Public Defenders Case Overload

Public Defenders Overloaded

I have recently realized the public defender system first hand. Realizing how big of an issue it is, I decided to inform the people of how big of problem it is with this project. I found out that the problem is affective to the people who can’t afford an expensive attorney. I was stunned to find out the average time a person talks with their public defender before appearing in front of the judge is 7 minutes. This information is listed in a document, you can read here.

Throughout a year a public defender is recommend to get 150 felony cases, but they are getting way more.  Even if they had enough time to get the cases done, they don’t have the same resources the private attorneys do. People don’t realize how public defenders are deprived of resources such as time for working as hard as they could and witnesses. The public defender system is never the same in different states. Each state is entitled to write their own criminal codes. This could also hurt the person under precaution.

I interviewed a public defender, Michael Arthus. He happens to be a very experienced public defender who gave meaningful first hand information, letting me in on a closer look for the system. There are public defenders who handle the trails and public defenders who are handling appeals. Those who handle the trails will normally be in the courtroom everyday appearing in front of the judge with their clients. Those who do the appeals are mostly sent for research. In Brooklyn, which in every state is different, are given 75-100 cases at a time to juggle. Mr. Arthus says that throughout all his odds he still fights his hardest for the justice for his clients.  

This is a picture of a Brooklyn Defender System Logo...

I also interviewed Taylor Rogers. Taylor, who is my sister, had her case in the hands of a public defender recently. She said that she didn’t even know who her public defender was until day of the court date. Her public defender talked to her 20 minutes before appearing in front of the judge. She does feel as though her public defender did her more justice then she could’ve done. The public defender was “kind” just very busy and rushing when you are having conversations. She feels as though he put forth his best effort and did everything he could.

This picture is a public defender. He is working hard to get his many cases done.

Throughout this project I realized how different each state’s public defender offices are. As I read this article, “I’m a public defender. It’s impossible for me to do a good job representing my clients.”, I found that in New Orleans to avoid layoffs because of the budget cut the entire staff will go 4 weeks in a year without being paid. They’re asked to do way more then an attorney with less material and less everything compared to an attorney. The author of this site says that their clients who can’t pay their bail are focused to sit in jail for 60 days until the district attorney decides to arraign them. During this project we have a part where we need to be an agent of change in our issue we choose. Iḿ thinking about making a website for informing people on how overly overworked the public defenders are. This will be first hand information and give people more notice to the issue and hopefully get the ball rolling on the issue.

This problem among the public defender hasn’t seemed to get any better, it just seems to worsen. What will come next??? Public defenders are going to not be able to deal with the impact of the case overloads as time continues. This research has helped my understanding of public defender so much further than what I thought. I really hope so see some justice among the system, even baby steps help!! I’ve learned that in the justice system money can take you a long way..

Visit my annotated bibliography here!


Kareem Davis Capstone


My name is Kareem Davis. I am a SLA senior and for my capstone I created a photo gallery. Within it contains pictures that were guiding by this prompt, "the world around me." I used that to inspire what I created and what I explored. I mostly stayed within the city of Philadelphia, because that really is the world that I'm most interactive with. For my capstone, I went around capturing moments that spoke to me the most, and now I wanted to share what I did with you all. This is my world, and now I'm sharing it with you for my capstone.

Sherell Messing Capstone

​Abstract

For my capstone I wanted to create an ILP that was different from all I have encountered and heard about from my peers. This ILP would not only further a group of individuals way of thinking but way of communicating. No other learning topic can express SLA’s core values in complete silence than American Sign Language (ASL). As a community we are strongly opinionated and often forget to focus on a voice, or idea, other than our own. By learning ASL you use your eyes to listen, a talent many have concurred. A language as beautiful as this can truly make you see the world from a different view. There is history that is not taught in schools and a community that is separated due to lack of communication.
To inform our community and make a change I held multiple bake sales to bring the SLA community together in a creative way. During this time I also deeply searched for an instructor to teach ASL classes next year. Sadly, I was not successful due to the classes being too expensive or unavailable. At the moment I am waiting for a response from my final contact, which is Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. If they are able to provide their services then I will communicate with Jeremy to get a list of 10 students who are interested. I will finalize the process by organizing a schedule and providing welcoming bags filled with notebooks and stationery.
Digital Piece https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/18w0Ovg1W9H3PB-6ykBrYKpxWyAO26jo4i47uwtb3IzU/edit?usp=sharing
Bibliography https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CbkH6gEfY319HBIBeUYpuMdpGsGA39_NjK5ftI0ZpJs/edit

Autistic people are different but not less

Hi, My name is Amira Gouri. And my topic is about ASD. In other words autistic spectrum disorder. According to the interview, and my last post. Symptoms of autism can be noticed on children on early age, generally between two and three years old. It’s when the child has trouble of communicating with others and/or difficulty of learning. The disorder has many symptoms. Scientists till now, still don’t know the causes of autism.

For my impact of change, I am planning to raise awareness and donate to schools that have autistic support classes. This way more people will learn about autism and actually try to help people with the disorder. Autistic support classes should have few students, so the teacher can her/his assistants can control, teach and take care of the students. Because their aren’t that many schools that have autistic support classes and the percentage of autistic children is increasing, so those classes may have a lot of students which can affect their learning negatively. So spreading awareness and seek help from the government and people as well can be beneficial and make a difference.  

I learned that the improvement of progress is based on many different factors together. For example, school helps with his education, spending more time with him helps with social skills, therapist helps with his communication, the supplements and gluten free diet help with his health. Which can be really effective to some, and can be less effective to others. I also learned that most autistic people are good at memorizing, and playing sports. I still wonder about the exact cause of autism, and will researches find a medicine that will cure autism, or at least decrease autism from spreading.
This is an image of some of the supplements that can be used by autistic children and the description of them and how they are helpful.
This is an image of gluten free bread.


After interviewing a mother of an autistic child. She shared some of her experience, struggle in her journey with her autistic son. I was able to know a lot of information from her. That started 13 years ago and still didn’t end yet. When her son was 2 she started noticing that he had some interaction issues, wasn’t able to control his emotions, poor eye contact, and when she talks to him he never answers. Just like the symptoms I researched. After she noticed all that she shared her concerns with her son's pediatrician who recommended her a psychologist. After testing and observing him while he is playing and acting they discover that he has autism. Now her son is 16, and he in a high school and that he improved but his improvement is limited, he still isn’t independent as she wishes him to be, he still has social skill issues. Since then she tries her best so that her son will be better such as supplements, gluten free diet, speech, play, and occupation therapy, school, after-school activities and spending more time with him. Like most parents she is fully concerned about his safety and getting a job.

This is an image of a paper of the free after school programs that have been offered by the Penn University to help people with autism.
Annotated Bibliography


Kayla Cassumba Capstone

Abstract

Every year the senior class of SLA creates a variety of senior projects, also known as the Capstone. Capstones are meant to inspire, ignite, and bring about change within our community.  My capstone involved a business proposal to create Science Leadership Academy’s Child Care Center (SLACC).  I identified a problem that needed to be solved and determined the steps to see this idea come to fruition. The program requires the cooperation of students, teachers, and children to operate successfully.


