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Lauren Thomas Capstone

Posted by Lauren Thomas in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

Website

Abstract 
The process for my Capstone has been a rough one. In the beginning of the year, I had no clear idea what I wanted to spend my senior year working on. I had two different ideas and topics before I settled on what my finished Capstone looks like. I knew I wanted to do a website because I enjoy web design and I wanted to integrate photography into what I was doing because images are worth a thousand words. After what felt like wasting a lot of senior year trying to pick my focus, I finally talked to my mom and mentor and they urged me write about what I know best - Walt Disney World. 

I already know a lot about Walt Disney World, it is my life-long passion, hobby, and obsession, but I did find myself learning new things. I was inspired to let people really know about just how educational Disney can be, which is something I defend everyday. Following a research heavy trip to WDW in February, I was finally able to visualize my website. I wanted to use all my own photographs for my website and I’m glad to say that I accomplished this - every single photo found on my website (with the exception of five images) belong and have been taken by me. 

In the end, I wanted to prove that something I hold near and dear to my heart, Walt Disney World, can be educational and valuable to children and adults of all ages. (And I think I achieved this.)

Bibliography

Stephanie Dyson Capstone

Posted by Stephanie Dyson in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

From the ever-influential (and never-aging) lips of Pharrell Williams: “'Entrepreneur 'just denotes that you recognize that you're doing things across disciplines and that you're blazing your own path.” My capstone was my own exploration of the term entrepreneur and of myself as a renaissance woman. I actually began my Capstone in June 2015 when I began work with a thrift shop located on South Street called Here’s To Cool Stuff. There, I met a myriad partners and friends who would work with my over the course of my senior year to attend learning events and produce the following projects:

  • Administrative Internship at The Village of Arts & Humanities in North Philadelphia

  • YCenter 2-Week Social Entrepreneurship Incubator

  • Five Finger Posse Art Shows

  • Radiation Media Gang Events

  • Philly Art Collective Events

  • Events Internship with Art(is) for Kids

  • Elebration Celebrations

Elebration, the group that I did a majority of my work with, gave me the opportunity to build my personal clientele and help me decide that I’d like to go to school for Public Relations. I worked with countless artists, managing their social media accounts and commission requests, creating business cards, organizing and being a liaison for galleries and shows. In terms of shows and events, I managed four over the course of the school-year:

  • South Street Cypher @ InksterInc (530 S. 4th Street) - 3/12

  • Philly Art Collective 7th Installment @ OpenSpacePHL- 4/16

  • Locals Only @ H2CS (1214 South Street) - 5/6

  • Frieday @ The Boom Room (1300 N. Front Street) - 5/20


Video footage from our extremely successful South Street Cypher. Hosted by Elebration at InksterInc, only 23 people showed up when our doors opened. By leaving doors open and allowing the music and art to ebb and flow, we ended the night marching to Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" with nearly 70 people. This made the way for various interviews on small blogs and media outlets within and out of the city. All credits for the video go to our media specialist at Elebration, Yusri Yunivrs.
A poster that I created for an event I co-curated with the Here's to Cool Stuff team. A multidisciplinary art show and locally curated pop-up shop, Locals Only garnered nearly 80 enthused patrons. In helping H2CS curate and manage events, I helped their profits tremendously. When they were previously breaking even at best, they had a booming 6 months of profits when I began promotional work with them. I have also been commissioned as their In-house Events DJ when school lets out for the summer.
​One of my favorite and most interesting side jobs was doing creative direction and styling for my good friend, Sean. Han.soloo on instagram, Sean has had his recent work published in many online, New-York-based publications. This gave me some insight not only on entrepreneurship, as he is one of the few artists I know who makes a living as an artist and as an artist alone, but on the fashion industry and allowed me to create my own ideas on style and creative direction. 
--
From working with my various teams, I found that, however long and tasking the processes of event and project management may be, it’s something that I love to do. My future projects include the Philly Art Collective’s 8th Installment @ OpenSpacePHL - 5/22, Elebration Banquet - 6/11, Eleblock Party- 6/18, Art(is) For Kids Wine & Dine - 7/1, "Gentrified" Book Signing with author and photographer Lamar Bonéy @ The Village of Arts and Humanities - 7/4. I was a quiet power-player in Philadelphia’s underground art scene, and plan to take everything that I learned this year and not only incorporate it into my studies in college, but continue to follow the path that I am blazing.

View my annotated Bibliography here


Jonas Bromley Capstone

Posted by Jonas Bromley in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

When I started thinking about my capstone last summer I knew I wanted to do something with solar power. After that I had to think about what I could do with solar power that could help the school. With this I decided to make a solar powered charging station. This was a much bigger task than I first anticipated it to be, after doing some research on making solar panels I realized that this could be a huge undertaking. After that I talked to Miles about joining me on my capstone and splitting it into multiple parts, we started working together on wednesdays in Mr. Kamal’s room. We started off just doing research and got in contact with Stephen Pisklak, who works on solar panels at DOW. We reached out to him to figure out if making our own solar cells was a viable project. He told us that it would not be possible to make our own solar cells but that we could buy solar cells and build a charge controller. We started researching and ordering parts, we eventually accumulated enough parts to be able to start working on the panels. Attaching the cells together proved to be very difficult because the cells were very delicate. They are so delicate that when miles picked one up it snapped in his hand.

At this point in time we have everything assembled and we just have to connect a couple pieces together and mount the solar panel.



Below is an album highlighting the process of our capstone and what we have now:

https://goo.gl/photos/sAxb4au97Gs6cqAW8


IMG_3537
IMG_3537

Bibliography:


Byers, TJ. "Build a Solar Charge Controller." Mother Earth News. Mother Earth News, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. <http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/solar-charge-controller-zmaz84mazale.aspx?PageId=1>.

