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My Capstone project was all about digging into how students here at school and in our city get around on bikes. I was super into the idea of doing something related to biking because it’s just something I’m really passionate about. I wanted to either work directly with bikes or teach others about them. But, here’s all the options I found were paid, and our school doesn’t let students get paid for their Capstone projects.

I Worked with the Bicycle Coalition to create some surveys and analyze data. The inquiry question I wanted to answer was why some students bike and why others don’t. I figured it would be a cool way to see how students get to school and what they think about biking.

Working with Nicole from the Bicycle Coalition was awesome. She helped me make sense of all the data and keep on track. We found some interesting stuff, like safety concerns about biking to school. I even came up with some ideas to make things better.

Honestly, the beginning was a struggle. I had to switch up my project halfway through the year because of payment rules. Originally, I wanted to help younger teens learn about bikes, but that fell through.

Looking back, I wish I’d planned things out better from the start and maybe reached out to more schools for data. But overall, I’m proud of what I accomplished. And I think I made a positive impact by caring about this stuff and trying to make things better for everyone.

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qEs3E2dVvdxGPuzY0jYhzJjc8gpwsQxMhh3m1gfCD_Q/edit?usp=sharing

Link To Slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/145pU9-fHAHEbfnsftIk7Da0BpZEfqZ8mBiUNSta6Hcg/edit#slide=id.p

Link to responses: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i1ukqwQ8nPgzLxOBxsRZvIU3Yt6MDg5Gf8wVJPQ9Oho/edit?usp=sharing

Capstone: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JwvD1awfKpv0skU6tVa-1V_-HHnbvpE6ZF_BsY9M-0k/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone, I wrote a book of poems. The poems are structured as they would regularly be, but instead of just a stanza of a poem, there is a book full. I decided to do this because of the passion I have for poetry. I’ve always been infatuated with the flow, mindset, words, and escape that poetry provided for me. Finding a different focus and perspective every time I put words on the paper. During this process, I discovered a lot, A lot about myself mostly. I had to start a new perspective about the reminiscence of my past. Focusing on where I used to be and where I am now. Reflecting and considering how I’ve changed, how I’ve felt, my mindset during that time, and where I am now.

Annotated Bibliography

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ouhVTprMOqkpn0nClXXjeDrZ-o0XvkziVpYhVIXegOw/edit?usp=sharing

I created a one-shot manga chapter that includes roughly 20 pages and a cover. A manga is a style of comic books that originated in Japan and is read from right to left. A one-shot manga specifically is a type of manga that has the entire story included within the lesser amount of pages given for the story. They are similar to a television pilot as one-shot manga are often written to be submitted in a writing contest and can possibly develop into a full-length series. My capstone project addresses the SLA core values through the messages in the story. The teacher of the main character is constantly asking questions to gain a better understanding of new knowledge. The teacher and their family’s constant research over generations is the reason they and the people around them were able to progress in the world they live in. Collaboration is shown through the peace and bonds built upon successful collaboration of a community. Presentation was shown through character interactions as well as my best attempt at paneling and drawing. The main character undergoes growth stemming from self reflection. The teacher’s application of these core values is what allows the main character to succeed, displaying the benefits of the SLA core values. The steps I focused on were meeting with my mentor, organizing my ideas in a google document, practicing drawing, and researching the manga creation process.

For my project, I decided to focus on a group of athletes who had been overlooked and lacked a dedicated photographer and cinematographer for their season. I ultimately chose flag football because, first, I never understood how the game worked, and second, they needed someone consistent to attend their games and practices. I dedicated hours of my time taking game and practice footage for them since it wasn’t fair that most other students often volunteered to take pictures for other highlighted sports. This specific group of athletes deserved that same recognition because they work just as hard as any other sport

annotated bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16bECl27iE4JXRZy0Sa6tqYA5Y62UQWJAY2sxewdOtus/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone project I wanted to display a form of community service to the school by helping other students on their mental health. I was thinking, what is a more newer but still school appropriate way of getting the students to talk about their mental health. so I wanted to make a bulletin board for students to write down how they feel about their academic challenges or how to handle personal life in school life. It’s easy for a student to be stressed out when dealing with mental health issues, so the bulletin board I wanted to make I wanted to help students to feel more open about how they feel about school and how we can handle mental health and classrooms better. Mental health is important in schools for a bunch of reasons. For me to complete my Capstone I was talking to a lot of my family members because in my dad’s side of the family we struggle a lot on mental health. I was just talking to them about their experiences dealing with mental health and how it impacts the family. It’s hard dealing with mental health when your family isn’t so supportive of your decisions or can’t understand you when you go through something.