Link to Proposal:

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1Kf0kxfcA6NJkFS4iaKLZzgiGZFXzdXpMeTKJmDSuYzA/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Annotated Bibliography:

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1BqWlsf4ahUkV7053M6Kj-DFkqLcSURdxp2DrBot1RjM/edit?usp=sharing

Isabella D'Angelo Capstone

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/presentation/d/1AOaZoF3uqLi2CxDOyV5hiivhgeHMh_etq_4P_rsVD4M/edit?usp=sharing

I have been rowing at Philadelphia City Rowing for the past 4 years. It’s team’s mission is and has always been to empower local public school students through the sport of rowing. That is exactly what it did for me. The sport of rowing teaches discipline, perseverance and teamwork, reinforcing invaluable lessons that extend into all areas of life. By increasing access, affordability, and diversity, we can promote the sport of rowing in the United States and add depth to the athletic pool. My capstone is starting a Philadelphia City Rowing club at Science Leadership Academy. My goal for this capstone is to inform students about the benefits of becoming a student athlete and the opportunity it brings (scholarships). It also provides a safe and fun place for the students that row for PCR that go to SLA to socialize, collaborate, and really get to know their teammates off the water. In the club, the members and I think of creative ways to advertise and promote PCR by making flyers and brochures to hang around the school, explaining what rowing is and how it could help you physically and mentally. Because PCR is a free organization, my club members and I have been raising money by having bake sales. Rowing has taught me so much and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to row for PCR. I am so glad I get to promote and offer my advice and knowledge to students that never heard of the team or even the sport itself.

Ian Fay Capstone

When I thought about what I wanted to do for my capstone, I thought about tackling something that I never really talked about or addressed in my life. It was something that I have lived with all of my life and something that has affected the way I have lived my life tremendously. I am talking about the ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) called Asperger’s Syndrome. For a large part of my life, I never really talked about it because it was normal to me and I did not think it was too much of a big deal. As I went on through life however, I realized how much different it made me from the average person.

For my capstone, I decided to take an opportunity to show people what it is like to live with Asperger’s Syndrome, issues I deal with in regards to my disorder, and me learning how to accept myself despite the fact that I have this disorder. I also submitted them to a couple literary magazines as well as performed them at poetry slams throughout the past year. The project overall was a really reflective experience for me and it allowed me to see all the ways in which I was affected by my disorder and how I struggle with things that come easily to most people.

One of the poems in my collection:
https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1acqKFKt9afDuTcTpG7C53VrtkZL0D902902u1dSVeDo/edit?usp=sharing

Bibliography:
https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1MPtZkR0GJiqS4v9y6KMdfcDHjFMfk2jinSpyVipJ5Qs/edit?usp=sharing

Arianna Haven Capstone - Gender Representation in STEM

Here is the link to the final website: https://ahaven0.wixsite.com/capstone

For my capstone project, I investigated what it was like to be a woman in an underrepresented field of work. Since I want to go into engineering, and STEM is one of the fields that has a small percentage of women compared to men, I felt that this was a very relevant topic for me to learn about. Ella Petersen, another female senior here at Science Leadership Academy, wants to go into business. Business is another field where women are underrepresented in the workplace, so we felt that it was appropriate to team up and learn about women in underrepresented industries together. I focussed on women in STEM, Ella focussed on women in business, and together we were able to learn a lot more about both fields and reach a much bigger audience. 

We had both heard horror stories about women in a workplace where they are outnumbered by men, so we were very prepared to face the harsh reality of what our future could look like. However, after interviewing many women in STEM and business jobs, we realized that these industries are slowly becoming much more welcoming to women. We decided that wanted to help the improvement of these fields in whatever way we could because they were our future. Because of this, we held a panel with five women in underrepresented fields for the underclassmen at our school. Four classes came and got to talk to these women and ask them questions about what it is like to be a woman in an underrepresented field. I loved getting the opportunity to explore a topic that affects me so much.
Bibliography_AriHaven (1)

Kevin Bowser’s Capstone: “A Campaign 4 Hygienic Practices”

Since the conclusion of my junior year I sought to create a project that reflected my enthusiasm as well as my identity, which led to the development of a rather hygienic capstone! Over the last 9 months I have strived to improve hygienic awareness and application within my community, Science Leadership Academy (SLA). However, before I could enlighten my peers on how to improve their health I first had to pinpoint specific areas of hygiene that needed to be reviewed and emphasized which led to my health surveys.
Around the month of January, I began reaching out to some of the health coordinators at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to get advice on how to refine my overall message. In the end, I sent out a 5 question survey to SLA which featured questions ranging from time spent washing hands to whether antibacterial soap was superior to hand sanitizer. After reviewing the results of the poll, I saw that questions relating to hand hygiene were not as accurate as others. So I decided to focus my future health seminars on studies related to hand health. 
Towards the spring, I began the presentation phase of my project. This included multiple educational seminars about issues within SLA pertaining to health emphasis, a severe lack of resources, and how to make the best out of environments with poor health codes. In addition, I presented the findings of my initial health survey and emphasized the significance of an individual’s health to other people. I decided to present to the underclassmen, primarily the freshman, in the hopes that they would be able to take up my vision of a cleaner and more hygienic SLA as they continue their academic careers!

Below are links to pictures taken from my hygienic presentation, my seminars, and a link to my bibliography.  

Photos & Bibliography:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JG9LclOsLkalQ9J7-lCsobusvxiCfP4IxkyfIYBKnPU/edit

Hygienic Presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1USZfLgWzTV3YvF_11oJ32xq1kEpwYJg8OyBE0oPta3g/edit#slide=id.p

Tianna McNair Capstone

For my capstone I decided to focus on mental health in the black community. I found that it has been statistically proven that African Americans have more exposure to crime, violence, and poverty. Being in hostile environments all the time activates to fight or flight response and can trigger different mental illnesses. On top of that black people have historically been exposed to hostile things like Jim Crow, slavery, civil rights movement,etc. and trauma affects your biological makeup which can then be passed down to your kids. This information inspired me to get African Americans exposed to this information with the hopes that we can change the how we view the topic and maybe one day end the stigmas around mental health and mental illness. I then held an event for people to come out and talk. I also created an audio piece with a few interviews that I’ve conducted. 

Link to audio piece here.

Bibliography

"Black & African American Communities and Mental Health." Mental Health America. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/african-american-mental-health.
Mental Health in America is nonprofit organization that focuses on bringing awareness to and preventing mental health through education, advocacy, and research services. I found a page on the website the specifically addresses mental health in black and African American communities. It talks about how although black people make up a small portion of the population the rate in which people are reported with a mental issues is disproportionated. This is because there are many environmental factors the historically and currently affect this community. And a lot of times black people are misdiagnosed with mental disorders. In my project I used the infographic. I used the infographic because people retain information better with visuals, also because I wanted to show that we are a minority however there is a big percent of people who have a mental illness. 

"Got Your ACE Score?" ACEs Too High. July 25, 2015. Accessed February 03, 2017. https://acestoohigh.com/got-your-ace-score/.
ACE stands for adverse childhood experiences. The ACE test is a series of questions about a bunch of different events and the person answers yes or no. For every yes that a person has they receive a point. This test is used to measure a person person childhood trauma. The reason why this is important to my project is because exposure to a childhood trauma affects a person's physical health on a biological level. If a person who has a score of four a more is at risk for problems with their hormonal and immune system, the brain’s function and development, and the way the their DNA is read and transcribe. I thought that having this in my project would be a more interesting lens to talk about my project through.  Most people talk about the social issues that a person may face but no one really talks about the biological effects. 

Hairston, Tahirah. "'Being Mary Jane' Gracefully Tackles a Touchy Subject Black People Often Avoid." Fusion. Accessed February 03, 2017. http://fusion.net/story/222956/being-mary-jane-suicide-mental-health/.
This is an article that is giving a recap of an episode from the television series Being Mary Jane. The show is about a woman who is a successful television host on a major network. This show follows the up and downs of her work life along with family and social life. What makes this show interesting is how they address many related issues for black woman in the corporate world. On this one particular episode a character committed suicide after a long and hard struggle with depression. The reason why I wanted to incorporate this into my project is because of the many signs that this character showed and all her attempts to get her loved ones attention and how no one noticed. I am using this episode for a blog post about the many ways that people reach out for help in ways that may not be that obvious. I think that this a source to reference because it’s a pretty current and popular show that could make my audience interested. 