This source is where I found the best schematics for a charge controller. This source was very helpful because it gave me a layout for the charge controller and the exact specifications on all the parts I needed for it. It gives in-depth descriptions on how to assemble it, and where to get certain components. One of the drawbacks of this source are how old it is, it was published as an article in 1984. I have checked it against other sources and it looks reliable, the reason I chose it over the other sources is that it is a lot more detailed.


Davis, Michael. "A New Solar / Wind Charge Controller Based on the 555 Chip." A New Solar / Wind Charge Controller Based on the 555 Chip. Michael David, 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. <http://www.mdpub.com/555Controller/>.


Dell. "Dell Slim Power Adapter - 65 Watt." Dell. Dell, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=332-1831>.

For the charging station I am including chromebook chargers because all of the students will have chromebooks and it will be helpful to have that hardwired into the station. I needed to know how much power is needed to charge the laptops so that the solar panel produces enough energy. It is also important to know how much energy the charger accepts and how it converts the energy. If I give it too much, it will blow out and will not work. If I do not give it enough, it will not do it’s job.


Dhar, Michael. "How Do Solar Panels Work?" Live Science. Live Science, 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.livescience.com/41995-how-do-solar-panels-work.html>.

This source was very helpful because from it I were able to learn the basics of photovoltaic solar panels. This helps me to be more knowledgeable about my capstone. One of the drawbacks to this source is that it does not actually tell me anything about building a solar panel. I chose this source because it is useful to know the background information about what you are working on even if it is not actually pertinent to what you are doing. This information could help me work through problems I might have while building my panel.


DIY Projects. “Solar Cell Tabbing - the EASY RIGHT WAY to do it.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 23 January 2010. Web. 2 February 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDlcaILWP54>.

This is one of the sources to I used to learn how to tab solar panels. This one was really helpful for me because it showed me how to do complete tabbing of solar panels. The process is very difficult and without this source I would not have been able to accomplish it. One of the drawbacks of this source is the lack of explanation on some of the procedures to tab the panels. The video helps us find out how to connect the solar cells together to create a solar panel.


Dow Corning. "Solar Energy Basics." Energy for a Sustainable World From the Oil Age to a Sun-Powered Future (2010): 155-65. The Science of Solar: Solar Energy - The Basics. Dow Corning, 2009. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <https://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/06-10028_solar-energy-the-basics.pdf>.



Everbright Solar. "500 Watt High Power Mono Crystalline Solar Cells for DIY Solar Panel." Everbright Solar. Everbright Solar, 2009. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. <http://www.everbrightsolar.net/500-watt-high-power-mono-crystalline-solar-cells-for-diy-solar-pa500.html>.

This is the company I bought my solar cells from so they have the specs for the cells I bought. I need the specs to figure out how big I want to make the panel and the specifications for resistors. It is also useful to know the specs for the cells so we could find the right materials to use with the cells to build the solar panel. This source also gave us the weight of the cells which will help build our support structure for our panels. One of the things that I would have liked this source to include is how fragile the cells are, when we first opened the box we took one out and it snapped in our hands.


kurtscottage. “Homemade Solar Panels Diy tutorial, complete build.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 12 August 2012. Web. 2 February 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouLa4Ftu3O8>.

This has been my main source for the complete build of the solar panel. Shows how to build a large panel from beginning to end with plenty of explanation and instruction. The one issue that I have had with it so far is that he has some slightly different materials. His solar cells for example are already tabbed, but mine are not so I had to find another more detailed source to learn how to do that part. This source is credible because it is simply and instructional video, it does not make and scientific claims that require citing. This source has been essential for step by step instructions on the creation of a solar panel.


Mik. "Overcharged Lead-Acid Battery - What to Do?" V Is for Voltage Forums. V Is for Voltage Forums, 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 2 Feb. 2016. <http://visforvoltage.org/forum/13446-overcharged-lead-acid-battery-what-do>.

This is an important source because I am doing something that could potentially be dangerous. I found this source when trying to research on the dangers of charging a battery of this size incorrectly. The source describes a man who over charged his battery, something that may happen if I do things incorrectly, and I now understand more fully what will happen to the battery. This source confirms my suspicion that not only will the battery be ruined, but it will need to be properly disposed of. This means that I need to check up on my battery periodically to make sure it is ok.


Schwartz, Drew. "Polycarbonate (Lexan) vs. Acrylic (Lucite)." Colorado Plastic Products. Colorado Plastic, 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. <http://www.coloradoplastics.com/blog-0/bid/42625/Polycarbonate-Lexan-vs-Acrylic-Lucite>.

I needed to figure out what I was going to cover my solar panel with, glass is expensive so I wanted to use some sort of plexiglass. The question was polycarbonate or acrylic and this source helped me know the difference. The source explains the impact strength of the polycarb (most notably by demonstrating in the video), and lead me to the decision to use polycarb instead of glass or acrylic. This option is cheaper but still has the strength that I need for an indoor solar panel.


SFUPTOWNMAKER. "PCB Basics." Sparkfun. Sparkfun, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.

<https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/pcb-basics>.

This site helped me learn how about PCB’s or Printed Circuit Boards. We are going to be making our own Printed Circuit Board for our charge controller. We decided that a printed circuit board would be the easiest way to make our charge controller (opposed to a breadboard or wiring the components together manually). A printed circuit board will allow us to assemble our charge controller very easily and make it more reliable and more durable.


