Through my capstone project, I got a chance to embrace my career goal in life. Down the line, I would like to have my own pro-black topic-centered podcast/news channel in the future after college only celebrating blackness in a light that motivates, elevates, and inspires others. Being that the core values of SLA are inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection, I made my project centered around all 5. Beginning with Inquiry, I developed a question, What leads to a healthy discussion about deep philosophical questions that don’t have a yes or no answer and are completely opinionated? Journalism is centered around philosophy and asking questions that cannot always be answered making it objective. The second aspect of creating my podcasts was research, using sources that I found while forming my annotated bibliography, I discovered new ways to articulate my stance and direct facts from articles that fit my opinion. The difficulty I had with collaborating was getting volunteers to feature on the podcast, understanding that recording podcasts with minors is difficult due to liability, I decided to record on my own instead of creating a new model of collaboration. Instead, during black student union meetings, I decided to play clips from podcasts every week to discuss creating new opposing opinions. Presenting a podcast is hard when I worked from my room, however, I still managed to find a way to present. Below is linked a compilation of clips from each podcast that I created, this way those who are reviewing my work don’t have to listen to each podcast one by one, instead, the 5-minute compilation sums it up generally. Overall, while reflecting, this project has made me see how much I really do want to talk about these topics as a career in life and how much I could teach others through my knowledge of these significant topics about black people. I am excited to see what life brings after college due to this project.

Digital evidence-

Below is a link to a compilation of clips from each of my podcasts;

https://www.wevideo.com/view/2688277088

Annotated Bibliography-

Below is a link to my Annotated Bibliography;

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nqFTWio6qcP6KGsrR_sKQ3fx0359eMlv5cXZ8rvfNw8/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone, I wanted to use the engineering skills I’ve learned over the years to create a product that has an impact on our communities. This came in the form of a drone that assists firefighters in high priority responses, specifically with intel gathering and communication before anyone arrives on site. It was important that I researched every aspect of this project including drone mechanics, drone modification, thermal imaging, and firefighting protocol. I made sure I was talking with experts in different fields such as the manufacturer of the drone I was planning on using, a photographer who flies drones for a living, and a fire marshal. The final product is a dual intel gathering and communication system connected to a drone with a modified thermal camera, giving firefighters the essential information they need before they show up one site. I created a detailed conceptual design for my project with the plan of completing it over the summer.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BlNiBojTmLO0S4YjYemnKusUlW6E43ehC_pIvquhmsY/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone, I wanted to create several fidget mechanisms for kids who have autism and highschool students who get disengaged easily. Once the fidgets are made I would examine how the kids interacted with them and if it had any impact. Creating fidgets for kids with autism and highschool students will make sure that when they are disengaged that they will still be present in class. These mechanisms consisted of spinning and sliding movements because it’s the simplest way to stay occupied with two things at once for highschool students. For kids that have autism, it will help calm their nerves since a lot of them feel so on edge since they aren’t in their own comfort zone. Creating mechanisms as my capstone is very important due to the fact I have a brother who has autism. He and several other people I know that have autism always carry an object that helps them calm down and attentive to what is happening.. To make it even more personal, I struggle with focusing on classes due to me getting easily bored. In order to stay focused I would spin my air pod case in my hand or roll a pen on the desk.

Process paper link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o5GgDQ_OUM7rRY8bxN9-hKsro8J-Gja_iGBD1ivoCTc/edit?usp=sharing

For my Capstone, I wanted to teach people about Lab-grown Meat and the advancements they have made in their product. The goal in mind was to teach people as well as get their opinions on it at the same time, to do this I created a website that had information about LGM that I thought to be important. I also created a survey that would help me get an idea of what people already knew about LGM and how they felt about it. When creating the website, I had to be mindful of how I worded things because I wanted to avoid portraying the wrong tone. I wanted to make sure I didn’t sound too opinionated because it might make people close-minded, Afterall my goal wasn’t to persuade them but to inform them. The survey helped me to figure out what things I should leave in and out of the website, and that was important to me because I didn’t want it to be too confusing for anyone reading it. I chose to make my Capstone to be about Lab-grown Meat because it is fascinating to me that technology like that even exists, along with that I think it has a lot of potentials to be something that could help us cut down the demand for livestock.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_eIsXrZVJcx8671a1HYm-9hCLKbVtL1vCXc9km0WRrI/edit?usp=sharing

I wanted to create a capstone that represented my interests, and had a positive impact on the musicians and artists I know. Foundations for Artists was an idea for an event which would showcase poets, musicians and photographers wanting to start their careers, serving as a networking opportunity, and a memorable experience. However, after quarantine occured it became clear that an event was no longer possible. My final product is an explanation of my process, along with some original music I worked on during quarantine.

Link to Music: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10KJVTq44HNOpkWPQzOth2msKh7zHKg3G?usp=sharing

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JGKQHFphQXaDErNhXIJa3it5j7Ur5Nb8bhbJceXNCRk/edit?usp=sharing