"NAMI." NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | African Americans. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Diverse-Communities/African-Americans.
National Alliance on Mental Illness has a similar mission as Mental Health in America. I found more information about the prevalence of mental in the black community and it’s causes. The one thing that this source did differently was that they included resources so that people can get help. They bring up an interesting point about how as a patient it is important to make sure that your health care provider has cultural competence. On website I quote some of their stats about misdiagnosis of african american people about of lack of cultural competence. 
Siawale Vesslee in discussion with the author Tianna McNair, January 2017 
I interviewed Siawale who is an apart of the African diaspora to get a unique point of view on how families who aren’t from America are similar to the ones who are. I found that there were a lot a similarities with the culture and how we both deal with mental health. Some of the interview questions are: How does you, your family and friends talk about mental people with mental illnesses? Has your family ever talked about or taught you self care? What are some common misconceptions that exist within the black community? What do you think needs to be changed about how we view mental health as a collective? And how can we reach out to people living with these conditions without being overbearing? I then used her response in a podcast that shows how mental health is not often talked about in black families. 

"Suicide Statistics — AFSP." AFSP. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/.
This source is the American Foundation for suicide prevention. This source has a lot of statistics about suicide in America and it gets as specific as the rates by gender and race. I used this source to compare the rates I found about black people to other races here. I used some stats on my webpage. 

"Suicide Rates among Young Black Boys on the Rise." CNN. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/19/health/suicide-youth/.
I found this article on CNN that talks about how the suicide rates for black boys are on a rise. It talks about how the rate has been on a constant incline for the past two decades. And how suicide is one of the third leading causes for deaths of young black boys in America. I plan on using this article in my blog as another way to show the prevalence of mental health issues. It talks about how deaths from suicide has always been something that was common and consistent among white males. I found that interesting because it was only recently that suicide deaths have become common in black boys and I wanted to explore why that may be. I assumed that it was because of more direct effects on us like mass incarceration, adverse childhood experiences, police brutality, the school to prison pipeline, and strict gender norms. 

Vaughn Matthews in discussion with the author Tianna McNair, January 2017 
I interviewed Vaughn with the same interview questions that I asked Siawale. He had a unique response. He talked about how he and his family actually talked about self care. He told me about the many different ways that he and his siblings carry out their self care regimens. This was different from all the other interviews that I recorded. 

"Welcome to WISQARS™." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 12, 2017. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention holds a lot of reliable statistics about deaths in the united states and their causes. I wanted to use this source to find unbiased statistics to either prove or disprove the CNN article. This link wasn’t really helpful in that sense. However, was able to see how many deaths there were and do calculations using the information from other sources to find the percentage of the amount of those deaths were suicides. 

Writer, HealthyPlace.com Staff. "Mental Health Hotline Numbers and Referral Resources." HealthyPlace. Accessed February 03, 2017. http://www.healthyplace.com/other-info/resources/mental-health-hotline-numbers-and-referral-resources/.
Although this source is would not be considered scholarly, this sources was really helpful for creating my website. My modeled my website to be similar to this source. On this website they have a blog, resource tab, forum, about page, etc. I copied some of the resource numbers on my website. I chose the hotline numbers that were geared more towards mental health. For example numbers for victims of child abuse, learning disabilities, sexual assault, and suicide and self harm.

Shane Durkin Capstone

What I did for my capstone project this year is it was on Minecraft and how it can be used as an education tool. My final product was a video explaining the ways Minecraft could be used as an education tool. The beginning part of the process for my capstone was first, I had to do lots of research on the topic itself and how some people actually use Minecraft for an education tool. Then, I also had to play a lot of Minecraft to understand, and figure out other ways Minecraft could be used as a learning tool. After that, I had to write the script for my video and pick which methods of how it can used as an education I wanted to talk about in the video, Then, I recorded some Minecraft gameplay in the background showing some Minecraft basics. Lastly, I combined the voice over and game play to make my final product.
VIDEO ENDS AT 2:49
Youtube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K_ZTnfNtyc
Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17tYTN3C9rhrcbssrOhW5meVYv1h1jucxh7AsX5aPuCs/edit

Crystal Taylor Capstone

Throughout the 2016-2017 school year I have worked closely with young, middle school girls and not only did they have a major impact on me, but I also left my mark on them. I wanted to focus my Capstone on creating and building relationships within the youth, simply because the world we live in isn't always easy and everyone needs someone at a point in time. With the help of my mentor, who is the site director of the 4-H afterschool program, and numerous hours of lesson planning preparation, one Wednesday a month from January to April I traveled to Delaware to Kirk Middle School and did a handful of fun and engaging activities. We would do things from having "girl talk", to going out to 'Painting with a Twist'. 



Each month for the program, there is a certain theme for the month. So, I decided to work the themes into my own lesson plans that I created. The overall product of my capstone project are the relationships that were built during these last few months. It makes me feel good to know that each month, the girls were looking forward to seeing me and having fun. I learned that this "big sister, little sister" idea is honestly beneficial. Having someone to look up to for advice, guidance, and just having someone to talk to is a good feeling, and that is what I wanted for those girls.

A link to the pictures and my bibliography can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vVjB70MS5-05LRr5MT6yowQK4xxMErQ5Vich8It06HQ/edit?usp=sharing
​ 

Jared Trusty Capstone

The process that i followed was in line with our school's core curriculum, Research, Inquiry, Collaboration, Presentation and reflection. I Inquired on a way to help the school in a way and manner that could be continued even after I have left SLA. After doing a little bit of research into the different problems into the school   I found that the school while in poor condition most things could not be worked on or fixed. I then realized the most obvious answer was right in front of me, all of the tables,  furniture and chairs in the school are either broken or non accessible.

What I wanted to do was create a way for other students to make furniture to improve their school environment. This Capstone not only has a physical representation of all the work but a guide to help future students.  What I hope to accomplish is to complete 2 Benches for the 3rd floor Hallway. (Adjacent to Hull’s Room) I will also complete a table for the ballroom on the 3rd floor. 1 Benches will accompany the table this will fully furnish the 3rd floor area. I will also complete a detailed guide on how to create each of these things on your own so that future students can repair or replace the old furniture.

I believe that this will help students improve their school and understand the work needed to create the different mechanisms that they often destroy, giving purpose and reason to the object. Below is a link to all of my pictures, Bibliography and the process behind how to make every different design.


Pics

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B47e4baNeo1ATjBzN1VpdWVNbEk?usp=sharing


Guide

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IF3kq9qL-kzq6K3GXjn-dJyjoKS2EgIrJTmYmUhVSkc/edit#



Michaela Peterson Capstone

For my capstone, I created a website for the Hyrtl Skull Exhibit at the Mutter Museum. There are one-hundred-thirty-nine skulls in the collection, and Hyrtl took very detailed notes on all of them, beyond occupation or age or cause of death. He looked at where the skulls were from and the shape of them. This collection was amassed to disprove the theory of phrenology, which is the idea that you can determine a person’s intelligence based on the size and shape of their cranium. This idea was used to support slavery and white supremacy. I first did research on Dr. Hyrtl and then I started to catalogue the data that I was given. This is what took my the longest, as there are one-hundred-thirty-nine skulls and the data was not organized in a way that you could draw conclusions from it. I created a 20 page table with nine columns that summarized all of the data. From there I found statistics like average age, sex ratio, and causes of death. Once that was done, I took all of my data and put it into my website. I also shared this chart with the Mutter, so they have a better idea of what their collection looks like.