Solar America Cities. "Solar Installation Guidebook." Mayor's Office of Sustainability. City of Philadelphia, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.phila.gov/green/solarGuidebook.html>.


wtam69. “Diy automatic 12 volt charge controller.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 16 January 2014. Web. 2 February 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C-Q76y3wy8>.

This source on charge controllers was very helpful because it helped to verify our first charge controller source so we could know it was accurate. This is important to know because if your sources give different information you won’t know how to  proceed correctly. This source also showed the actual construction of the charge controller instead of just showing diagrams like the other source. One of the good things about this source is that it outlines how to test your charge controller safely to make sure it works. This is very important because we are going to be using a large amount of current that could be deadly.

Jordan Meriwether Capstone

Posted by Jordan Meriwether in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

​

Abstract:

Hello, my name is Jordan Prince Meriwether. I am a senior student at Science Leadership Academy and eventually hope to move into a career involving Environmental Science. My final school year was full of new responsibilities and work, but the biggest project was the Capstone. Throughout this school year we were given the major task of creating a project that both reflects ourselves and the core Values of SLA, them being inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection. My personal interests, as stated, revolved around the environment, but I needed to get more particular. Before this project, I was an intern for the Fairmount Water Works and developed an interest in water quality, so I decided to focus on that over the course of this project. I had also partnered myself with the Water Works throughout this project and they would consistently be by my side ready to help me comprehend information, while supplying me with the tools I needed. Currently a pH kit is the best you’ll get when it comes to determining water quality, the problem is they are too subjective making them unreliable. Therefore, I believed the best way was to understand water quality is to look at the organisms that live in it, if they can not survive in their own environment what makes you think you can survive ingesting it? So my project was based on the variance between diatoms across multiple varied pH environments. I would take samples and see how they compared.


My project: http://jprince2u.wix.com/diatoms



Bibliography:

  • Busch, David E.. “The Patchiness of Diatom Distribution in a Desert Stream”. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 14.2 (1979): 43–46. Web.


Annotation:

This states a specific instance where the diatoms were used in a project. The scientists look for a correlation between diatoms and the patchiness of a lake in a desert. The idea is perhaps the microorganisms grow under certain circumstances. Personally, I feel this site is the most advanced in terms of vocabulary and outside references. I do not know a lot of the information involved in this project mainly due to it talking about other microorganisms, but still much of it is still understandable. Overall, this paper is harder, but it does still reference a few known pieces of information and even some interesting new information.



  • Crangle, Robert D., Jr. "Diatomite Statistics and Information." USGS Minerals Information: Diatomite. U.S. Geological Survey, 2 Feb. 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.<http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/diatomite/>


Annotation:

This site gives a brief overview on the stone Diatomite, which is a stone made up of the dead remains of diatoms. They go over the structure and texture of it. I used the site for information of what diatomite is used for. It has been used for filtering, padding, and many other applications. The reason this site was chosen is do the the simple information given, it makes sure to given only the essentials. Which is all I need. If it went too in depth I would get lost in the information. Overall, this site gives a good explanation for diatomite.



  • Conger, Paul S.. “Diatoms”. The Scientific Monthly 73.5 (1951): 315–323. Web.


Annotation:

This paper is quite detailed in its analysis of how diatoms work.While appearing to be long, it actually is easy to understand and goes deeper into themes seen on other sites. It goes over the abundance of these creature, explaining how they are built to survive everywhere. They even touch on some of the darker aspects to diatoms, their ability to kill fish and over produce in water are both discussed. Even other theories are brought up throughout the paper giving more insight into the world of diatoms. Overall, the site adds so much to the my already vast information. Giving deeper insight than ever before.

​


  • DeColibus, D. "Tabellaria flocculosa." In Diatoms of the United States. 2013. Web. 16 May. 2016, from <http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/species/tabellaria_flocculosa>

​

Annotation:

Maria Potapova sent me to this site when I was studying the different types of diatoms I found in my samples. This type of diatoms was found in the sample and nd through the site I was able to learn more about the creature and how it works in its environment. The formation of these creatures may vary as you see them while some to look normal in their straight line formation some hold more of a disconnected square appearance.

​


  • Gross, Michael. "Diatom Evolution a Mystery." CEH Diatom Evolution a Mystery Comments. Master Plan Association, 11 Aug. 2012. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://crev.info/2012/08/diatom-evolution-a-mystery/>


Annotation:

This site details the work of Michael Gross, who has studied the mysterious world of diatom evolution. The man state that they might have developed from endosymbionts, but even so how they grew into what they currently are is unknown. Their distribution is easier to explain though, do to their ability develop in any where there is water and sunlight they could spread quite easy. From their he also explains different advantages of their silica shells, most of which have to do with their internal organs. The site basically states that though their are so many of these creature little is known about them or where they came from. Still though they have a powerful effect on our ecosystem and everything around it.



  • Harvey, Anne. Personal discussion. 3 February, 2016.


Annotation:

Anne Harvey is one of researchers at the Fairmount Water Works, as well as has been my mentor during the duration of this project. She has lead me to meet multiple outside sources as well has given me her personal information. Without her I would not know what a diatom is, let alone complete this project. Her outside resources also allowed me to be able to be able to connected with many knowledgeable and helpful individuals. She is a source mainly do to her help with finding and helping me understand many points of information throughout this project. She was pinical to the completion of this project.


  • Hines, Sandra. "Tiny Diatom Has Global Environmental Impact." UW Today. University of Washington, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.washington.edu/news/2004/10/07/tiny-diatom-has-global-environmental-impact/>


Annotation:

This site speaks on the overall effects diatoms can have on the rest of the world. It details how they can do so much even though they are so small. They have a strong impact the carbon cycle in on the world. As well they control the the production of nitrogen as well. Their effects are imperative to the progression of most gases throughout the world. This site really gets into how important these creatures are to our environment. They even touch on genetics, implying that these creature vary greatly in how the aspects that they have. Intern, not only can this site be used for showing their impact of gases in the air, it also shows genetic changes for these diatoms.