For my senior capstone project I made a stained glass window. The idea started because I had done stained glass with The Stained Glass Project at the Kedrick Rec Center for my internship for junior year (now based at Woodmere Art Museum in Mt Airy). I loved the program and knew I wanted to come back next year. To create this capstone project we had a timeline, featuring the ideal design process and the creation process. I learned a lot about safety, the importance of connection and networking, and collaboration

At this point of my project, I wanted science to do that for other children around the nation. Accordingly, I did research. I scoured the internet for data and statistics, and I found a weird “anomaly.” According to PEW Research Center, children attending a K-12 school in the United States report loving science and hands-on learning, but as they aged older, that passion waned. In the report of The National Library of Medicine, It wasn’t because they didn’t like science anymore, in-fact, that interest seemed to stay almost constant. But, the children seemed to have lost their confidence in their ability to pursue a STEM career. When I looked into it, I found that this was most common amongst children who come from low-income backgrounds, a minority group, or children that suffer from a low self-esteem. My heart shattered when I saw this data. I kept picturing myself in that scenario. Especially because I was one of those kids that came from a minority background. It was apparent to me how close I actually was to losing something I was so passionate about. Something that I was sure I wanted to give my life to.

The Opioid Epidemic

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T1jw75y7E7jFlFu-1pjUIwYY7WAzoBjB/view?usp=sharing

For my capstone, I created a mini YouTube-style documentary that was around 10 minutes long and talked about the history of opioids. It talks about how the drug works, how it became an epidemic, the solutions that have been implemented, and what should be done to deal with the issue. Throughout the video, I combined real photos and AI-generated images to bring attention to certain words and information that I talked about in the video. I also used background music to intensify and draw attention to important points.

My goal while creating the capstone was to bring more attention to the opioid epidemic. As a resident of Philadelphia, I frequently see news about fentanyl overdoses and see homeless people who appear to suffer from drug addiction either while using Septa or while walking through city hall. The thing I’m proud of during the creation of this documentary was getting new skills and doing things I didn’t think I could do before. For example, at first I thought it would be challenging to talk to a camera and edit the video since these aren’t skills I had before, but I was able to do both successfully. I am also proud that my video conveys the core message I intended to communicate.

My capstone project was a fantasy book I named “Princess Indira.” It’s a tragic legend about Princess Indira of Anastasia. She grew up in a kingdom that was once attacked which caused her parents to be very restricting. One day, to her surprise, she witnesses an attack on the kingdom so she takes it upon herself to find a way to protect it. My story was derived from an assignment I did in statistics class that I decided to build upon. The assignment itself was essentially a graded game of Dungeons & Dragons, which I enjoy playing. The story itself doesn’t exactly follow the SLA core values, but the process does. First, I had an inquiry about what it would be like to write a book since I’ve taken multiple writing classes at SLA. I then researched how to write a typical structured novel and what constitutes as a novel. After I collaborated with my older sister and aunt who both wrote books within the last five years. From that, I learned that books need storyboards the same way movies do. I presented the idea to my advisor after reflecting on my circumstances by reassuring myself that I can take on such a task before the due date.

My capstone is documentation of the the SLA student-run Art Festival and the student-run film festival Rocketfest with an interview of Torian Ugworji about the impact festivals can have for creators as well as the pitfalls present within the industry.

Hello my name is Aidan Simas and my capstone project is a documentary on the opioid crisis. I chose to do this project because the opioid crisis is so prevalent in my day to day commute to school. To complete this project I needed to plan what I wanted my documentary to look like. I spent a long time just gathering B-roll footage and gathering leads for interviews. It took a lot of effort and late nights to put everything together towards the end. Not to mention that a lot of my ideas didn’t end up working out. I am proud of the research that went into this project the most. I gathered a lot of statistics and credible resources, and I kept an ear out for information about the opioid crisis in my day to day life. I listened to a lot of stories about people who lost loved ones to these drugs. I learned a lot about the reality of addiction and the opioid crisis. Not just on a personal level but on a societal and economic level. I’ve always known this has been a problem but I now see it for what it truly is, it is a cancer.