My bibliography:

Bank, Andrew. "Of 'Native Skulls' and 'Noble Caucasians'™: Phrenology in Colonial South Africa." Journal of Southern African Studies 22.3 (1996): 387-403. Web. 3 Feb. 2017. This article talks about one of the most common uses for phrenology. Because phrenology came to rise around the same time as mass colonialism and nationalism did, it became common to justify the colonialism and mistreatment of native peoples and their land using phrenology. It is common to see terms used like “alien race” or “inferior race” when colonizers were talking about the people they colonized. These terms are a result of phrenology saying that Causians are the superior race, and all others are less advanced. This source looks a South Africa specifically, as the results phrenology and colonialism there still have lasting effects on the population.

Dhody, Anna, comp. Hyrtl Skull Exhibit. 1874. Exhibit at the Mutter Museum. The Mutter Museum at the College of Physcians, Phildadelphia. This source is my raw data for the project. These 139 skulls were collected by Dr. Josef Hyrtl throughout the course of his life. In 1874, they were bought by the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians. On each of the skulls is a short description of the person to whom the skull belonged, which may include a name, occupation, sex, age, religion, place of origin, cause of death, and a description of the skull, among other things. One downside to this source is the fact that I am working with translations, as the original descriptions were written in German. However, they were translated by a professional, and there are not many words that could get confused in translation.

Ilacqua, Joan, comp. Talking Heads. N.d. Exhibit. The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston. This collection is about Phrenology and the history of studying skulls. It discusses four men, Franz Gall, Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, and the Flower brothers, who contributed to the concepts and ideas of phrenology. This source also provides a very good definition for phrenology and why it was so popular. It also expands on what phrenology is involved with now, as it has been separated from the science that it was originally associated with. While Keckeisen addressed the root of phrenology, this source expanded on what was already given. It also explained what happened to phrenology after Gall created and shared his ideas about the shape of the skull and brain and how they relate to different attributes of different people.

Jahoda, Gustav. "Intra-€European Racism in Nineteenth‐Century Anthropology." History and Anthropology 20.1 (2009): 37-56. Web. This source talks about how phrenology and craniology, a precursor to phrenology, were used by early anthropologists to create different sub-groups within various races, especially causians. This practice was mostly used to prove that northern, WASP (white, anglo-saxon, protestant) Europeans were superior to all other. That would mean a German or Frenchman would be superior to a Greek or Italian, but all of them were superior to the rest of the people from the world. This source gives a lot of context for the information that is on the skulls, especially in concern to why religion was only noted sometimes and where each person was said to have come from.

Jenkins, Bill. "Phrenology, Heredity and Progress in George Combe's Constitution of Man." The British Journal for the History of Science 48.03 (2015): 455-73. Web. This source focuses more on the scientific ideas of phrenology and on one of the most important books on phrenology ever written, George Combe’s Constitution of Man. This book was published in 1828 and maintained its relevance and importance throughout the second half of the century. I was concerned that this source would not provide me enough information about the ideas of phrenology itself, but it explained the ideas of phrenology very well, as well as explaining why this book was so important. This source did focus solely on George Combe’s research, but because of the time period in which he lived, his research would have been very influential on Hyrtl’s own research and what data he collected while he was studying his skull collection.

Keckeisen, Sara K. "The Grinning Wall: History, Exhibition, and Application of the Hyrtl Skull Collection at the Mutter Museum." Thesis. Thesis / Dissertation ETD, 2012. Theses. Senton Hall University. Web. 2 Feb. 2017. This source is an analysis of the Hyrtl Skull Exhibit at the Mutter Museum and the ethics and methods of displaying an exhibit such as this. I was concerned that this source would focus too much on how the exhibit was displayed and whether or not displaying an exhibit like this is ethical, especially because the Museum did not obtain consent from the decedent. However, it provided very good information about the history of studying the skull, phrenology, and why Hyrtl collected the skulls on pages four through thirteen. Overall, the majority of the source was somewhat useful, however the pages noted above gave clearer answers to my questions about the history of phrenology than any of my other sources.

Lewis, Jason E., David Degusta, Marc R. Meyer, Janet M. Monge, Alan E. Mann, and Ralph L. Holloway. "The Mismeasure of Science: Stephen Jay Gould versus Samuel George Morton on Skulls and Bias." PLoS Biology 9.6 (2011): n. pag. Web. 3 Feb. 2017. This source focuses on one of the many obvious scientific problems with Phrenology, which is the fact that much of the data used to uphold this “science” was manipulated, misreported, and selected to fit the researcher's’ preconceived notions about humanity and where they stood in regards to other races. This source looks at Stephen Gould’s work about Samuel George Morton’s work. Gould took Morton’s work as a case study for the manipulation of evidence and data to support your own conclusions in the scientific community. It would have been better to look at Gould’s work first hand, but there was no easy or free way to access that in the time period I had.

Morton, Samuel George. "The Debate Over Slavery." Exploring U.S. History | the Debate over Slavery. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. This source is a series of excerpts from Samuel George Morton’s book Crania Americana. Morton lived around the same time as Hyrtl and collected a similar number of skulls. However, Morton collected his skulls to try to prove phrenology, or, as he called it, craniology. Morton’s collection is currently on display at the Penn Museum and is often compared to Hyrtl’s collection. These excerpts described his ranking of the different human races and their intelligence in regards to skull capacity. The one downside to this source is that the excerpts have been edited from the original text. However, Morton’s meaning and intention are still clear.

Wells, Samuel R. How to Read Character: A New Illustrated Hand-book of Phrenology and Physiognomy for Students and Examiners; with a Descriptive Chart. New York: Samuel R. Wells, 1870. Print. This source is a book on phrenology from 1869. It was designed to be a how-to guide for phrenology, including descriptions of the different races, what the average skull for each race looked like and how it measured, and what each of the those measurements “meant” in terms of intelligence, character, and attitude. It also talked about which parts of the brain, and therefore the skull, affect different parts of people’s characters. I was unable to read the entire book, so I am most likely missing some information, but I read all of the sections that addressed the questions I had. They site I was reading the book did not have the highest quality scans, so I did not completely understand everything that was written.

Wiest, Gerald, and Robert W. Baloh. "The Personal and Scientific Feud Between Ernst Brücke and Josef Hyrtl." Otology & Neurotology 27.4 (2006): 570-75. Web. 3 Feb. 2017. This sources focuses more on the personal life of Hyrtl and his research and work outside of his skull collection. It focuses mostly on Hyrtl’s personal and scientific feud with one of his contemporaries, which made me sceptical of its usefulness as a source. This source gave me more information about who Hyrtl was and why he was so important then any other source I have found. It speaks in depth about Hyrtl’s work as an anatomist and his work in understanding how the human body works. It also spoke to his personal beliefs about how scientific research should be approached. You can see how that might affect the his views on phrenology and how it was used to justify slavery of Africans and the mistreatment of other races.


Darius Purnell Capstone

Abstract

In this project, I would like to provide students of SLA with several aspects of theater. I would like to gather the students and supply them with workshops throughout the year, weekly- every Wednesday. The workshops would count as an ILP for sophomores and Juniors. It would first start as classes on the history of plays. Eventually we will dissect the different play formats. By this point, we have reached the end of quarter two and will begin to study the stories for plays. The students in the workshop would have different activities where they find the conflict and relationship of characters in different play excerpts. As we progress, the students will then have drills where they construct 2 minute plays with random bits in and pieces of required info they have to put in. By this point we are halfway through quarter 3. The students will then begin to write their own plays and each workshop we will read over two students plays constructively and give feedback. The capstone will reach its end a month before keystones due to the students consisting of sophomores. However, the learning doesn't end here for the students who which to continue their plays, they can choose to have public readings for the plays.

