Amanda Thieu Capstone

Philadelphia is one of the most heavily populated homeless cities in America. “Each year in Philadelphia homeless outreach organizations engage over 5,500 individuals living on the streets in cars, abandoned buildings, train/bus stations, and other places not meant for human habitation.(Project Home)” We are surrounded by people on the street daily but we never take the time to actually sit down and have a conversation with them. Get to know who they are as people, what makes them tick, or how they feel on a day to day bases. The main concern is how can we break the stigma of homelessness.
As we walk by people experiencing homelessness on the streets and different motives of transportation, their very existence as a living breathing human is going to waste. Society is making these citizens feel invisible. The goal of this project is to inform people and raise awareness that homelessness, not only in Philadelphia but across the United States is a serious issue we as a society need to help fix.
Throughout this project and exploring the city, I have met some inspiring and tremendous individuals. Each story is unique and I’ve been honored to be able to interview and transcribe their realities and paste them on a website. I’ve also covered a Philadelphia Youth Commission meeting on Youth Homelessness. Many people from across the city gathered to engage and discuss how we as a society assistant and diminish youth who are experiencing homelessness.
 All of the photographs on the website are my original pieces.    http://placewithoutahome.weebly.com/ *Disclosure: More stories are going to be posted. Burns, Amelia. "CLICK HERE to Support The Homeless Photo Booth Project." Indiegogo. Accredited Business, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-homeless-photo-booth-project#/
This link is somewhat of a go fund me page to accept donations for a Photo Booth for the homeless. Overall as a project, I don’t think it’s the best idea because I don’t think it’ll benefit everybody if they just sit in a Photo Booth. I came across this project looking for ideas about how I was going about this photography project, and honestly, I don’t think this is practical…


Henry, Desmond. "What Happens When You Give 100 Cameras Out To Homeless Londoners." Refinery29. N.p., 2015. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
http://www.refinery29.com/100-cameras-were-given-to-homeless#slide-1
So this is basically the same article as another one below, but instead of looking at the actual content, I noticed how they structured the website/blog. They have a clickable slide show that flips through the photos that the homeless people taken with a brief text on the side. I’m not sure if I like this type of method but it’s a different approach to what I originally wanted to do. This link helped me see how the same information can be portrayed in a different layout.

Huff, Steve. "My Homeless Project." Stevehuffphoto. N.p., 19 Nov. 2006. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/who-am-i/my-homeless-project/
Steve Huff used monochromatic photography to take the profiles, action shots, and other poses of homeless people in their natural place. His photography captures the emotions of the people just in one click. His site and project are useful to me because that’s exactly what my project is going to base around. He gave me the foundation to start and structure my capstone. He also shows which techniques and camera he uses to take pictures of the people. Under the photos of the people, he attaches a writing piece which is what I’m going to do.

Jeffries, Lee. "I Photograph The Homeless By Becoming One Of Them."Bored Panda. BoredPanda, 30 Sept. 2015. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
http://www.boredpanda.com/homeless-people-portrait-photography-lee-jeffries/
Lee is an amazing photographer that shoots closeup head shots of his subject. These pictures and works of art move me as a photographer and a person. This is breathtaking and it has so much more of a meaning behind it than just photoshopping it to perfection. When looking into the eyes of the subject, you feel like you’re literally looking into their soul and feeling the pain that they’re feeling. The composition of photographs are perfect r

Rowse, Daren. "Street Photography: Exploitative vs Respect." Digital Photography School. Digital Photography School, 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.
http://digital-photography-school.com/street-photography-exploitative-vs-respect/  
This is one of the biggest concepts to think about when doing street photography. When doing street photography, everything needs to be genuine and not exploitative. There needs to be a boundary that gives a willing subject to have a conversation with you. Everything has to be truthful and with consent. This link differentiates the difference from Exploitative and Respect. Before you put them under pressure, you have to build a relationship and connection with them, it makes the photographer and the subject more comfortable to be interacting with each other, the pieces will come out more pleasing if they’re compliant. I need to learn this boundary before I go off and take pictures of the subjects.