​

  • Mikkelsen, Naja. “Silica Dissolution and Overgrowth of Fossil Diatoms”. Micropaleontology 23.2 (1977): 223–226. Web


Annotation:

This site has a focus on the silica of diatoms, primarily how they change. They note both how the shell can grow out or break down. They also go further and discuss the environments around them, mainly the salt and fresh water. They state how as the shells dissolve almost completely in the ocean and either turn to rocks on the ocean floor or dissolve into water. The most interesting part, structurally speaking, is how they left many references, I could use them for more sources if necessary. Overall, I think this source is very informative on the topic of silica, I will be able to go more indepth than anywhere else.



  • Potapova, M. "Achnanthidium minutissimum." In Diatoms of the United States. 2009. Web. 19 May. 2016. <http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/species/Achnanthidium_minutissimum>

​

Annotation:

This was a site recommended to me by a Maria Potapova who was helping me to identify diatoms. We noticed a solid amount of these creatures clustered around algae and debris in the water. Looking over the site I had leader about how these creatures are build much differently than the average diatom being smaller in length. This site allows me understand how this organism both effects the environment and they are effected by the world around them.



  • Spaulding, Sarah A. "What Are Diatoms?" Westerndiatoms.colorado.edu. Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <https://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/about/what_are_diatoms>


Annotation:

This site details the basic world of diatoms. Intern they are able to give great insight on how the world works in general.  They explain basic structure, environment, classification, and even physiology of diatoms and how they work as microorganisms. They do not just limit themselves to organism’s functions; they also go into the history about their changes throughout life.  From their vegetative division to them dying and leaving behind their shells this site has it all. Finally, this has greater pictures of varying diatoms. Overall, this site gives good general information to compare to others I find for validity.



  • Stevenson, R. Jan et al.. “Development of Diatom Indicators of Ecological Conditions for Streams of the Western US”. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 27.4 (2008): 1000–1016. Web.


Annotation:

When I first read this paper I believed that it was a simple overview once again, but I found that the it held a very strong effect from showing the applications of diatoms. Many of the past and present uses for diatoms can be seen in this paper and it is really well made. It can also be connected to other sites in its explanation of how the environment is affected by diatoms. Overall, I will use this site to explain the different implications and applications diatoms have on the world, as well, I will connect it to the rest of the other site on the environment.



  • Simons, Paul. "Cool Aid Aquatic Test." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 5 Feb. 2003. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/feb/06/research.science>


Annotation:

This site once again overviews diatoms, but it goes mildly deeper than the previous sites. They go over their effects, uses and even evolution; the difference seems to be they focus on their shells. They go into detail how the main point of the shell’s glass appearance is to let in more photosynthetic light, as well this adaption, while not entirely unique, shows very specific qualities through their species. Overall, the reason I had chosen this site is its ability to convey information about a particular aspect of diatoms, but still show more widely varied aspects of these little creature.


​

  • Weckström, Jan, Atte Korhola, and Tom Blom. "Diatoms as Quantitative Indicators of PH and Water Temperature in Subarctic Fennoscandian Lakes." Rctic Fennoscandian Lakes. Springer International Publishing AG, Mar. 1997. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1003091923476>


Annotation:

This details a paper written by a few scientist on the idea of how diatoms affecting pH. This is kind of the exact opposite of what my project is, given I wanted to find how pH affects diatoms. To see the exact opposite make me question which one actually affects the other. I personally have seen change in my diatoms, intern I question how they know this experiment is valid. Other than that, I do see potential in its explanation on how diatoms change the pH. Overall, I can see a lot of interesting questions coming out of reading that and explaining it to fellow skeptics.


Zoe Schwingel-Sauer Capstone

Posted by Zoe Schwingel-Sauer in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

​  Recently there has been a movement to address the criminal justice system within the United States. The truth is the “United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet we have almost 25 percent of the world’s total prison population.” (Hilary Clinton) There has been a lot of focus on the system in general, which is majorly important since the system includes a multitude of racism, sexism, and class discrimination. 
    Ever since reading Native Son in 10th grade, I have felt particularly passionate about learning more on the criminal justice system and discussing with others on how to improve or fix it. After talking with various people within the field of study, I was interested in how ex-prisoners re-enter their community after being in jail, and what could be done to help the transition. Then, on July 7, 2015, I watched John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. The show’s main segment focused on bail in the United States and its impact on impoverished people. This inspired my senior Capstone project. 
    I wanted to do a research project where I could investigate what was going on with bail within the criminal justice system. The biggest goal of this project is to bring awareness to an aspect of the criminal justice system, which can be fixed if there are many advocates for it. This website is for the purpose of learning and I hope it helps the readers to become more knowledgeable about the bail system, and motivates you to make a difference with this cause.