Play Excerpt written by Nicholas Ryan

The Vase


Characters:

-Timmy(younger brother)

-Tommy(older brother)

-Mom


(Scene starts with Timmy and Tommy horseplaying, then Timmy knocks over a very expensive vase that has lived in their family for generations.)


Timmy, Oh shit Tommy what we’re gonna do?!?!?!?!?!

Tommy, I dunno, but I wasn’t the one who broke it, hahaha.

Timmy, Dude! You helped break it though. Ohh this is bad…

Tommy, Uh oh, look outside.


(A car pulls up and Mom gets out and walks in the house.)


Mom, Hi ki- Oh, JESUS CHRISTMAS! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?!?!

Timmy, Mom! It was an-

Tommy, I broke it, it was an accident

Mom, I expected this from Timmy, but you? I’m disappointed...

Tommy, I really am sorry.


(Mom pulls out a cigarette, lights it and smokes it for a bit.)

Mom, You, (points at Tommy) come here.


(Mom takes her cigarette and puts it on Tommy’s forehead. Tommy screams in pain.)


Timmy, (In his head) Oh god, why did you do that Tommy? You didn’t have to take the bullet for me. What should I do?

Tommy, It’s okay,(wipes away tears) let’s just go to bed.


(Scene Ends)


Scene 2:


(The boys wake up and go downstairs. The mother is sitting in her seat in the kitchen, silently.)


Timmy


Scene 3:


Timmy, I’m sick of her. I’m sick of her always hurting us. We’re like her punching bags, objects for her to take her anger out on.

Tommy, Just forget about it, she’s our mother.

Timmy, Mothers don’t put their cigarettes out on their kids! Mothers don’t constantly abuse their children! She isn’t a mother!

Tommy, Then what do you suggest we do?

Timmy, Run away.

Tommy, Huh? Run away? That’s the stupidest idea I’ve heard. Where would we go?

Timmy, I don’t know but anywhere is better than here. We could scrape up some money and get bus tickets. Then, from there we could figure out what to do.

Tommy, That’s actually not that bad of an idea.

Mom, Tommy! Come here!

Tommy, Oh shit.

Timmy, What does she want now?


(Tommy goes to Mom. Timmy follows behind, hiding.)


Tommy, Yes, mother?

Mom, You didn’t do the dishes.

Tommy, Huh?

Mom, I said, you didn’t do the dishes!

Tommy, I’m sorry! I was-(stutters)

Mom, I don’t care what you were doing! (Stands up and slaps Tommy. Tommy falls down, crying.)

Tommy, (sobs) Oww…

(Timmy rushes in, pushes the mother down. He takes her pocketbook, and pulls Tommy up.)

Timmy, Come on, Tommy! We’re getting out of here!

Mom, GET BACK HERE! AGHHH!


(Timmy and Tommy leave the stage, running away.

Capstone Bibliography

Fortier, Mark. Theory/Theatre: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 1997. Print.

This book gives an in depth introduction to the connections of literary theory to theatre and performance. The author roots from examples such as Shakespeare, Aphra Behn, Chekhov Artaud, Cixous, and Churchill. The author unites theatre to the cultural principles that lay in literature. This book benefits my project by directing me to what makes literature and theatre so unique separate and when put together, what makes them one of the best ways intellectual methods of learning. My capstone was made to use these elements to unite the SLA community through theater by allowing students to express themselves on a stage.

Rohd, Michael. Theatre for Community, Conflict & Dialogue: The Hope Is Vital Training Manual. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998. Print.

Theatre for Community gives a reading that explains one of the most important things a teacher must master; communication. Theatre is used as a way of expression and only by allowing the children to open themselves creatively and emotionally will they ever fully experience the art of theater. The book gives a proper guide to demonstrate the proper way to allow the students to feel comfortable expressing themselves in a deep level with their teacher. I can use this source as a practice to ensure i can gain a trust with the students involved in my capstone and to allow the students to feel that they don't need to hold back when writing about emotional topics.

Kachur, Donald S., Judith A. Stout, and Claudia L. Edwards. Engaging Teachers in Classroom Walkthroughs. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2013. Print.

Engaging Teachers in Classroom Walkthroughs provides learning and teaching experiences from actual teachers. The book focuses on the observations made when implementing different activities in lessons. Reading this guide with supply me the means of knowledge of what exactly works best in a classroom and what gets the best outcome when used in a classroom of student who are both completely uninterested and completely interested. I can also gain ideas for lesson plans and activities I myself could use in my classroom when teaching my workshops. The use of walkthroughs will allow me to answer my what if scenarios for when I do something correctly by eliminating the chance of flaw by follow the detailed steps.

DiYanni, Robert, and Pat C. Hoy. Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle, 2008. Print.

Occasions for Writing sets me on the write path of understanding how to encourage my students how to grow accustomed to impulses of writing. The book gives exercises to expand the idea of writing in different and new places. I want to get my students in my workshop to spontaneously write for the class. The book speaks on how the different things around us can act as muses for us to write for any style. I want to use this source to teach my students that they could write about the simplest things such as sitting in a cafe writing down dialogue they hear.

Neumann, Bonnie H., and Helen M. McDonnell. Teaching the Short Story: A Guide to Using Stories from around the World. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1996. Print.

The practice of examining short stories will be strengthened from reading this source. After writing our own stories, what follows should be a thorough examination of is in order. This source explains the proper way to discuss stories after reading. It speaks on the topics that should be brought up to fully understand the main themes and what could make the stories better when corrected. In my workshop we began the year with examining works of art, this source could have allowed a longer discussion that could have helped the students full grasp the concept of what makes a great play.

Landay, Eileen, and Kurt Wootton. "The ArtsLiteracy Project - The Handbook." The ArtsLiteracy Project - The Handbook. Education Department at Brown University, 2014. Web. 01 Feb. 2017. <http://www.artslit.org/handbook.php>.

The handbook provides a collection of ideas and activities that were developed and learned by teachers and teaching artists. The activities were made to work on the different educational contexts that are used for theater and writing. The handbook evolves around a circle called The Performance Cycle. Each activity is part of the simple process represented by the Performance Cycle. The website also provides links to other books by the team. The book A Reason to Read: Linking Literacy and the Arts that could be found on another section of the website, offers new activities and the the purposes behind them. Both of these texts mentioned and others that I could find on the site could provide for me a new perception of the activities I’ll use in my workshop.

​Moses, Alexandra R. "Writing Aloud: Staging Plays for Active Learning." Edutopia. Edutopia, 06 Aug. 2008. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://www.edutopia.org/student-playwrights-project-playwriting>.

This is an article on a recent project where middle school students took part in a year long project that resulted in a performance at the end of the year. This article allows me to see people’s reaction to a project such as the one written due to the similarities of my project. I can use this source as a sneak peek to what my audience will think at the end of the year when my students do their performance. It lets me into their process of getting to the success end of their project. I also get to look at what people tend to react to when watching student led performances.





MindShift. "How Theater Can Offer Students New Perspectives On History." MindShift. MindShift, 23 June 2013. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/06/23/how-theater-can-offer-students-new-perspectives-on-history/>.

The article speaks on how teachers are trying to add a creative aspect to teaching. They try to incorporate things you wouldn't think of when you're studying something in for example a history class. The article can give me advice when it comes to ensuring that the students in my workshop on task and interested. I can look at different subjects that could be written for a play in a new perspective and teach it to the students.

Gresock, Mary, and Lisette Steinwald. "Rainstorms and Symphonies: Performing Arts Bring Abstract Concepts to Life." Edutopia. Edutopia, 05 Oct. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://www.edutopia.org/blog/performing-arts-abstract-concepts-lisette-steinwald-mary-gresock>.

