https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/10kH9JncQDO_romRQUy1wt9-_4o7UDfww

For my Capstone project, I created an eight week hygiene course plan for SLA’s health class to help educate students on how to properly care for their bodies. This idea came to me from my own experience in health class, where I felt that hygiene was not covered. I wanted to provide students, especially those who may not have learned about hygiene at home, with accessible, non embarrassing education on the subject. The process include alot of extensvie and independent research, and collaboration form students, the school nurse, Nurse Chris, and the health teacher Mr. Kelly. I designed engaging, easy to follow lessons on various different types of hygiene topics, ensuring they were age appropiate and relevant to students needs. One challenge that I had faced was the inability to fund and distribute hygiene kits, which were originally intended to support the lessons with practical resources. Despite this challange, I adapted by focusing on the digital aspect of the course planning. Throughout the project, I attended meetings, gathered feedback, and polished the course based on real concerns voiced by different students and teachers about hygiene in the school. I am ost proud of creating a safe and a supportive educational experience that aims to reduce shame and promote confidence. My Capstone reflects SLA’s core values by asking an important question, conducting research, collaborating with the communnity, and sharing a final product that can benefit future students at SLA. This project taught me how to turn personal expierences into meaningful action and how to build something that empowers others to take care of themselves with confidence.

For my capstone, I created a 30-minute podcast exploring Philadelphia’s stray cat population, examining the problem’s scope, impact, and potential solutions through expert interviews and research. My project began from personal concern when learning about cat dissections in class. I gathered essential questions about community cats and their management, which guided my research. Through a combination of personal stories, expert interviews, and statistical data, the film aims to shed light on this often-overlooked urban challenge. This podcast aims to raise awareness about Philadelphia’s stray cat population, encourage community engagement, and explore humane solutions to a complex urban issue. Stray and feral cats are ubiquitous throughout Philadelphia, with particularly high concentrations in areas with abandoned buildings, industrial zones, and neighborhoods with limited resources for animal control. These cats typically form colonies around reliable food sources, often provided by community members. According to estimates from local animal welfare organizations, Philadelphia may be home to over 400,000 stray and feral cats, with the population showing seasonal fluctuations related to breeding cycles (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, 2023). The cats’ presence is particularly noticeable along major corridors such as Columbus Boulevard and in the city’s extensive network of alleys, where they find shelter and access to food sources including discarded food waste. Over 80+ hours, I researched academic literature, designed interview protocols, conducted and transcribed interviews, and developed audio editing skills. When my original documentary vision proved impossible, I pivoted to creating a podcast format. This project taught me persistence, adaptability, and independent problem-solving. I learned to build trust with hesitant interviewees and create coherent narratives from disparate sources. Most importantly, I discovered that meaningful learning often happens when plans fail and we must reimagine our path forward. Creating something outside my comfort zone, a podcast I’d typically avoid listening to, became a source of pride and personal growth.

Podcast: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZoNJ_Xhy4Ad91ZxPAeLZF1aCjqm2eXIT/view?usp=sharing

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yr5ta16QwoAChCm2-XiTHUx7R6ZgF_RvnnlC01nEYrc/edit?usp=sharing

For my Capstone project, I chose to create a short documentary about Open Hearts Cafe, a nonprofit organization operating out of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Rittenhouse Square. They provide free food and clothing twice a week to visitors from around the city, and occasionally offer other vital services like haircuts, legal support, and library books. I had known about this program for a few years, as my parents work at the church where Open Hearts operates, but I wanted to learn more so that I could share their story with the world. I also included about 30 seconds of animation throughout the video, as hand-drawn animation is a skill I have been wanting to learn since I was in middle school and I felt it would enhance the visual style of the final documentary.

This Capstone serves as an introduction for the organization to newcomers and those who are unaware of the program. It bridges the gap between the church and the wider community, telling the story of Open Hearts and emphasizing the importance of volunteering, especially in vulnerable populations. Completing this project helped me to become more confident as an individual filmmaker, and it gave me a chance to participate in a wonderful community.

Video HERE:

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GHTtIRZ83j2r-V66JXvVrsHUS8jRRhqYseCwWQnAMj4/edit?usp=sharing

For my Capstone, I helped lead Rocketfest 2025, a student-run film and photo festival showcasing work from Philadelphia public school students. The festival aims to amplify student voices and allow public school students (who often have fewer resources and opportunities to create films) to have their work appreciated. I worked with Olivia Gavin and Noah Callender, and we each took on specific roles: Olivia led communication, Noah handled presentation, and I directed marketing.

Starting in October, we held weekly meetings with our mentor where we created a timeline and organized the various logistics of running the festival. As the head of marketing, I created Rocketfest’s branding, designed promotional materials, and ran our social media.