Schoeller, Martin. "#SycamoreandRomaine."Https://secure.qgiv.com/event/sycamoreandromainefundraiser/. HobNob, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.
https://www.instagram.com/martinschoeller/
https://secure.qgiv.com/event/sycamoreandromainefundraiser/
Originally, Martin’s instagram that my advisor showed me after I told her my final idea of my capstone is going to be one of the part of my final piece” On Martin’s instagram he has luminous profile shots of his subjects that exposes every crack and crevice of their face. He’s taking these head shots and the following interview below to raise awareness of people living on the street and maybe how they got there etc. He’s a professional photographer that works for the secure.qgiv.com organization to raise donations to help the homeless. With 111k follows on instagram, and roughly around 2,000 or so likes on his pictures, he’s reached people not only in his own community but others to raise awareness to these people. For my project, not only will I document the interview but so focus more on their positive aspects, I don’t want to make them known for their homelessness, I want them known for all the passions and ambitions they have in life.

Stanton, Brandon. "Humans of New York." Humans of New York. N.p., 4 Nov. 2010. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. http://www.humansofnewyork.com/
This is probably the most famous project that people will know about. A photographer in New York started this project on November 4th, 2010 where he randomly approaches strangers on the street and interviews them. Not only is it a brave tactic to use for a photojournalism project, but it captures the raw image of people walking down the street and saying the first thing that comes into their mind. Unlike me though, he focuses on people’s backgrounds or opinions on different topics. He has a well praised page and project and I also based my project like his. Where he has an online blog and posts the photo gallery up there with the text of the interview below. I hope to broadcast my project on flickr, facebook, create an instagram page, and another blog site.

Zheng, Michael. "100 Cameras Were Given to the Homeless in London. Here's What They Captured." PetaPixel RSS. PetaPixel, 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
http://petapixel.com/2015/08/25/100-cameras-were-given-to-the-homeless-in-london-heres-what-they-captured/
Instead of the homeless being the subject of the photographs, 100 cameras were given to the homeless in London. The results are spectacular. They go into places that ordinary people never have the chance to visit and take amazing photos of their surrounding environments. This link helped me to realize that when the people I’m interacting with talk about their passions, I hope to help them achieve their goal even if I have to teach them guitar myself. This is amazing work that these people produce and it gives them some sense of importance when they see their works of art at an art exhibit.

Kevin Le Capstone

My friends and I came together and wanted to help students in math. So we brainstormed ideas and came up with a Peer Tutoring program. The goal of this program is to bring teens together and be able to teach one another without the fear of being in a classroom or asking for help. Most of the time students feel less pressured when they are around their friends asking questions rather than their teachers. The goal of this program is be a teaching and leadership experience project. We sent out a survey of whomever wanted to be apart of our program and then afterwards we had to figure out how to pair up the stronger math students with the weaker math students. The idea is for the stronger students to help the people who struggle to bring their grade up. We wanted this to be a bonding experience also. By doing this project, I learned that working with students you have to give them freedom but not too much or they will feel overwhelmed and not be motivated to do any work. By the end of this project, I hope to see my students grow and become better learners. Also, to see their grades increase a letter grade hopefully.

Bibliography here
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Amelia Stuart - Five Minutes of Science - Footbinding

The act of binding the feet from an early age (5-7)  so that the foot would essentially fold in half.
said to be inspired by a tenth century dancer in the Emperor's court who “bound her feet in the shape of a new moon” It gradually became a status symbol among the upper class and eventually became a rite of passage for all women.
All the toes (except the big toe) are folded back and bound flat across the sole of the foot (making a triangle shape). The girls were forced to walk either back and forth in their rooms or long distances with their feet like this so that the toes and arches would break. Over time the wrappings and shoes became tighter and smaller as the toes and heel were pulled together.  
The “ideal” length of a bound foot was 3 inches and a woman’s marriage prospects almost entirely depended on the size of her foot. Represented the height of female refinement and foot size became a form of currency and a means of achieving upward mobility Despite the pain, millions of Chinese woman stood by their devotion to the tradition. People became blind to the torture that they were inflicting on their daughters; no doubt the effect of centuries of foot-binding becoming a form of social status.