Melissa Alvarez Capstone

Posted by Melissa Alvarez in Capstone - Bey - Wed on


In October of 2015, NBC 10 was airing an investigation about youth homelessness in Philadelphia. It was after a mere 45 minutes that I realized how much we DON'T talk about the hundreds of youth in our city who are living without a home. I knew then and there what I wanted my capstone to be about. 
Since my junior year, I have been an active member of the Philadelphia Youth Commission. The Commission has 21 members of youth who are elected to represent their respective City Council district and Councilperson. One of the many things we do is host monthly meetings on topics that affect youth, so I used this as a partnering opportunity for my project. I wanted to have a meeting about youth homelessness, but nothing like we've had before. My objective was to change the location, provide refreshments for the first time, expand our audience, and have a legitimate call to action when we were done. 
A difficulty I faced was the new Mayoral transition happening in City Hall, which is where I wanted to have my meeting. We couldn't lock down a location until two weeks before the meeting was supposed to happen, but we were eventually lucky enough to book Conversation Hall. After attending a public hearing that happened on April 29th about the same topic, I introduced myself to some of the people who testified and convinced them to be speakers at my meeting. 
On May 11th, we had roughly 50 attendees including youth groups, commissioners, and people who work with at-risk youth. My speakers included Ms. Helen Fitzpatrick - Director of LGBT Affairs for the City of Philadelphia and John Ducoff - Director of Covenant House PA. I asked Ms. Fitzpatrick to speak about the work she does for the city because 54% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. That's more than half, and was something I felt needed to be a larger part of the conversation. We were also lucky enough to have Mr. Ducoff because Covenant House is Philadelphia's most well known homeless shelter for youth. This had to be a collaborative conversation about what we could all do to help face the issue of youth homelessness. 
When it was over, everyone left the room with something they'd never learned up until that meeting. It seemed like doing a sleep out in front of City Hall was one of the most effective ways we could contribute. It not only helps to raise awareness, but has raised over $50,000 in the past, and it's something we plan to do in the near future as our call to action. 


Blog Link: To read more about my capstone process and view pictures from the meeting, click here. 
​
Annotated Bibliography: 

Morgan Zalot and Vince Lattanzio. "Faces of Homeless Youth." NBC 10 Philadelphia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.


NBC 10 created a short documentary about the homeless youth in Philadelphia. They interviewed 5 different youth who shared their story about how they ended up without homes. It was originally what inspired me to choose the capstone that I did. I would like to have one or two of these youth speak at my meeting. This documentary made me realize just how unprioritized the topic of youth homelessness is in the City of Philadelphia, and how we aren’t doing enough to service them like we should. A lot of them unfortunately do not trust the system and by choice end up on the street because it’s where they feel safe. This is a stigma we need to change and is a crucial part of my meeting’s purpose.


Soto, Joy D. "Philadelphia Youth Commission." Philadelphia Youth Commission Home Comments. City of Philadelphia, Sept. 2008. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.


The Philadelphia Youth Commission is an office created by the mayor for youth between the ages of 12 and 23 years old who represent their respective councilpeople. I happen to be on the Youth Commission and would like to use it as a resource for my capstone. We hold monthly meetings on topics that affect youth. We have four committees: Health and Recreation, Jobs and Economics, Education, and Public Safety. My meeting will be relative to all four of these committees and I plan to work with them during the planning of my project. They will each be crucial to forming an accurate presentation for the people attending my meeting.


"Philadelphia County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." Philadelphia County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce, Jan. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.


A large part of my meeting will include presenting statistics about youth in the city. The U.S. census for the city of Philadelphia each year helps me to keep track of how many youth are currently living in the city. Right now we are working with more than 300,000 youth, and the percentage of them that are living in poverty are homeless. There are many that are homeless and undocumented because they choose daily whether or not they want to be a part of the system or take their chances living on the streets which for many is the safer option they feel. Documenting the numbers is very important to my presentation and these facts will be useful to that.


"Facts on Homelessness." Project HOME. Project Home, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.


Project home is a website that presents information about homelessness. On a single night in January 2015, 564,708 people were experiencing homelessness. That’s over half a million people documented. There are thousands in this country who aren’t even accounted for and those are numbers we simply cannot stand for anymore. This website presents factual information about how many people are currently homeless, why they end up homeless, and what’s being done to help them. This will be one of the options for facts I’ll be putting in my presentation.


"Mission & Vision." Northern Children's Services. City of Philadelphia, 13 May 2015. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.


The work done at Northern Children’s Services is designed to create a better future for their clients who are primarily young mothers and their children. They believe that every child has the potential to transform him or herself – no matter their background or life situations. If they invest in that potential through services that focus on care, safety, health, permanency, independence, and positive relationships, the children will lead happier and healthy lives. These are one of many home options youth do not currently know about that I would like to present in my meeting.



Munoz, Judith. "Shalom Inc." Shalom Inc. City of Philadelphia, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.


Shalom, Inc. is a school and community-based private, non-profit, non-sectarian agency. They offer a variety of professional prevention, intervention and treatment services through our community-based program. Shalom Inc.'s mission is to encourage resiliency, character building, and recovery through prevention, intervention and counseling services for children, adolescents and adults. My mom used to work at Shalom Inc. and they offer counseling for youth who are troubled at home or who are part of the juvenile detention agency. Not only did I pick this because of its relevance to my capstone, but also because my mom is an affiliate with this organization whom I hope to partner with for my capstone.


Farr, Stephannie. "Shelter Shooting Leaves 1 Worker Dead, 1 Hurt." Shelter Shooting Leaves 1 Worker Dead, 1 Hurt. Philly.com, 17 Jan. 2016. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.


This article will be one of the prime topics in my presentation. A huge part of why youth are choosing to be homeless and living on the street is because they simply do not trust the system anymore. The shelters have proven to not be safe. A person was shot and killed by a previous resident, yet these are the place we’re telling our youth to go? It’s unsafe and many would rather live on their own than to ever have to endure an experience like that. Shelters may offer a roof, but they do not offer safety. They are not homes and that’s the issue. We need to bridge that gap of trust between the homeless and the system so that they can get the help they deserve, but not by providing them unsafe living quarters. And unfortunately a lot of it has to do with the budget in the city. There simply isn’t a lot of money. So this is something I’d like to talk about in my meeting.