Capstone product attached: https://www.wevideo.com/view/3452369001

As a graduate for the year of 2024, for my senior capstone project I developed a website that is purposed around a question-and-answer, artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for Science Leadership Academy (SLA), Center City specific questions. This project was developed to be an informational hub for SLA specific answers, so that students, whether they are current SLA students or upcoming students, are able to find quick answers for any questions they have. Although the database is not as broadscale as it was supposed to be, as in the fact that it doesn’t know about every teacher nor does it know about every current event, it knows about a few teachers, serving as the start of something that could be further improved by anyone who wants to pursue the capstone in the future. And if no one wants to pursue it, that’s completely fine! Since the reason for its proposition was to lessen the fear mongering brought forward due to AI advancements, and show the good things AI can do under the right intentions and hands.

And , if someone does end up trying to further improve it, I hope this paragraph will help you. The languages I needed a basic understanding of are Python, Javascript, CSS, and HTML, which I already knew a bit about. Resources to learn include: W3schools, YouTube, and Codecademy. The AI, the python code, is the backend – cannot be seen – of the website, while the HTML, CSS, and Javascript are the frontend of the website – can be seen. For the AI, look into FAISS, Hugging Face, and Langchain. For hosting the website, look into Vercel, and for hosting the Python app, look into Pythonanywhere, Heroku, or Render. That’s it, good luck!

Website (AI may or may not be down atm): https://slagpt.vercel.app/

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IpLb-_myW_AXVRYiibjFVCnllIKxPdHkntVrypc4mGU/edit?usp=sharing

My capstone is about the misrepresentation of Black Women/girls in media. Throughout my capstone, I kept asking myself “How to take back my narrative?”. In a mini case study, I asked multiple Black girls from different backgrounds how they wanted to be represented and this is their response. I wanted to do something that I knew that I was going to be proud of and in the making of my capstone, I succeeded.

The idea for my capstone is to connect with as many communities as I can and share as much love as I can. I would like to start practicing some networking skills before I go to college. As the product of my capstone, I decided to make appreciation cards and send them to various organizations. One of my favorite hobbies is to scrapbook and journal. This is a perfect mixture of a passion project and for me to improve on my networking skills. I learned to create opportunities for myself and problem solve when things do not go as planned. I also learned to appreciate the little things more.

This is one of the workshops we did during our club. We made affirmation posters for this workshop. There were many other workshops such as making cards for disabled kids, and thanksgiving card fundraiser.

This is one of our club members making a card for disabled kid. They were sent to various organizations such as Cards for Hospitalized Kids and The Confetti Foundation.

This is a close up example of one of the cards. This was made by one of the club founders. Many stickers were used to brighten up the cards and bring personality to the paper.

My goal for my capstone was to invest in other people’s lives in a way that related to my future. I assistant coached a neighborhood recreation center’s first softball team and then created a lesson plan focused on building teamwork. This lesson plan was based on my observations on improvements that could be made during their practices and games. My family has been part of this recreation center for many years so I have a passion for working with and helping the kids who are participating on its teams. I have watched sports my entire life and have also had the opportunity to be on multiple different teams through my athletic career. Throughout both of these experiences, I have noticed and acknowledged how important teamwork can be in achieving wins and a healthy team environment.

Going into capstone brainstorming, I knew I wanted to make something app related and something that would help me and other people as well. I looked back on some of my struggles from past years and tried to see if I could address any of the problems I had. In the end I came up with a Todo App designed for students that is also integrated with Canvas. During Freshman and Sophomore year I really struggled with disorganization and Procrastination and If i had an app where i could keep track of my personal tasks and school related tasks, that would have been one less thing getting in the way of my academic success. After roughly 90 hours of work, I ended up with my app, Simplicity. Simplicity is essentially 2 apps combined to one. Students can use Simplicity like a regular todo app with features like favorite tasks and categories, but at the same time they have the option to connect the app to Canvas and utilize the app to view course grades and upcoming assignments.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jFJdL1glunVhMDfnAsAwE8zu76V_iksCdGK1JlLD7lA/edit?usp=sharing