Your Brain On Coffee

​Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uqSNEQkITznJqfD8R6MQuFs82lUDmCxU5nZtOoHEym0/edit?usp=sharing 

Science : The adenosine binds to the receptors in the brain which slows down your activity. The more adenosine there is the more tired you feel. Since Caffeine is similar in structure to the adenosine it fits into the receptors. The caffeine blocks out the adenosine from going into the receptors. If you drink caffeine for a long time the more adenosine receptors are created so this means that if you want the same effect as caffeine you need to increase your daily intake. The caffeine also increases dopamine released and makes you feel happier. It also increases adrenaline which increases heart rate and blood flow and also opens airways in the lung.   

Society: 
The Boston Tea Party of 1773 affected most americans because drinking tea was seen as unpatriotic so they switched to coffee. Both the French and American revolutions were planned in coffeehouses. The use of fair trade coffee is not used and workers are affected. The stats on coffee is that 83% of adults drink coffee which is an estimated 587 million cups a day are consumed.   

Self: I'm a coffee lover and wanted to know more about the drink I drink almost everyday. 

Zika Virus

ZIKA VIRUS
We’ve been hearing it all over the news and online articles, and what we have been seeing is that it causes babies head to shrink. Before I go in depth, we need to know where it originated from.

THE HISTORY
Before it spreaded in the land in the western Hemisphere and cause an outbreak in Brazil, a forest called Zika had many of these mosquitoes that transmitted this virus, monkeys also carried these disease since they could be victims to mosquitoes. It was found as late as 1947 discovered by scientists and was very common in Africa and Asia. Originally the scientist were researching for a disease called yellow fever until they discovered the zika virus. The virus of the disease were common and/or related to the dengue fever.

VOCAB
- Pathogen
- Microcephaly
- PKU (Phenylketonuria)

WHAT IS ZIKA VIRUS?
Think of it as like the new STD and virus but without any known symptoms. You or your partner could be infected without knowing and if you are pregnant, your baby could develop a small head which is called microcephaly which cause long term effects. It will be heartbreaking for future family holder's, choosing whether or not to dispose of newborn infant. It shares similar traits to the PKU disease (Phenylketonuria) and can cause seizures to your child. It’s a mosquito/animal transmitting disease can cause mental problems only to newborn babies when developing a child because it is carried by the blood in our body.
Why is this such a problem? Well if a mosquito that is a carrier infects you and another mosquito bites an infected person, that mosquito that bit you can now travel it on to newer mosquitoes or other people which can be spread worldwide. This is how outbreaks start and people who are infected and sexually transmit it to others without knowing because of its chances of no symptoms.

SYMPTOMS
There doesn’t need to be any symptoms to detect this virus, but some can include...
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Headaches
- Rashes
- Vomiting
- Chills
- Sweating
- Certain area pain
 
TREATMENTS
Luckily for the human body, this is the easiest virus our body can resist. Avoid exposure from mosquitos near ponds, shaded areas, or black trashcan during a rainy day. It’s pathogen is only spread by bites from mosquitoes and some animals. And as for treatments to struggle against the virus include well resting, staying hydrated, and medication: pain and fever relief. It can take about a week (or more) for the virus to not be carried to mosquitos and other human beings (sexaully).
But if you do plan on having sex and ignore the consequences, by all means wear a condom to not transmit it to others

MY OPINION
Another new outbreak that has rapidly been spread thanks to the media, much like the ebola outbreak and racism/stereotype that began to start associated with it. But is it a thing we should really worry about? No. If you would want the world to be a better place, don’t spread pathogens or traits otherwise the world is going to end like it is today with people wearing glasses for poor eyesights. This disease is self curing and you shouldn’t make societies job harder by having more special people we have to worry about, especially their future and likelihood it will further spread. Also if you do have zika virus, don’t allow any mosquitos to bite you otherwise they can spread the virus.

Sources
"Symptoms, Diagnosis, & Treatment." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 01 June 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cdc.gov/zika/symptoms/>.
Mcneil, Donald G., Catherine Saint Louis, and Nicholas St. "Short Answers to Hard Questions About Zika Virus." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/health/what-is-zika-virus.html>.
Hornak, Leo. "Uganda's Zika Forest, Where the Virus Was First Discovered." Public Radio International. Public Radio International, 01 Feb. 2016. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-02-01/ugandas-zika-forest-where-virus-was-first-discovered>.
"PKU News | News & Information on Phenylketonuria." PKU News. National PKU News. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <https://pkunews.org/>.

