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

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.

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 capstone called “Early Recording Philadelphia” is a project developed with a digital and physical element to engage and emphasize the importance Philadelphia has served in the recording industry. My project aims to emphasize and inform people of this history, thus fueling the inquiry of local historians and students. I decided on a small physical display to occupy shelf space in SLA to allow for a somewhat self guided pace for learning. A large portion of my capstone was dedicated research and consolidating information regarding the history of the recording industry. My sources were gathered mostly from book publications on the early history of it. I made use of my membership with the Antique Phonograph Society to gather information and discuss ideas with my mentor. My mentor is a fellow collector/historian, named Sean Miller. Sean has helped me throughout the capstone process by giving me routine advice, leads to look into, and various original pieces. A large portion of my 80 hours has been spent during phone calls and research sessions with Sean, including a week-long visit to his house in Delmar, NY, during spring break of 2024. The digital aspect of my capstone is a website that will continue to be developed and added to even after I leave SLA, a sort of personal history education page that will grow and change as time passes. It serves as the public front for my work, it’s the aspect that non-SLA students will see and perceive. That is my capstone.

https://sites.google.com/scienceleadership.org/early-recording-philly/home

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h_JLcY4QnhUSGiYjMUxaFaflBSp2SMw489ZwKZPF5Iw/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone, I collected clothes from the SLA community, and turned them into new clothes and accessories by upcycling them. I gave away the items I made through a pop-up shop at school. Throughout this process, I have become more confident when I sew, and am now more eager to make bold choices and try new sewing projects. I hope that by using clothes donated by the community, I inspired students to make more ethical fashion choices, and consider more sustainable alternatives in their day-to-day lives.

For my Capstone, I worked with my grandfather to help write his memoir. When I was born, my parents invited my grandparents to write a page or two about their life and family history, or whatever else they wanted me to know. My grandfather, Harvey, who I call Zayda (Yiddish for grandfather) ended up writing over 80 handwritten pages starting at his grandparents coming to the United States, up until when I was born. We worked together every Wednesday transcribing the pages onto a document, adding photos, and doing research. Through this process, I learned more about my family history, which I would not have ever been able to do without him. I also learned more about formatting a book and professional writing.

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13vpYwmtr2GGgpkem7hBizBi2-4PQdMKKBYBy72YgCNQ/edit?usp=sharing

For my Capstone, I decided that I wanted to make a photo mosaic. It took me a bit to figure out what I wanted to do but I decided that I wanted to make the mosaic a photo of myself made up of my friends. I used a website to upload all of my photos that I stored in a google drive folder. Once I uploaded all of my photos, I messed around with the mosaic to add more photos, change the colorization, and get it ready to print. I got It printed and framed. I hung it up on the fifth floor where all of my friends hang out. I felt like I learned how time consuming creating something like this is and that I need to manage my time better. It was overall a fun experience and I am proud of how it came out.

The AuthaGraph Map in my opinion is very innovative and different to your convention Gerardus Mercator map. The reason this map was made, was to provide a new pint of view. It was perfect for what I was trying to achieve. I wanted people to know that the world is not as separated as it seems to be. My initial inquiry was “How can I make sure everyone coming into SLA feels represented when it comes to art?”. My initial thought process was to actively represent that we are all different and can’t be categories into one group. But I feel that stems from my middle school mindset. SLA has changed my perspective on a lot of this. SLA constantly challenges my inner bias and thought process. My fellow classmates also acknowledged that we aren’t the same. After I made that realization there was a new goal to my capstone. This goal made my inquiry change. My inquiry had shifted into how can future SLA students acknowledge the difference without categorizing themselves. I’m asking how can we start proactively show students that we all have differences but not letting that stop us from interacting with each other. What better way to show a physical example of the world. This project also has a quirk. It’s purposely left unfinished.

Throughout my senior year, I started a task to educate our school’s students about the knowledge of CPR and performing it. My capstone main focus was making and putting up two posters around the school. One poster was aimed at clearing up popular misconceptions about CPR among students, while the other offered a clear instruction guide with illustrations for doing CPR with just your hands.

I knew very little about CPR before beginning this project, and I assumed it was mainly about mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. But I discovered through my research and building my capstone that CPR is not all that there is, especially when it comes to hands-only CPR, which is easier and sometimes just as successful.

After facing the difficulties of CPR techniques, I became capable in hands-only CPR and learned how versatile it is for a range of age groups. The journey also made it clear that I needed to give my capstone project the serious attention it required. By working with my mentor, teachers, staffs, and family members who are involved in the field, I was able to get important guidance and advice that improved the progress of my project.

Although there were challenges along the way, especially when it came to changing the project in response to feedback, everyone’s support eventually led to a positive outcome. My capstone is the good example of how important it is to raise awareness of basic CPR techniques so that people can be prepared to act correctly when presented with emergency situations.

Link to Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S7z38J3-3ruLcQiSS538J_2u9zmEKkfx-VW1wjEwrls/edit