I decided to base my capstone on mental health. Specifically, women facing Domestic Abuse. The inspiration for why I based my capstone on Domestic Abuse, was due to having close relatives and friends who had previously gone through this traumatic experience. Countless stories are being told every single day. But I wanted to take the initiative to uplift those who have once experienced Domestic Abuse. Mental Health is one of the most important elements of well-being. After hearing story after story, and some of the mechanisms people do when they’re in a state of anxiety, shame, guilt, and so on, people tend to make decisions that they’ll either later regret or get trapped in a state where they keep every emotion “bottled up”. For my capstone, I did countless research on safe havens I could potentially reach out to and form activities. That had been one of the most challenging factors I had to endure. Although it had been challenging, I learned that networking is one of the most important skills a person should have throughout their lives.

Volunteering at a safe haven came with many rules and regulations. For instance; Certain pictures and recordings aren’t allowed due to the safety of each woman, which is why my visuals are only a few images, one recording of an interview I did with one of the staff members, and a resume I had created for one of the girls. My visuals represent some of the activities The Girls and I did.

My athletic journey, for my capstone I chose to write all about it. From the time I was born all the way until now whether by my own will or my parents influence i’ve been physically active. That being said, physical activity has been such a big part of my life and who I am. In turn I’ve naturally taken interest in health as a big part of being and remaining active is making sure your body is capable of the activity itself. I would argue that this is especially true when sports are a factor. Sports not only magnified my interest in activity but also health as your ability to perform and compete are reliant on your health. Even if I’m not using my body for a sport I enjoy recreational activity. In all of this it is easy especially for athletes to become narrow minded in terms of health. Their physical body is what their sport, team and performance require right? Though that is true there is so much more that goes into sports and physical activity than your body. It is extremely important especially for athletes to be conscious of that. Other factors that impact health as well as performance are one’s physical, mental and spiritual health. For those who may not be athletes, physical health is still very important. Not only does physical health impact your physical health but the same relationship goes both ways. Without mental will it is hard to stay in shape but with unhealthy physical tendencies one’s mental health can be consequently damaged also.

My first idea was organizing a charity drive to pay for items needed at the EasterSeals school to make adaptive toys and switches. However, I was unfortunately not able to get the funding or resources for this idea and later decided it was best for me to scrap it. Nonetheless I developed a few more ideas during my advisory where I was able to receive peer feedback. I then decided I wanted to do pamphlets for the incoming interns for EasterSeals. I started this by reflecting back on my own internship experience by digging through old videos and notes I’ve taken and turning the information into a digital capsule. I wanted to showcase the many toys we could adapt with switches, but I knew It was something missing from my project. This later led me to helping Torian with a group of students who were already working on some adaptive switches. We plan to make adaptive wireless toy cars compatible with a wifi connection to smartphones and also some regular toys with adaptive switches. Though we weren’t able to meet the goal yet with the physical making of the toys, I was still able to reach my goal. I aspire to spread awareness on behavioral health and inform those around me on ways they can help. Keeping this in mind helps me make my project significant to not just me but those around me as well

Website (with bibliography): https://sites.google.com/scienceleadership.org/fortheloveofthrifting?usp=sharing

I created a website with a guide for thrifting in Philly, while educating viewers on the topic of thrifting and its benefits vs. alternative, more common methods of shopping. I made purchases at most of the stores I visited and used them to curate outfits and photographed them on myself and 3 other models. I knew I wanted to do something related to clothing and fashion, and when my first idea didn’t pan out due to funds I thought doing something based on thrifting, an affordable alternative which I am passionate about, would be a good idea. I learned a lot about what thrifting means to low income communities and how gentrification has poorly impacted them, yes in terms of affordable housing, but also affordable clothing. Thrifting has long been a method of acquiring affordable clothing in low income communities for the working class. It has since been noticed as a trend by middle class citizens who have hijacked the business model and blurred the line between thrifting and reselling more expensive or rarer items, sometimes for even higher prices. This new demand has caused many thrifts to appeal to these wealthier customers, thus taking away from those working class citizens. One of my greatest joys this year has been thrifting and putting together new looks and people have started to notice. Underclassmen have been coming up to me asking where I got pants or a jacket and I’m happy to tell them to come watch my capstone presentation to give them some sauce so they can expand their own closets with something unique and true to them.