Greta Haskell Capstone

For my capstone I wrote a blog about gap years. The blog is ongoing so it will never be “finished” but I am happy with how it stands. In the beginning of the year I was going to build my portfolio by styling people and taking their pictures, because I want to be a fashion merchandising major. But my whole year was revolving around my gap year so I decided to change my plan. My gap year and gap years in general, are something I am super passionate about, so I decided to write a gap year to track my progress. I interviewed people about their gap years and wrote posts with my tips and my stories. My plans are to keep updating it while I am away so that people from home can read about it. I am also going to send my link to Mrs. Hirschfield so she can post it on the college news blog. 

Here is my blog.

My bibliography now has nothing to do with my capstone, but here it is:

1. Bolton, Andrew. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. Print.

This book is my main source of creativity for my project. As I explained to my advisors in my Teach your Passion project, Alexander McQueen is my favorite fashion designer and he was the biggest influence on me wanting to have a career in the fashion world. The book has pictures and written pieces about McQueen that I am going to reference in the backstory of my capstone. I selected this source because of the importance it plays in my life and how it has shaped my thinking of my future. It is a reliable source being a book published by the MET. I also attended the exhibit where I bought the book after McQueen died which really influenced me. 

2. Borecka, Natalia. "25 Photoshoot Ideas to Inspire Your Next Editorial." Lone Wolf. N.p., 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.

I chose this source because it will serve as inspiration. It gives me a short description about a photographer and their style of photography and by knowing that I can look at their photos and decide how I want mine to look. After deciding that I can learn how to take photos like theirs. It also describes different types of of interesting ways to take photos. There are lots of ideas for me to consider, this source is a good beginning point for my project and my creative aspect. 

3. Digital-Photography.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.

This source is good because it has a lot of articles for me to learn about how to use the flash on the camera. It also has camera reviews and examples of how photos will look when using different flash. This source will be good for reference if I can not get help from Mr. Herman. I will most likely have to take photos alone or teach my helpers how to do what they need to help me with. This will be good because I will need to be an expert about how to use the camera and all the equipment when I take the pictures. 

4. Gelardi, Piera, and Christene Barberich. Refinery29: Style Stalking. N.p.: Potter Style, 2014. Print.

This book is also super useful for my project because it includes hundreds of styling tips. This will be really helpful because even though I can style people I want to show my knowledge of fashion, silhouettes, accessories, etc. This book will give me tips on how to style people with pieces or combinations that I wouldn’t think of without a little inspiration. It tells you how to mix patterns, wear clothes you wouldn’t pick on your first instinct and lots of other interesting points. When I received the book as a gift I was excited to read it and pick up some tips. This will be a very useful and reputable source for my project. 

5. Herman, Douglas. "Mentor Meeting." Personal interview. 01 Feb. 2016.

Mr. Herman is my mentor and will be the backbone to my project. I have never taken photography class, only digital video so he is giving me the basics of the class during my free periods. He is also going to help me learn about photoshop so that I can edit my pictures. He is extremely knowledgeable and i know i can ask him a question whenever I need to. Another great thing he did for me was add me into the photography course on canvas so that if there is ever a time where I can’t reach him I can look at the sources on there and use them to help me. 

6. Horan, Betsy. "Indelible Images From a Fashion Photography Icon." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Feb. 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.

This source takes a deep look at one specific photographer and his style of taking photos. This is good for me because he has shot many different styles, not just fashion. Seeing these photos is good because I can learn a brief overview of the photographer and also see his style and use it as inspiration. There are a lot of different perspectives for me to look at which will hopefully give me some diversity in my photographs. I especially like the photo of the Rolling Stones, I like the lighting and the way that every member of the band can be seen but they are all different distances away so it gives the photo very good depth. 

7. "How to Become a Fashion Photographer | FASHION NET." Fashionnet. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.

This is a very professional source with a lot of tips and information to have good fashion photography. There are a few paragraphs about each topic, not all topics are relevant to me but the one that is most relevant to me is “Having a Portfolio”, as this is basically my capstone. This source is also helpful because they listed their sources at the bottom of the article, so I used a few of their sources to find helpful ones to me. This source has good info about how my portfolio should look, such as sizes of images and preferred lighting. 

8. Mowery, Allen. "How To Get the 'Terry Richardson Look' and Shoot Like a Fashion Pro with Minimal Gear." DIY Photography. N.p., 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.