The event took place on May 7th at the Parkway Central Free Library and included an intro speech from the three of us, a screening of 15 student films, a slideshow of selected photographs, and an awards ceremony. The awards ceremony was a new aspect that our team added to Rocketfest as a chance to give filmmakers and photographers even more recognition for their wonderful work. We had a great turnout, with SLA DigVid and CAPA students, teachers, judges, and families and friends in attendance.

Rocketfest taught me the importance of organization and teamwork in a major project, and showed me how rewarding it is to create an event that brings people together.

Attached are images of our festival and the bibliography I created to guide my work as head of marketing.

My capstone project was to assist the homeless population as well as local shelters in the City of Philadelphia. The process was a combination of collecting items and distributing them to different kinds of shelters. Not only did I give the donations I received to different shelters, but I also handed bags with different necessities inside to homeless people I saw on the streets.

In the past, we have collected blankets, jackets, and other items before but never the amount that we collected for my capstone. Because my mom and I help out whenever we can, I thought that this would be a perfect idea for my capstone. Taking a passion of mine and doing a big project on it was the best thing I could’ve done.

I’ve learned so much throughout the process of my capstone project. I’ve learned a lot about the importance of time management. I’ve also got to hear some peoples’ stories and how they ended up homeless. I’ve learned how important helping out truly is to me and I realized I want to make a nonprofit organization. I gained so much knowledge about different organizations and shelters, and I learned a lot of new editing techniques. To me, the most important thing I learned is that I want to do this for the rest of my life. I never want to lose my passion for giving back. I want to have a non-profit later in the future alongside a job that can help many people.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oijgavBY0-ajt_2PFkJaZ4e6h9KI-2pW

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGnPSLWjtM/yNm9yze-mF7wjH6GPpemyg/edit?utm_content=DAGnPSLWjtM&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

For my capstone, I led Rocketfest 2025 along with Noah Callender and Mira Khurana. We separated ourselves into three departments: Communications, Marketing, and Presentation. Rocketfest is a student-led film festival that accepts films and photographs from inside the Philadelphia school district. This year, we introduced the concept of an award ceremony to highlight the winners and really make all of the artists included feel special. Our main goal throughout this capstone was to make students feel seen through their work and inspire creativity by giving them a ground to be recognized for their art. Leading Rocketfest highlighted the importance of recognition to me, and how a little can go a long way. Attached below are two photographs from the festival, along with the annotated bibliography that helped me bring Rocketfest to life.

I decided to produce a short film for my capstone because I’m in the Digital Video CTE elective. My film follows a girl who has a gaming addiction as a metaphor for other types of addiction that people go through. I chose to do this because I wanted to create a project combining all of the knowledge I learned throughout the DigVid program, from pre-production in scriptwriting, storyboarding, filming, and editing. My capstone encompasses the core values of SLA: inquiry, from wondering what my film should be about; research, from digging through tons of inspirational experimental and narrative short films; collaboration, from working closely with my mentor and actor to get the best final product; presentation, from editing and posting about it. Throughout this process, I learned that I have to push myself to do what I must do. Nobody else is going to make me to do my requirements. If I did my capstone all over again, I would probably get started earlier and not procrastinate as much, I would have had more time to shoot my scenes, get them as perfect as possible, and reshoot scenes that needed to be done again.

https://myalbum.com/album/dvfzohZdtKUY8i/?invite=ae88118a-9f00-4caf-929b-dab1f57b3149

For my capstone project, I focused on improving my photography and editing skills by doing a pre-wedding photoshoot for my cousin. I worked closely with her to understand her vision. She shared what kind of vibe she wanted, her favorite poses, and her preferences for editing. I did a lot of research on how to adjust my camera settings and used tutorials for editing software like Lightroom and After Effects to get better at editing photos. The photoshoot had four different parts: formal outfits, two cultural outfits, and a morning shoot with bridesmaids. I took around 1,800 raw photos and picked the best 430 to edit. Editing was a long and detailed process—removing unwanted objects, smoothing skin, fixing lighting, and making everything look natural. I watched online tutorials to learn how to do these things efficiently, especially to make skin look clearer and remove distractions. Throughout this project, I learned a lot—not just about editing, but also about managing my time, communicating with others, being patient, and paying attention to small details. It was challenging at times, especially when I felt tired or unmotivated, but I stayed focused because I wanted to create something my cousin would love. In the end, I’m really proud of the photos and how much I’ve improved. My cousin loved the final results, and I got positive feedback, which made all the hard work worth it. This experience taught me a lot about photography, editing, and perseverance, and I’m glad I took on this project.

My capstone project aimed to connect the engineering and digital media CTE programs at Science Leadership Academy by developing a fully functional 3D-printed 2-axis gimbal system for my Canon R100 camera and creating a 3D Blender product showreel to advertise it. However, it turned into something greater - a lesson that I can take with me outside of school. I created an experimental documentation process of what this journey looked like.

Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17tW0ST2gsUWR6ZL7ecmlnvNTTUE0VVKf?usp=sharing