SLACONNECTIONS is a forum-based SLA social media website made to enhance the strength of our community, build connections between alumni and current students, and offer students advice through an online forum. Students can create posts on 4 different groups: College advice, Misc, Internships/job opportunities, and Project share. My website aims to make SLA a community you can still engage in after you graduate. The alumni of SLA go on to do useful, important, and beneficial things in their future, and these things can greatly benefit current SLA students through advice and opportunities.

http://slaconnections.com/ Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G8Dji3MuZchkwGmZMkCgmp7GpPsFxV4yNVnTSu1ZkoE/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone project, I designed and executed a community mural in the school ballroom, inspired by Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. The process involved significant inquiry with school artists to understand mural design, extensive research into materials and painting techniques, and collaboration with Mural Arts for funding. Initially, I explored STEM and language-based projects, then a Moroccan zellige tile mosaic, before settling on the mural due to funding constraints. The final product features a tree with a trunk painted by me and leaves representing various school communities. This project taught me the importance of adaptability, the practicalities of large-scale art production, and the power of community engagement. Reflection throughout the process allowed me to refine my vision and ensure the mural resonated with its intended audience. Ultimately, this capstone demonstrates the application of SLA’s core values in overcoming challenges to create a lasting, community-centered piece of art.

In an effort to bring my neighborhood together and promote sustainable living, I transformed my front yard into a thriving community flower garden. Through the process, I learned the importance of planning, patience, and research. I learned a lot, not just about gardening but also about organization and challenging myself. I did a lot of research, and I even taught someone about the process of planting as it was happening. It wasn’t easy, but being able to teach myself something I had never done before was both fun and grueling. I spent hours of every week maintaining my flowers and teaching others about how gardening worked and how my process had been going so far. I am very proud of how far my garden has come, here are some picture of my before and (almost) after! The final result will be shown in my presentation!

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C-GDvB3fA4ZylxEl0Jfpd21TF7oi6OimuIG99l6XP7Q/edit?usp=drivesdk

My Capstone was made up of 2 parts. The first part, which I worked on primarily during the first half of the year, was EduCon, a conference held at SLA aimed at allowing educators from around the country to connect with each other and learn how to be better teachers. As senior co-chair of this conference, I helped plan and run EduCon. The second part of my Capstone project is a podcast I made about senior year, its goals being to allow juniors to understand what they can expect during their senior year and to document the experiences of seniors from the class of 2025. I wanted to make sure that juniors, or even underclassmen, can have an idea of what senior year is like before it’s already upon them.