I chose this source because Terry Richardson is one of the most famous and influential fashion photographers in the fashion industry. The way he photographs is very different and I like how his photographs look. It will probably be hard for me to achieve this look because I am not that experienced as a photographer but with a combination of Mr. Herman’s help and this source’s tips I can at least try. His look is very bright and sharp and kind of crazy. I would have to work out if my styling would look good with this style of photography. It also tells me the gear to use and how to achieve the look with not too many props or gear.

9. "PhotoForum on the Internet." School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <https://people.rit.edu/andpph/pf-faq.html>.

This source is amazing because it has a huge list of any photography topic you can think of. I am planning on using this source to help answer any questions I have if I don’t have Mr. Herman’s help. There are pdfs and links to hundreds of tutorials and tips of how to use cameras and photoshop. The thing I will need the most help with is the flash and how to use a flash and reflectors that are not attached to the camera. I will be able to find a lot of help with that on this website. This was a website that was linked off of Fashionnet. 

10. School of Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.

This source is a good source for any questions I have. It is a free source with tutorials, tips and and links for me to use. I can search any topic and find some useful articles about it. On the homepage there are links that I can click on to lead me to a number of helpful and informational articles. There are also videos about how to use equipment. I think this source will be extremely helpful because of the amount of information on the site. It is called school of photography, so it should help teach me what I need to know. 

Ameer Holmes Capstone - Important *MUST SEE*

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Capstone: Cartoon Cam

The goal of my project was to make a working cartoon camera from scratch and I have succeeded. The project in terms of feasible goals for a year's worth of learning and doing for this capstone was indeed a success, though the project itself standalone is not yet done. This capstone was definitely beneficial to the completion of this project. However so, it’s functionality as a cartoon camera for me and my specific wants for specified functionality of a grander project; this more so helped me see the flaws in the way I was going out in completing this task.

The major flaw was in part my lack of knowledge on the subject, and taking a year to understand how coding worked for the needs of this project specifically was extremely beneficial. Without doing it the way I have done it so far, by translating an input image to an output image based on a set of rules I created, I wouldn’t have the skill required, nor the insight to recognise what the next step was. While currently code is a set of rules is basically a filter that during the process of making this I constantly experimented with and changed to get it as perfect as possible in most situations, depending on lighting (a hard one) and colors; I don’t think it will ever be perfect the way that I want it by examining the image myself and creating a set of rules based off of what I see and what I think will happen by adding or changing a value. The amount of arbitrary rules that I would have to solve would take years and not to mention the fact that I would need the knowledge base of an online code dictionary to get this done. This brings me to the conclusion of creating something in which the computer (having an infinite amount of online knowledge) would create the rules to.

The next step, or the more reasonable approach to a cartoon cam is to make a program that uses batch learning or machine learning. This would not be an easy task either, but it is a much less impossible task. The original vision for this project (not just the capstone) was to create a website where people could upload their own code to have a massive database of selectable cartoon cams for a physical cartoon cam viewer. The rout I am thinking about now, more feasible to myself and the average future consumer of such a project is to have code that takes on two videos. The first video takes in a real life scene, and the second video is an artist's translation of the scene. The code will examine the two and recognise the difference and then create a set of rules for how to translate video from there on out. Not only does this eliminate the need for the user interface to require users know how to code, but it also adds a level of calculation from artists and a level of calculation from a computer that I would never be able to achieve on my own. This capstone allowed me to recognize this for moving forward in continuation of the project. The evolution of this thought \was in my opinion the most successful part of the capstone.

Timeline of code for project:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mbFksdmPfIC2YdsT_rkrfCW58LXOGRpFzaLMoxAnXzw/edit?usp=sharing

Cool Pictures of The Three Finales

Cartoon cam - pastel version
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Cartoon cam - sketch version
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Cartoon cam - best version + extra cool shots
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Amirah Bolling Capstone

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

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

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


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

Brittany Cooper Capstone

After 13 years of swimming with Jim Ellis and Tracy Freeland, fro PDR which is now SAKA (Salvation Army Kroc Aquatics) I have acquired my water safety skills then the average person. As result in the summer I found a job that would best suit me! I would work for the City of Philadelphia Department of Recreation as a Lifeguard. Due to the fact I wanted to be a lifeguard, I had to take a Lifeguard certification class. This was a 4 week course, going to Lincoln High school’s pool to train. The purpose of this class is to help prepare me in a case of emergency, at work. We trained in 3ft of water and 12 feet of water (which is called a tank). I was taught how to rescue a patrons in shallow water and deep water. I was also taught how to properly perform CPR. As well as how to use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).