Rainstorms and Symphonies speaks on the effect of learning when early elementary teachers integrate music and theater, student learning improves in reading, math, and science as they become better critical thinkers and problem solvers. I can use this for my capstone by helping my students prepare for the worse when it comes to the performance where we could work around any complications. On performance night, a lot of unexpected things could occur and after reading this article I can learn how to prepare my students to problem solve.

Korbey, Holly. "How Performing in Theater Can Help Build Empathy in Students." MindShift. MindShift, 22 Aug. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/08/22/how-performing-in-theater-can-build-empathy-in-students/>.

This source focuses on the study of enhancing empathy in students through theater performances. This fits for my capstone because in my workshop we will be writing pieces that relate back to our struggles in our personal lives. By performing these pieces we can learn to understand each other and build empathy for the people around us because we now know what they  been through. WE can provide support for each other especially for those with stage fright. In the beginning of the year we looked at old plays and just like in the article, the students had a connection with what the characters were going through.

Chiara Nemati Capstone

A capstone seeks not only to inspire others in the community but also to inspire the creator. 

Through the course of this year I faced a few obstacles until I reached my final product. I was set on the idea of informing others and I wanted to participate in the teaching process that I have been a recipient of. 

I decided to use my skills as an editor and journalist for SLAMedia to begin writing and working with other students to create articles that displayed their opinions on the 2016 election. A capstone that effectively educates and inspires, creates an environment that invites other to join. Throughout the year I was able to get students to write on political topics and express their opinions. 

For writers such as myself, the easiest way to understand what was occurring in our nation was to turn to writing. Through the writing process not only does the author understand what is happening, they are also able to understand what must be done. The Trump administration has been full of uncertainty  and through this capstone I hope I have aided in giving the writers and readers some clarity. 

The pieces found in my magazine also exist on the SLAMedia website this medium provides a different outlook. In chronological order, a reader can see the growth of the community and learn about how the community reacted. I hope that after viewing my capstone each reader comes away with something that inspires them and instills hope in them.
SLAP'D--Capstone (5)
AnnotatedBibliographyCapstoneChiaraNemati (1)

Ella Petersen Capstone

AnnotatedBibliography (2)
My capstone is a website, a video, and a panel. Ari and I worked together to shed light on the representation of women in the workplace, specifically STEM and business. Ari and I both want to go into underrepresented fields for women: I want to go into business and she wants to be an engineer.

First, we interviewed women at the petrochemical company, Braskem, about their experiences being women engineers. We made a video of the interviews as well as messages that they have for young girls going into an underrepresented career.

Then, we researched what it was like for women in our fields, and we held a panel of women in business and STEM in the drama studio. We had an information session with underclassmen where they could ask women about what it is like, and they were able to hear advice about working in an underrepresented field.

Finally, we made a website where you can see all of this and a piece about how important our fields are to us.

I benefited greatly from this project. I was able to hear really important women speak about what it is like in my career field and I received some advice from them that will stay with me as I enter this new chapter in my life.

ahaven0.wix.com/capstone

Antonio Flores Capstone: The Smartphone's Influence on Photography

For my capstone, I wanted it to focus on something that I like to do. I chose to talk about how smartphones have affected the photography industry. I like photography and enjoy taking pictures. In this capstone, I took picture on my Iphone and with a camera. I compared the quality of the the two and talked about what looked better. I talked about which was more convenient to use and why. Many people don't want to spend extra money on a dedicated camera and because of this, people would rather just buy a smartphone with a good camera. Camera's can be very expensive and require a certain level of knowledge and skill to use. If someone only uses their camera to take selfies or random pictures of where they are, they might not want to spend extra money on the few pictures they take. I talked about this in the capstone, and in the presentation that I am also posting, I included three pictures that I took and compared them. I only added three as to not make it overwhelming for a presentation. On the main document, I included the argument of which form of picture taking is better and which is used more and why. I included specifications for the phone and one of the cameras that I used and compared then. Basically, I wanted to talk about how the evolution of the smartphone has affected how people take pictures and how this has affected dedicated camera companies such as Nikon and Sony.

Main Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m21sMfnQGjYe_qrUpLQSvHn_WU5dWctUrR-mRX5IBVA/edit?usp=sharing

Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XI9dtMuaT722xjs3BCpYyWv0YxiWRznWVkv8P_sUbnQ/edit?usp=sharing

Bibliography: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-vIVx31p3ZtKAr_TR4MxC2Ktr8F0Kakcd3T7xgEJqBE/edit?usp=sharing

Nyla Moore Capstone

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For my capstone, I held a medical panel in the drama studio for students who were interested in pursuing a career in medicine in the future. At my panel, I had a pharmacist and a nurse come and speak. My goal was to try and have at least 3 or more panelists but I found out very quickly that the schedules of medical professionals fill up quickly. Throughout this process, I kept in close contact with my capstone mentor to make sure that everything was going smoothly. At times I felt overwhelmed and stressed out because I wasn’t getting the response I wanted from my peers or the medical professionals I was asking to attend my event. This made me take a step back and be appreciative of the people I did have and be excited over the small victories throughout the process. 
My capstone mentor and I created some questions for our panelists to answer and we gave the students time to ask their own questions as well. I knew that I wanted to feed the students who attended so I held a bake sale to raise money for pizza. To document my event, I had my friend take pictures. To prepare for my capstone, I went around to different advisories and asked students to sign up if they were interested. I also put my bake sale in the advisory memo to bring more attention to it. I quickly realized that I needed a team of people around me to help my event run smoothly so I asked a few of my friends to help me with certain things during the process. Overall, this capstone was extremely stressful but I am so proud of the end result. 


Bibliography 
RAMANI, SUBHA, LARRY GRUPPEN, and ELIZABETH KRAJIC KACHUR. "Twelve Tips for Developing Effective Mentors." N.p., n.d. Web. 
https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2012/01/Ramani_Twelve-tips-for-developing-effective-mentors.pdf 

In my capstone, I want the people I use for the panel discussion to interact with the students at SLA who attend the panel and possibly build some connections. I know that a really big issue for me and my time at SLA was finding someone who was in the medical field who would mentor me and help me create more connections to other people in the medical field. During my panel, I would like for the doctors to possibly become mentors with the interested students. This article gave me some insight on how to deal with the mentors and also how they should be conducting themselves. 

Murrell, Audrey J., Ph.D. "Five Key Steps for Effective Mentoring Relationships." University of Pittsburgh, Katz School of Business, n.d. Web.
http://nl.walterkaitz.org/FiveStepsInMentoring_Murrell.pdf 
 
This article also talks about mentoring but goes into depth a bit more. It’s honestly up to the mentor and mentee what kind of relationship they will have. It’s important to know if the relationship will be strictly internship/work related or something more personal where the mentee and mentor spend time out of the work environment and get to know each other. To make sure that the students are actually interested in making new connections with the doctors, I should maybe have a signup sheet to keep track of all of the students and the mentors they have. I should also let the mentors know to keep me updated on how they are doing with their mentees. 

"Student-Led Clinical Opportunities." N.p., n.d. Web.
https://www.med.upenn.edu/diversityume/studentledclinics.html 

This website is the University of Pennsylvania’s student clinic page. The University of Pennsylvania has many different student outreach programs that help high school students like myself who are interested in the medical field. These types of programs are really helpful to students and I believe that there should be more of them. For my capstone, I would like to bring more awareness to the students at SLA that want to pursue a medical career and possibly have universities like the University of Pennsylvania bring programs to SLA. I want my capstone to help students interested in medicine be able to participate in programs like these through their mentors and maybe even try and bring programs like the ones at the University of Pennsylvania to SLA. 

