 1. your cut out?, 2. in your still life drawing?

C. Why does it help an artist to see in negative space?

D. Does seeing in negative space enhance drawings, why or why not?

Of all of the characters in the story, I could relate most of all to Phoebus, the promiscuous soldier. Don’t get me wrong, I do not relate to him because we are both promiscuous; I can relate to him because when he is among the beautiful, rich and fancy ladies, he feels very uncomfortable, even though he was raised very properly. He feels more comfortable speaking roughly, dressing casually, and interacting with the average people. I went to a private Jewish school for ten years and now that I have finally left, I will always feel out of place with my friends that still go to private Jewish schools. The way Phoebus feels is nearly exactly the same way that I have grown to feel nowadays. It’s not that I have a preference for people who are not “rich and Jewish”, but it’s just simpler and more fun for me to hang out with other kinds of people too.

My favorite character is easily Claude Frollo. Claude Frollo is my favorite character for only two reasons. Firstly, I find it mind-blowing that a person can transform from such a compassionate and eager-to-learn young man to a twisted and impudent man.  He used to study tirelessly at the University; he adopted his younger brother at the age of 16 because their parents had died (due to the plague); and on top of that, he took in the discarded child, Quasimodo, and raised him and loved him as his own. Then, once his boys grow up, he turns to studying alchemy in the tall towers of the cathedral, Notre-Dame. Now he rarely emerges from his workspace. When people try to speak to him, he is often unresponsive or just rude and frightening. The only exception to this kind of behavior is Quasimodo; I think this is because they both receive hostility from the people of Paris. The second reason that I enjoy Claude Frollo so much is because he is so complex and unbelievable intelligent. 

Finally, I think this book is fantastic, and I would strongly recommend it to anybody who is willing to deal with the somewhat tedious writing style of Victor Hugo. The only (minor) issue that I found with this book is that it had a bit too much historical narration for my taste. At the beginning I felt that it was tough to read through all of the non-fiction, but I did it anyway because I really wanted to get to the rest of the story. It was undoubtedly worth the strain. In conclusion, this is a marvelous story filled with intricately built characters as well as a beautifully written description of the setting. This book is great for anybody who is prepared and eager to read the story despite the slightly tiresome historical reports.  

           Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a deft, eloquent, and riotously funny novel about a not so humorous topic – the crippling effects of depression.  Inspired by the author’s own experience during his five-day stay in a New York psychiatric hospital, this book was published in 2006.  He was only twenty-five.  A major Hollywood film of the same name staring Keir Gilchrist, Dana DeVestern, and Zach Galifianakis was released four years later.

            It’s Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of Craig Gilner, a driven teenage growing up in Manhattan.  Ever since he was young child, he knew exactly what he wanted to be - he was going to be the president of America.  He is a conscientious worker; and because of his ambition and this hard work he is able to get admitted into Manhattan’s most exclusive school and labor intensive, the Executive Pre-Professional High School, which is full of some of the most precocious children of his age.  Even though Craig convinces himself that this was what he wants, he finds that in this new school he is struggling to just keep up with the rest of the pack.  His best friend, Aaron, on the other hand, got into the school without even trying.  

            Craig feels anguish as everything starts to pile up on him - schoolwork, extracurriculars needed to get into a decent college, social obligations, and guilt because of what he is putting his family through.  Could he possibly get into a decent college or even make it through high school?  This anxiety continues to grow in cycles until his life  gets turbulent and it becomes to be too much to bear.  Craig becomes suicidal.  Fortunately, Craig has the good sense to check himself into a psychiatric hospital before it is too late.  Here he finally feels safe.  There is a sense of stability here that anchors him to reality, something he was unable to find in the outside world.  He feels in control.  The hospital is his bulwark against his depression.  In this environment he is finally able to piece everything together, to brood constructively.  He connects to the others in the ward because even though they are of all different ages and have different troubles in their pasts they are all going through rough times and are able to help each other get through them.  

            In the hospital he meets many people who proved to be true friends, the most prominent of which is Noel.  Noel has the same problem as Craig, which is revealed to us by the scars on her cheek. Both Craig and Noel are teenagers struggling under the weight of adolescence and the expectations and labels that society has placed on them.  This is a bond that cannot be broken.  It is what makes this story so powerful in addition to being witty.

             This is an excellent book for teenage readers trying to make sense out of what it means to be a unique and complex individual and how we can navigate between our expectations and reality.  Life can be fraught with danger and pretty scary at times, but if Craig Gilner can tame his pernicious demons, I think that we, too, should be able give it a good shot. If we can accomplish this self-discovery with half the humor of the narrator, we will be doubly successful.  The novel feels like a genuine rendition of a teenager’s experience. This made the characters and emotions relatable giving the book an extremely powerful message. Other than modifying some annoying colloquial phrases that seem forced, I wouldn’t change a thing.  If you like heavy topics dealt with in a light-hearted and witty way It’s Kind of a Funny Story  is a must read.  I for one strongly recommend it.