During my second year working at Lonnie Young Rec. Center. I had a to save a 2 year old baby! It scared the crap out of me .. Literally! It was at that moment I asked myself, “Why doesn’t he know how to swim?” I also thought how did he get so close to the water with out his parent knowing. I decided to make capstone on the importance of water safety. I choose this because kids and adults too, are scared of the water or don’t know their limit.


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Below you will found my Annotated Bibliography. 

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CFrR6uG4BrbXTGc_1z7nqAYKdK8P1sfB7gBsENtzL4/pub?embedded=true"></iframe>

Gina Sorgentoni Capstone

Students today have extremely high stress levels, especially at SLA. During benchmark season, there isn’t a relaxed student in the building. That is what inspired my capstone, I wanted to find a way to help lower student and staff stress levels. After doing some research I discovered that many universities and colleges bring dogs on campus during finals to help lower their student’s stress levels. I started by doing research on studies that showed owning pets help lower stress levels. I decided to bring cats and dogs to the building and have the SLA community become engulfed in the joy that is kittens and puppies, with the hope that it will bring stress-levels down. I reached out to Morris Animal Refuge and together we organized the Pet de-stress day; for one afternoon we had one dog, four kittens, two guinea pigs, and one rabbit. Students and staff were able to interact with the animals, the best part being that most of the animals were adoptable. Not only were students able to relax, but the interaction with people was therapeutic to the animals. The event was a huge success, and it was easy to see that students went into the event stressed and came out relaxed and happy. It was great being able to see the reaction the students had and hearing their feedback on the event.

The video below shows highlights from my capstone.

Aleccia, Jonel. "Teens More Stressed-Out Than Adults, Survey Shows - NBC News." NBC News. NBC News, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/teens-more-stressed-out-adults-survey-shows-n26921>. This source shows that students are just as stressed if not more so than than the adults around them. The article also stresses the importance of breaking the cycle of stress for students, stressing the importance of students receiving better support in their school and home environments. The article also talks about the idea that social media bring students more stress, since that follows students around everywhere relentlessly. Many students also have the stress of performing well in their classes and extracurriculars, the combination of all the pressure put on students leads to depression and anxiety. A large issue with this is that student are not taught how to properly manage and control their stress levels.


Benedictus, Leo. "Sick Cities: Why Urban Living Can Be Bad for Your Mental Health." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/feb/25/city-stress-mental-health-rural-kind>. This source compares stress levels between people who live in the city and those who live in the country. A group of people were put into stressful situations -solving difficult math problems, rude instructors- and their brains were scanned for their levels of stress. The two sections of the brain that deal with stress were shown in the scan. Compared to country dwellers people living in the city had considerably higher stress levels. Even compared to those living in a small town, city dwellers had the highest level of stress by far. I wanted to use this source to highlight how utterly stress people living in the city are, even if we do not realize it.


Borchard, Therese J. "6 Ways Pets Relieve Depression." World of Psychology. Psych Central, 19 May 2013. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/05/19/6-ways-pets-relieve-depression/>. This source gives the detailed run down about how dogs and cats help with depression. Though it only gives six reasons, they are all valid. The source gives reasons as to why owning a pet is a positive thing. It highlights what I want people to know about having a pet, and brings in a lot of the physiological reasons that have been left out in previous articles. It gives the physiological benefits of each category. Things like unconditional love and acceptance and giving the owner responsibility all have positive impacts. I feel that if more people knew how beneficial it is to own a pet, there would be fewer animals in shelters and more in loving homes.


Falcone, Alissa. "Drexel Becomes First University to Host a Permanent Therapy Dog in a Recreation Center." Drexel Edu. Drexel, 25 Sept. 2014. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. <http://drexel.edu/now/archive/2014/September/Drexel-Therapy-Dog/>.I chose this source because it shows the direct benefits of a therapy dog with students. Even though my event will be held outside of Science Leadership Academy, students will have access to the event. Also, since it will be held in a public place there will be a more diverse group of people than just students. The article talks about the long term plans they have for the dog and how students will be able to access him. Though this source does not talk directly about the benefits of having a therapy pet on campus, it shows how more schools are moving forward with the idea of using pets to lower stress.