Turcios, Melissa. "Why My Neighborhood Kids Don't Trust the System." Audio blog post. Youth Radio. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.


I thought this podcast was really interesting because it centers on a woman who’s neighborhood kids who are primarily Black and Latino. They early on knew what the sound of gunshots were. After a nearby shooting happened, police showed up not long after and were asking the kids questions, but they were very reluctant to be cooperative with the police officers who were asking questions about what happened. At so early on, kids are taught not to trust the system in fear of repercussions that may follow. This was in Washington D.C., but is something that is happening in cities all over the country, especially Philadelphia. Early on our kids are being taught to keep quiet in order to survive in their own neighborhood. The system has been backwards like this for quite some time, and it’s something I’d like to talk about in my capstone.



McElroy, Molly. "Intervention to Improve Foster Families’ Trust, Connectedness." UW Today. University of Washington, 12 June 2012. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This article was written by the University of Washington about advice for new foster parents. Often kids are just looking for a safe place to call home. They’ve grown up in a system that is known to give them trouble and often do not feel comfortable trusting new people. This is the biggest thing they should attempt to build with these youth. Allow them to trust. Most adolescents in foster care simply need a stable home life that provides a sense of belonging, love and someone who shows a genuine interest in their lives. If there is no shared history, it might be harder for them to make that connection which is why you should be open and allow them time to connect with you on their own personal level. This is something I’d like to bring up at the end of my presentation; What we’re doing wrong, and what we can do to mend the issues.


"Mission & History." The Attic Youth Center. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


The Attic Youth Center creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to develop into healthy, independent, civic-minded adults within a safe and supportive community, and promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ youth in society. The Attic Youth Center has been really important in my research because over 54% of homeless youth in Philadelphia identify as LGBTQ. That’s more than half, and not many people recognize this statistic. Families that are unaccepting of their children’s sexuality or gender preferences are often the reason many of them end up homeless. There aren’t many programs specifically provided for the safety of LGBTQ youth, and Attic Youth Center is one of the very few. I would like someone from the Attic Youth Center to come speak at the meeting and/or be a part of the conversation and give a different perspective on the conversation of youth homelessness and things we can do to help. This source is the Attic Youth Center home website explaining their mission and purpose which can be brought up at the meeting as a resource to youth.

Amirah Bolling Capstone

Posted by Amirah Bolling in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

For my Senior Capstone I decided to create a mentor program for young girls. Settling down with one Idea became very hard for me. I collaborated with Imani Weeks for this capstone. I decided to work with girls because I am the only child. I know that as I grow into the person I am today, looking back now, I wish I had someone there to talk. When finding people to mentor, I instantly thought of my mother's Middle School, Wagner Middle School in Mt. Airy. Middle schoolers are going through the phase of change such as puberty, family troubles and just trying to get a grasp on becoming a teenager.

I had to get permission from the principal to start this program. She thought it was an amazing idea, this was something that the girls needed. Following this meeting I made permission slips that would go out to the parents of the girls giving them a overview of this mentoring group. I wanted the girls to have a safe environment to talk freely and not feel judged. I had girls interested in the program & if they decided they wanted to join they could.

Each week on Wednesdays I would meet with the girls. Each week there was a new topic to be discussed, followed by a lesson plan. When the girls came I made them write in their journals with different journal prompts every week. We would sit in a circle and have group conversations about our weekly topics.


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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LqjD3iO9jO0feyoABUZ32rvPLv560kg3zIzPl395968/edit

Brittany Atkinson Capstone

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

For my capstone, I wanted to add to the SLA art community but I didn't want to be the only one to put my name on a wall or ceiling for that matter. I thought it would be a great idea to properly welcome our freshman in a way that will make them feel like they are finally accepted, so my partner, Sydne Hopkins-Baker, and I started a two semester mini course with The Franklin Institute. During this mini course, students were able to express their ideas of what they want to see in our school based on all of the art work they have seen so far. After 1-2 weeks of collaboration and brainstorming, we started the art piece of their choosing and learned new techniques that dealt with texture, shadowing, and just creating something large with 14 other people. The product of the first course was a beautiful ceiling tile mural of Philadelphia's skyline in space. It showed that the people in our class really enjoyed being in SLA and even named the piece, "Our Second Home." During the second class, the students were more interested in doing a wall art piece, which expresses how far SLA students can go in and out of this world and showing that to every visitor that comes in our school. Photos can be seen below.




​Bibliography Here.
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Gabrielle Smullen Capstone

Posted by Gabrielle Smullen in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

My capstone focused on mentoring the youth. I focused on two girls that have absolute potential to be the best versions of themselves but needed an extra push when they ran into normal high school obstacles that can make their journey a little more complicated to get through. This project enabled me to bring young african american ladies together in a way where they found themselves and understood what they needed from themselves and myself to be successful in their achievements while staying passionate and grounded about what was important to them. This learning goal is appropriate for me because it will teach me how to become a better leader and a compassionate, understanding person while being able to connect the things I can relate with to the things that these girls go through and are continuing to go through. This was not always easy because whilst dealing with their problems, I still had to deal with mine and I had to try and not make the two clash because I wanted to be there for them completely mentally, physically and emotionally. I can say that, that was one of the challenging parts throughout my capstone. It was a good experience and the girls and I can both walk away from this with a strong relationship with each other and ourselves. This mentorship and relationship will continue far beyond this capstone which was one of the biggest goals that I set for myself. I didn’t want them to feel like a project, I wanted to make clear that they will forever have someone to look up to and I will always continue to be their big sister. ​

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Eamon Kelly Capstone

Posted by Eamon Kelly in Capstone - Bey - Wed on

​*PLEASE NOTE: The polished version of my documentary is not yet ready. I have already notified my advisor, my capstone mentor and Mr. Lehmann (with approval) that I will be submitting some of the capstone after the due date. Please stay tuned for the rest of my capstone coming soon!

