Ziraya Snowden Capstone 2025
For my capstone project, I focused on spreading awareness about Sickle Cell Disease and Sickle Cell Trait to the students at Science Leadership Academy. This topic is meaningful to me because my cousin, Isaiah Turner, passed away from a rare Sickle Cell crisis, even though he only had the trait. His story motivated me to make sure others understand the seriousness of both the disease and the trait. I started by designing pamphlets with key information and eventually organized short presentations during advisory periods to reach more students directly. The process involved a lot of research, interviews, and collaboration with my mentor to make sure everything was accurate and engaging. I faced some setbacks, like delays in getting my pamphlets printed and scheduling issues with advisory sessions, but I didn’t let those stop me. Presenting to different advisories and seeing students engage with my project made all the effort worth it. This experience pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to adapt, communicate, and stay focused on my goals. I’m proud of the work I did and the impact I made. Even though everything didn’t go exactly as planned, I learned that flexibility and determination will lead to something powerful and lasting.
Click Image to see full pamphlet!! This is a digital copy of my personalized tri-fold pamphlet that I created!
Annotated Bib: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q1UjiyEgKNacO4XsGRgtmyVtb0x2-E9g-oU12GLGmYE/edit?usp=sharing