Pirihi, Lorraine. "How to Get Organised, Focussed and Stay On Track." How to Get Organised, Focussed and Stay On Track (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
http://www.nrm.wa.gov.au/media/10657/how_to_get_organized.pdf 

A really important thing that I want to have in my capstone is a team of people that will help me execute my capstone. I realized that I can not do it all on my own so I would really like to get some help throughout the process. One way that I can make my capstone go smoothly is to stay organized. When I think about all of the things that I need to do in terms of preparation, I become a little overwhelmed. To help me stay on track and keep me organized, I decided to look up tips on how to stay organized. The article I found says that I should use a book and write down everything I need to do in it. 

Walker, Mark. "How To Organise a Successful Panel Discussion." Eventbrite UK Blog. N.p., 26 Jan. 2017. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/blog/organise-successful-panel-discussion-ds00/ 

The main idea for my capstone is to have a panel discussion where the doctors can answer the questions of the students and showcase what they do on a day to day basis as a doctor. This idea sounded really good to me but I had no idea how to hold a panel discussion that could be successful. This article helped by giving me tips to create a successful panel discussion that would benefit everyone at my capstone. I learned that I should first try and break the ice between the panelists and the people in the crowd so that everyone would feel more comfortable and being inclined to ask more questions. 

 "Guidelines for Conducting a Panel Discussion." N.p., n.d. Web. 
http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/crit3/a7.html 

To learn more about how to conduct a panel discussion, I decided to look for more information. Something that I see a lot in panel discussions is the person hosting the panel will be in charge of the questions. The host will usually ask the questions to the people participating in the panel and the panelists will answer the questions. Something that I found interesting in this article was that the panelists can take more control of the panel and questions. Instead of me being the moderator, I would like the people in the audience to ask the majority of the questions and the panelists can answer them in any way they would like to. 

"Steps to Building an Effective Team." Steps to Building an Effective Team | Human Resources. Berkeley University of California, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.
http://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/interaction/team-building/steps 

As a part of preparation for my capstone, I plan on having a team of people that help me run the actual capstone. I realized that I needed a group of dedicated individuals who could help me do things like set up, help me run the bake sale, and just help me out with anything else I need. I really didn’t know how to actually create a team of people, so this article really helped me a lot. I learned that I need to really focus on communication and have specific goals set for the team. Keeping my team in constant communication with me and each other is key to making my capstone run smoothly. Having specific sets of goals will also help me stay on track. 

"How To Build A Team--Using Vision, Commitment, Trust." How To Build A Team--Using Vision, Commitment, Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.
http://www.learningcenter.net/library/building.shtml 

To learn more about team building, I continued to search other links to see if I could gain any more tips. Another really big component of having a successful team is making sure that the people involved are committed to helping you. I have had many experiences in my life where I was trying to plan something and the people I asked to help me ultimately backed out at the last minute, leaving me with fewer people. When choosing my team, I will make sure that everyone is able to help out and should not sign up to help if they have any doubt that they can’t help. 

"Five Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills." Essentialsofbusiness.ufexec.ufl.edu. University of Florida Executive Education, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. 
https://essentialsofbusiness.ufexec.ufl.edu/resources/general/five-tips-to-improve-your-presentation-skills/#.WJSOUhiZN-U  

A big part of the capstone process is the presentation. I am not bad at presenting but I think presenting a capstone is a bit more serious than presenting a class project. To improve my presenting skills, I decided to look up little things I could do. The article I read said that I should make sure that my presentations flows and is structured properly. Making my presentation easy to follow will not only help me stay on track but it will also help the audience follow along better. I should also make sure that I know what each slide says ahead of time so that I am not constantly stopping in my presentation to find out what to say. 
"Top 10 Qualities of a Successful Fundraiser." Bloomerang. N.p., 16 Nov. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2017
https://bloomerang.co/blog/top-10-qualities-of-a-successful-fundraiser/ 

At my capstone event, I plan on having snacks. Snacks usually attract high schoolers and it makes the environment more inviting and fun. To pay for these snacks, I plan on having a bake sale to fundraise some money. I have never planned a bake sale before so in preparation for that, I decided to look up some tips on how to host a fundraiser. The article I read told me that I should be passionate about what I am doing. People will tend to be more excited and be trusting of what I am selling if I am happy and confident about what I am selling.

Lukas Supovitz-Aznar Capstone.

For my capstone I wanted to create a business that I could further build upon as the year went on. The idea started as a blog, but grew slowly into something much different. I was interested in writing articles revolving around productivity, topics such as how to invest, how to get better sleep, how to be happier. I enjoyed doing those things, but eventually I felt like I should pivot to a different idea.
My new idea was to create a business that revolved around the idea that most small business owners are not using social media to its full potential. The service that I am offering is much more than just creating and managing facebook, instagram, and twitter. The service I am providing can actually create customers for small business, and because of the untapped customers that most small businesses are overlooking, It will be worth it for them to continue to pay for my service. I bought a domain for my LLC and named it netvision marketing.org. I am posting articles on how to further establish your social media presence weekly, and I am also in the process of being certified as an expert in social media marketing.
WEBSITE NAME: Netvisionmarketing.com

EXAMPLE OF AN ARTICLE: For most, waking up in the morning is a pain. You wake up drowsy, and waddle to the alarm to hit the snooze for those valuable last 5 minutes of sleep. But what if it did not have to be that way. How can you make sleep more enjoyable and satisfying? Find out by reading this article.

First, if you really want to start getting better sleep you must first prioritize it. If you say you are going to sleep, actually go to sleep. A growing problem for society today is actually putting the phones and computers away when it is time to sleep. It is hard to stay away from the bright screens when the late hours come, especially when your smartphone is also your alarm. What you might not know is that smartphones actually suppress melatonin. If you are unfamiliar with the term melatonin, it is the hormone in your system that regulates sleep and wakefulness. Therefore it might be a good idea to read a book before you go to sleep. I would strongly suggest reading before you go to sleep because not only is reading the key to success, but will also not suppress melatonin and most likely help you fall asleep.

I think we can all agree that there is not that much that trumps great sleep. Feeling refreshed and ready to go in the morning is the best way to start your day. But getting good sleep is not just about those 5 minutes before you go to bed, but the process actually starts at the beginning of the day. The best way to get good sleep is to have a routine throughout the day, and make sure you are providing your body with the right nutrients throughout the day.

Another great way to enhance your sleep is to have clothes designated for sleep aka pajamas. From experience, I can recommend bamboo pajamas, they are seriously the most comfortable pants of all time and my sleep is way better because of it. Having comfortable sleep helps your body recover from tough workouts, so finding what you like is recommended.


BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bibliography:

Lukas Supovitz-Aznar

Capstone Annotated Bibliography

Friday, February 3rd, 2016


1.  "BP Podcast Show 91: Getting Started as a Real Estate Wholesaler with Ben Grise." The BiggerPockets Blog. July 29, 2016. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/10/09/getting-started-real-estate-wholesaler/.

Annotation:

This podcast is really helpful for beginners. One of the most important things for a beginner is learning from someone who has more experience than you. That is why attempting to find a mentor could be really helpful. Getting a first real estate deal can be really tough, so this is why in this podcast they introduce you to an investor who just finished making a ton of deals and money. By listening to this you are on your way to really making strides as an entrepreneur and investor. He does this all while all while working a separate full time job, getting married, and having a baby.


2. Dale, Heather. "Hot or Cold? The Benefits of Both Kinds of Showers." POPSUGAR Fitness. December 12, 2016. Accessed February 03, 2017. http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Cold-Showers-vs-Hot-Showers-Health-Benefits-Both-15021710.