Abstract

My capstone has already been in motion since the start of my Freshman year at SLA. For my capstone, I decided to create a documentary about the Science Leadership Academy Class of 2016's four years of high school. Over the past four years of working on this long project, I've observed so much how the students evolved from freshman to seniors, which really stands out to me. I already have a film background, so the process of creating this project was not that different from other documentary projects I've worked on. I had to film as much as I can non-stop with my handheld camera for B-Roll, collect at least 50 interviews of the seniors, interview the senior advisors and Mr. Lehmann, and finally begin to edit the entire thing. I have changed how the final product for my capstone would look many times: Now, instead of having it as one feature-length documentary, it has been split up into multiple parts (or episodes). This is to organize the topics I covered, giving each topic their own video, and also so that the audience will be engaged the entire time.

(There will be more coming soon. This is not the whole capstone!)
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Bibliography

Class of 2016 Projects


"How Money Can Affect the Economy." YouTube. Ed. Jordan Meriwether. Kevin Horton, David Leonard, Dylan McKeon, Jordan Meriwether, 8 May 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XbszO9wasI

This is an American History project at SLA during the class of 2016’s junior year. Students describe how a bank system works and the consequences of getting a loan, such as getting into debt. The execution of this project is in the form of a group of students telling ghost stories about debt. I chose this source because I think it is an interesting way to show what students can learn in a history class. The audience will see how creative students get with current history projects.


“Our Device.” Youtube. Ed. Jordan Meriwether. Cameron Hinton, Jordan Meriwether, Brandon Yam, 18 March 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq0Ar7pl8NI

This is an 11th grade physics project in which students had to create a commercial advertising a new product using the laws of physics (a device that can charge any phone using kinetic energy). The use of comedy and a great understanding of the unit learned in physics class is mainly why I chose this source. Audience will see the creativity and, most importantly, the knowledge of what they have learned.


“Act III Scene I Hamlet ’To be or Not to be’” Youtube. Ed. Kevin Courtney. Kevin Courtney, 5 May 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-qieoMsDbY

This is a short film made for an 11th grade english class. The assignment was to reenact a soliloquy from the Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” I chose this source not just because I filmed the video, but also because it shows what pieces of literature SLA students are reading in high school and what they can do creativity-wise.


"Public Service Announcement: Teen Driving | YATW English Project." YouTube. Ed. Lauren Thomas. Morgan Caswell-Warnick, Jiwon Choi, Miles Cruice-Barnett, Michelle Friedman, Dillon Hershey, Zack Hersh, Lauren Hummel, Trinity Middlebrooks, Desmond O'Donovan, Angelica Owens, Andrew Roberts, Anna Sugrue, Rosalie Swana, Lauren Thomas, 6 Apr. 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvBz3BF1cM4&index=5

This is a project done in 9th grade by a group of students who wanted to send a message to the audience about the effects of drunk driving or driving without paying attention in general. The students take roles as fictional people who tell their own stories to the camera about their experiences with getting into car crashes or losing loved ones because of a wreckage. I used this source because I think it will be great to show how students are aware of the outside world, and are willing to share these problems within their school project.


“Bloopers from PSA” Youtube. Ed. Lauren Thomas. Morgan Caswell-Warnick, Jiwon Choi, Miles Cruice-Barnett, Michelle Friedman, Dillon Hershey, Zack Hersh, Lauren Hummel, Trinity Middlebrooks, Desmond O'Donovan, Angelica Owens, Andrew Roberts, Anna Sugrue, Rosalie Swana, Lauren Thomas, 6 Apr. 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvBz3BF1cM4&index=5

This is a video of bloopers from the same english project (right above this source). I like this source because while it is important that I have plenty of project footage, I also want to have footage of students messing up while in the process of creating projects. They are still kids, after all, and I want to make sure that we are all still human, rather than just a group of braniacs.


"Looking For Alaska | Movie Trailer." YouTube. Miles Cruice-Barnett, Joseff Filamor, Dillon Hershey, Lauren Hummel, Jesse Shutter, Lauren Thomas, 6 June 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEQCoxlOiIE&index=6


“Hamlet; Act 3, Scene 2” Ed. Lauren Thomas. Jonas Bromley, Michelle Friedman, Lauren Hummel, Andrew Roberts, Lauren Thomas, 8 May. 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=san2sfZUZws&index=7

This is a short film made for an 11th grade english class. The assignment was to reenact a soliloquy from the Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” I chose this source because it shows what pieces of literature SLA students are reading in high school and what they can do creativity-wise.


“Gini Coefficient | What is Income Inequality?” Ed. Lauren Thomas. Jonas Bromley, Michelle Friedman, Andrew Roberts, Lauren Thomas, 8 May. 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv7MTOUh6UY&index=8

This is an 11th grade project involving a combination of math knowledge and history knowledge. Students illustrate a timeline explaining the Gini Coefficient when it comes to inequality. I chose this because it is important to show that the subjects that SLA students take are not always by themselves; They can be used together at some times to create one big, knowledge-filled project.


“Physics Commercial” Ed. Greta Haskell. Joseff Filamore, Greta Haskell, 18 March 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikf7U7lCoVs&index=9

This is an 11th grade physics project in which students had to create a commercial advertising a new product using the laws of physics (a device that can charge your phone using kinetic energy). The use of comedy and a great understanding of the unit learned in physics class is mainly why I chose this source. Audience will see the creativity and, most importantly, the knowledge of what they have learned.