For my capstone, I researched the history of printmaking and its role in social movements. I then designed, carved, and printed my own linocut prints about the issues and movements I care about. I will be distributing copies of my prints, to friends and family, as well as around my neighborhood. I chose this project because I have a passion for printmaking, as well as social justice, and I was interested in seeing how they go hand in hand, in the past and present. I also wanted to learn more about printmaking technique, and be able to work on my printmaking skills in a fulfilling way. I’m really proud of my final prints, and I plan on continuing to make more prints and collaborate with other artists and activists in Philadelphia to make art for change.

For my capstone, I filmed and edited a video on the history, core values, and benefits of Science Leadership Academy. I wanted to make something for possibly people looking to apply, or anyone who wants to know more, really. I interviewed Mr. Lehmann and some students to get not only my own perspective, but the perspective of many others about the community and history of SLA.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/13G8bA2bdnKWx6JpWviC21qjo-H8UlCq_

Hello Everyone,

My name is Leonardo Perez. This is my final capstone for my senior project. I based my project on a bike. I noticed that it is common to ride a bike to school due to parking and traffic. Sometimes people leave late from school due to practice, grading, or catching up on homework. It can get dark really fast. I asked my peers what problems they face when biking at night. The main complaint was “headlights for incoming bikers”. I decided to place a circuit board on a bike to keep the bikers safe during the night time.

During this process, I gathered my materials which included LED lights, glow in the dark paint, UV light, wires, and a circuit board. I also made a few pieces on my own with the help of a 3D printer. 3D modeling was the biggest obstacle I faced. I had to print out multiple versions of the model for appropriate size and sturdiness. The models would break easily or sometimes not fit to plug in the UV LED light. All these complications took many hours to readjust, but the time was worth it to make the appropriate final product.

It was difficult to put everything together. But I really enjoyed building this. During my sophomore year, I enjoyed learning about circuits because it was fun and it challenged my mind on how to properly run a circuit. It was a challenge but I enjoyed every bit of this process.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CtwLcIJVePkY7VgaAdrFiqN78kLagoy5l3UyJqkcGfY/edit?usp=sharing

My capstone was a mini-course at SLA-MS called “How Things Work”. In the mini-course, I taught to a group of nine 8th graders how different objects/concepts that we use in everyday life from the engineering perspective. The goal of the course was to encourage younger students to ask questions and understand how the world works. I wanted to teach something that I actually cared about and not just an engineering concept to fulfill my engineering requirement and those five weeks merged both lanes. What ended up being five lessons enhanced my presentation skills since I was talking to an audience that I was not at all familiar with. It also helped me realize the extent of what I’m capable of when I truly put my mind to it and make a plan of action.

Link to lessons: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yrX30eGClzRAraDUtSko6MRXaB6r0h5V?usp=sharing

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZkViFy394_DOmQRg5YbM_KA0KqkiK4SBAB4pcHBSv7k/edit?usp=sharing

My capstone project focused on designing and fabricating a left-handed camera harness and grip to enhance accessibility for individuals with disabilities, particularly those affecting right-hand mobility. Motivated by a friend’s inability to operate conventional cameras due to design flaws, the project aimed to address a significant gap in accessible design within the feild of photography. The iterative process involved collaboration with a seamstress and leveraging resources from the robotics team to refine the design and ensure durability. Through prototyping and testing, the final product incorporated custom components and a unique latch-and-release system, allowing for easy detachment and maneuverability. Alongside technical challenges, the project fostered a sense of community, emphasizing the importance of inclusive design grounded in user feedback and collaboration. This project highlighted the complexities of translating design concepts into tangible solutions and the significance of effective communication in understanding user needs. Despite initial setbacks and uncertainties, the project culminated in a transformative tool that not only addressed a specific accessibility issue but also inspired passion and innovation within the engineering community. Moving forward, the project aims to share its design openly, promoting accessibility and inclusion in photography equipment beyond its immediate scope.

Link to bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CDOmh3_ebudFlgktEVKsC1iSWizCNF1WGP3exZu5WFg/edit?usp=sharing