Annotation:

This source is a great source for more information on things you can do to make your life more productive. One of those things are showering. Although it is a small facet of your life, it is a very important one. By turning the knob, you can make your body experience different temperatures, which leads to different results. I will use this source to provide facts for the productivity section of my website. I will also pair this with other sources to enhance the information.


3. Duhigg, Charles. Smarter faster better: the secrets of being productive in life and business. New York: Random House, 2016.

Annotation:

This source is one of the most important sources I have evaluated during this whole process. While this has been a long process, I have gotten a ton of good information from this book. I feel like I have learned a ton about myself through reading this book. I will use facts from this book, and evaluate if other sources say the same thing. Obviously this is a book so I have not gotten every single thing from it, but with a deeper analysis. I believe that productivity is a key to being successful, and that is why I am using this source.


4. Kiyosaki, Robert T., and Sharon L. Lechter. Rich dad, poor dad: what the rich teach their kids about money-- that the poor and middle class do not!New York: Warner Business Books, 2000.

Annotation:  

This is another really helpful book about learning to invest. This book is really helpful because it covers a large amount of information with a few basic lessons. A theme of this book is philosophy, and how different outlooks on money will determine if you can create wealth or not. An example of this is the way people look at the home which they live in. If you have a poor man's mindset, you will believe this is an asset, which is an investment. A rich man would look at his home as a liability, and while this is a small example, the results usually correlate. Rich dad Poor dad speaks about how you can become rich from your mindset and how you manage wealth.

5. Lynch, Peter, and John Rothchild. Learn to earn: a beginner's guide to the basics of investing and business. New York: Fireside, 1995.

Annotation:

This is a beginners guide to learn how investing works, through three different methods. The methods include the Stock market, Bonds, and also Real estate. The book takes you through different situations, and how building wealth is not a talent, but a lifestyle. It is not contingent on how much you earn, but how well you save and how smart you spend. It is important to learn all of these methods for my new website, and I believe that the information I learned while reading Learn to Earn will be extremely beneficial for the people interested in learning to create wealth.


6. Merrill, Than. The real estate wholesaling bible: the fastest, easiest way to get started in real estate investing. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2014.

Annotation:

This again is a beginners guide to real estate. I am going to use this source like I used a lot of my other sources, but the difference is that they have different tips and methods. Because my website is going to be an accumulation of all these methods, I am going to have to go through a lot of repetition to get all of the contrasting facts. I am motivated to find all of the ways to invest which actually work, but repetition is going to be a factor. I need to keep in mind that I must avoid saying the same thing more than once.


7. Mayberry, Matt. "10 Ways to Become the Most Productive Person Around." Entrepreneur. Accessed February 03, 2017. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232129.

Annotation:

I have learned a great deal from this article. This is just an article that is a secondary source, however it has a lot of accumulated information. Most of my sources have common traits, so I am really learning how to analyze them. One limitation to this source was that it was not that long, but I have other sources about productivity that capture a deeper look into traits of productivity. I selected this source because I want to learn every single peice about productivity, and that is why I continue to dig deep.

8.Shah, Aram, and Alex Virelles. The art of wholesaling properties: how to buy and sell real estate without cash or credit. Bloomington, IN: IUniverse, 2015.

Annotation:

I found this source reliable because it goes into depth about how to wholesale properties without actually really having a lot of money to invest. I think this is an obstacle which all young entrepreneurs encounter at some point in their career, so overcoming this obstacle is tough, and reading this book is a good step in that direction. This will further my capstone by giving great evidence to support my claims, and will show some of the effects of marketing. I also will give this book as a suggestion to anybody who wants to really go in depth in their learning.


9.Websitetesterify. "MVI 0178 2017-1-11 New York Wholesale Event." YouTube. January 12, 2017. Accessed February 01, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnPj7wnBvok.


Annotation:

In this source it gives a detailed meeting about how to become a wholesaler of houses. What this entails is learning how to middleman homes so you do not really have to spend money. However, there really is a solid reason to do this because you collect the fee. This fee is up to you to price. You create any fee you want, but it is up to you to find a buyer. The most important part of this process is finding the right market to fish for houses to buy. This is just one of the 7 videos filmed from the meeting




10."Wall Street Survivor." Wall Street Survivor. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com/investing-ideas.

Annotation:

This is a great starting source for learning about how Wall street works. Not only am I getting information from this website, but I am also learning from their website setup. I do not think that I want to pay for a website, however I would consider it because of how well this website is set up. Furthermore, I am going to link the game that is on this website so that people who are interested can learn more. I want my website to have information about more forms of investing, but I really do like the setup of this website, and it is a great link.


Ty Ellerbe Capstone

 When I first started off with my capstone, I planned to make a documentary about how people joke about suicide and how it affects people who have been through suicide or now someone close to them who has. Also the stigmas and mental illness overall. It became overwhelming for me to complete that task. I changed my entire approach and decide on a website. I know my plan was still to spread awareness to people who are insensitive to the mental health world. A lot of people will use suicide to show a way of being stressed. For example “I got a C on this math test, I’m going to kill myself.” It’s very frustrating for people like myself who knows what's it like to want to die and how serious it is. Suicide is not a joke and I want to convey just how serious it is. I suffer from depression and anxiety so I connect with this on a personal level. I hear a lot of jokes in school and outside and it makes me very uncomfortable and that people take mental health as a joke. I want to change the way people speak of mental health. I interviewed different people of cultural backgrounds and gender. I created different sets of questions for each person I interviewed. I aimed to get people who suffer from mental health problems to speak on their experiences and shed light on it. I also shared my story. I want people to understand the importance of talking about mental health and how it affects people's day to day lives. All of my work is located on a website I created. 



Kara Heenan's Capstone

For my capstone, I volunteered at the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) located in Old City. The point of the capstone project is to reflect on your interests, and use that to make an impact in the world. I thought of doing this when I reflected on the goals I have in life, which is to become a veterinarian. I thought that this would be an amazing experience to contribute to that goal, to increase my experience with connecting to and taking care of animals while making a good impact and helping a non-kill shelter. In this way, it prepared me for my future. I was helping a good cause and it was also helping me. 
The process started when I filled out the volunteer application. I then got approved and attended an orientation, which taught me the responsibilities of each volunteer, and the actions each volunteer has to take. This was the ins and outs of taking care of the cats, which included cleaning their supplies, cleaning the rooms in which they stay in, feeding them and socializing them. I also took care of the dogs, which the actions were the same along with taking them for walks. I volunteered at PAWs every other Wednesday. Volunteering left me feeling satisfied, that I am helping a non-kill shelter and not receiving any money from them in return. I learned a lot more about the animals I took care, coming across different kinds of dogs and cats and learning the disabilities or illnesses that they have, which will definitely prepare me for my future as a vet.

Access my bibliography here
I walked dogs, they wore "adopt me" vests to attract people on the streets
I walked dogs, they wore "adopt me" vests to attract people on the streets

Liam Hart Capstone

I created a student-run internet radio station devoted to showcasing the unique talents and varied tastes of Science Leadership Academy Students. I aired a show each Friday night in May and plan to continue running each Friday night for the remainder of the school year.

I chose this project because I was personally interested in creating a podcast. Unfortunately, there was no support network or platform devoted to audio content for SLA students. SLA prior to this project had Rough Cut for students interested in cinema, The Fourth Floor for those intrigued by visual art or creative writing, and SLA Media for people who wanted to do journalism. I felt that, by creating another platform devoted to podcasts and other audio content, I could widen the variety of opportunities available to students like me.

The most important, and most difficult, thing about creating content is to make something that people like and want to experience. The presentation of that content is crucial to getting people to listen in - and reflecting on what worked and what didn’t is crucial to keeping them coming back.


My capstone can be found at slaradio.tk. I aired new shows every Friday in May at 5 PM.