“Sling TV Superbowl Commercial” Ed. Rafi Hares. Alejandro Bautista-Garcia, Shaion Denny, Rafi Hares, Jada Terell, 27 February 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0l4IJvziAw&index=10

This is an 11th grade Digital Video project in which students must create a commercial that could air during the Super bowl, with a specific budget relating to your time limit. This project focuses on being in debt with your cable bill, in a comedic way. I chose this site because while it does help advertise the product the students are trying to sell, it is mainly the comedy of the commercial that makes it memorable. This can show not only the students’ creativity, but their different types of humor.


“El Maquillaje de Hombres” Ed. Anna Sugrue. Javier Peraza, Anna Sugrue, 2 April 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx3c-zV6OeM&index=11

This is a 10th grade Spanish 2 project. It shows students talking about different types of makeup while using their knowledge of spanish vocabulary and conjugating verbs in the past, present and future tense. I chose this source because it shows the student’s knowledge of a foreign language and how they can use it in modern times. It can also show how students can use their skills in a class in which they must speak entirely in Spanish.


“Father Devine: A Case Study in Charisma” Ed. Leo Levy, 6 June 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG09gRuBVhE&index=17


“Swat Team - Trailer” Ed. August Polite. Josh Berg, Tobi Hahn, August Polite, 29 May 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZvgXW9H5Nw&index=18


“DNN Daily News: K.M. Cruice’s Alternative Currency” Ed. Leo Levy. Melissa Alvarez, Miles Cruice-Barnett, Leo Levy, Michaela Prell, Anna Sugrue, 8 May 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89TniT9jvp8&index=19


“Javier Peraza ‘What STEM Means To Me’” Ed. Javier Peraza, 19 March 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UBtQS5uDio&index=21


“Enerkey®” Ed. Zack Hersh, 19 March 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqojzSaR900


“The Value of the Dollar” Ed. Zack Hersh. Mitchell Berven-Stotz, Zack Hersh, Lauren Hummel, Javier Peraza, Zoe Schwingel-Sauer, 8 May 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a83fKK57Kk


“Physics commercial Q3 BM” Ed. Zoe Schwingel-Sauer. Jiwon Choi, Tobi Hahn, Trinity Middlebrooks, Zoe Schwingel-Sauer, 19 March 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5KtrnJZfBQ


“math bm q4 Zoe, Javier, Brandon, Jiwon, Nebil” Ed. Zoe Schwingel-Sauer. Jiwon Choi, Nebil Ibrahim, Javier Peraza, Zoe Schwingel-Sauer, Brandon Yam, 3 May 2014. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ3dBEYile0&index=25


“Floating Pwing-Pwing (Full Ver.)” Ed. Tiarra Bell. Tiarra Bell, Ashlye Fitzmaurice, Rifah Islam, Tianna Mcnair, 2 October 2014, Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hZbpdyPK0g


“A Normal Day in Class at SLA” Ed. Jackie Middleswarth, 22 January 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSov81VVd6k&index=27


“Apple Jacked” Ed. Tamira Bell. Tamira Bell, Alajandro Bautista-Garcia, Felix D’Hermillion, Rafi Hares, Rosalie Swana, 10 April 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dis3Rc7WO70


“Amanda’s Promposal” Ed. Melissa Alvarez. Melissa Alvarez, Noah Caruso, Amanda Theiu, 19 February 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTT4WuPoWf4


“Introducing the KeyBulb: Innovation in Self-Powered Technology” Ed. Stephanie Dyson, 18 March 2015. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM31lYEV9wU&index=30


“lab” Ed. Rosalie Swana, 29 January 2014. Web. Sept. 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL9sCRv4WbQ


Teacher Interview Sources

“Brad Latimer and Larissa Pahomov Interview.” Personal interview. 20 Nov. 2015



“John Kamal Interview.” Personal interview. 13 Nov. 2015



“Mark Bey Interview.” Personal interview. 13. Nov. 2015



“Melanie Manuel and Steph Sessa Interview.” Personal interview. 12 Nov. 2015



"Pearl Jonas Interview." Personal interview. 9 Nov. 2015



“Pia Martin Interview.” Personal interview. 16 Nov. 2015


Senior Interview Sources

“Alfaro-Allah, Soledad Interview.” Personal interview. 2 Feb. 2016



“Courtney, Kevin Interview.” Personal interview. 29 Jan. 2016



“Dyson, Stephanie Interview.” Personal interview. 19 Jan. 2016



“Hummel, Lauren Interview.” Personal interview. 20 Jan. 2016



“Nocella, Veronica Interview.” Personal interview. 29 Jan. 2016



“O’Donovan, Desmond Interview.” Personal interview. 28 Jan. 2016



“Prell, Michaela Interview.” Personal interview. 29 Jan. 2016



“Schwingel-Sauer, Zoe Interview.” Personal interview. 2 Feb. 2016



“Sorgentoni, Gina Interview.” Personal interview. 21 Jan. 2016



“Stuart, Amelia Interview.” Personal interview. 3 Feb. 2016



“Weathers-Fowler, Mia Interview.” Personal interview. 4 Feb. 2016




Other Sources

"Frederick Wiseman's HIGH SCHOOL." Videology Bar Cinema. EV Made, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.

http://videologybarandcinema.com/events/frederick-wisemans-high-school/

This is a website talking about the 1968 film, “High School” by director Frederick Wiseman. It shows the director’s inspiration for the film and why he chose certain camera techniques. He did the trailer for the film in mostly close-ups, which is similar to how a mockumentary is shot. I used this sources for inspiration for my cinematography choices for the film. For the majority of my footage, I am using this source for mainly the editing style.

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2015-16

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