Jayson, Sharon. "Teens Feeling Stressed, and Many Not Managing It Well."USA Today. Gannett, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/11/stress-teens-psychological/5266739/>. This article goes into teen stress statistics. The source goes in depth of people being extremely stress at a young age and how it carries over into adulthood. The article states that teens with high levels of stress are more likely to have a shorter lifespan. It goes into the reality of what it is like being a teenager trying to balance everything. I wanted to have this article as a source to show the reality of teenage stress and how negatively it impacts us. It shows how stress is directly linked to depression and anxiety among teens. It highlight the fact that teenagers under severe stress now are more likely to have severe illnesses later in life.


Kahler, Susan C. " Unmasking the Shelter Dog." Unmasking the Shelter Dog. Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/150401a.aspx>. This source talks about the stigmatism surrounded by shelter animals. A large part of the article is spent dispelling various myths about shelter animals. Animal behaviorists are working to dispel the remaining myths about shelter animals. Studies are being done on animal aggression and food guarding. I wanted to use this article in my sources to show that there is a stigmatism of aggression in shelter animals. Since that myth is a reason many shelter animals are left unadopted. The article also shows that the new owner’s interacts with their pet has an impact on the animal’s behavior. The article also talks about euthanasia versus putting an animal in a shelter.



"NYU Study Examines Top High School Students' Stress and Coping Mechanisms." NYU Study Examines Top High School Students' Stress and Coping Mechanisms. New York University, 11 Aug. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2015/08/11/nyu-study-examines-top-high-school-students-stress-and-coping-mechanisms.html>. NYU research on student stress. Similar to the other two sources written about stress, I chose this source because it seems the most reliable. Like the other articles, this source discusses student stress and coping mechanisms . This source also compares stress levels between males and females. A lot of this stress comes from wanting a tangible reward and the pressure put on student from their parents to receive those rewards. The article states that a good education is not tangible, but a degree from Harvard or Yale is, so teens are feeling pressure to receive the tangible awards. This source also talks about teens often go to substance use to relieve stress.


Pancake, Soul. "Kitten Therapy: The Prescription for Stress." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35T8wtmTbVg>.

This first source was my initial inspiration for the project. Though I know my project will not look exactly like this, it is the general outline of what I want it to look like. Originally I just wanted to have an adoption even to get animals adopted, but through this video I decided to try and gauge other’s stress levels. This gave my capstone the goal to try and help lower stress levels of others. Because of this video I will now gage with the participants asking them about their stress levels before and after the event. Perhaps, if there is a nice turn out, I will film it and make a small video.


Rovner, Julie. "Pet Therapy: How Animals And Humans Heal Each Other."NPR. NPR, 5 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/03/09/146583986/pet-therapy-how-animals-and-humans-heal-each-other>. The article shows that there is a mutual benefit between humans and their pets. Not only would the even help people in the short term, but it may also get some people to adopt. That would help both parties in the long term. It helps us distress, and lower our blood pressure, and it puts animals in a more social situation. Playing with pets has the health benefits of exercise for both parties. With this event I would like to highlight the mutual benefits of having a pet, and adopting. I selected this source because of how well it highlights the benefits shared between people and pets.


Weaver, Jane. "Puppy Love- It's Better than You Think." Msnbc.com. NBC, 08 Apr. 2004. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4625213/ns/health-pet_health/t/puppy-love----its-better-you-think/>. This article goes into depth about dogs help with our mental health. It goes into specifics highlighting the fact that saying your own dog will lower your blood pressure. The benefits are seen clearly in owning a dog versus an unfamiliar dog or even a robotic dog. It shows that after about a half an hour both your and the animal’s blood pressure will drop considerably. The writer of the article compares it to the benefits of eating chocolate. It is also noted that this behavior is wired into how humans work, it is not something we learn over time. Exposing children to pets at a young age also helps lower their chances of having allergies and asthma.


Imani Weeks Capstone

Abstract 
The purpose of my Capstone is to show the youth how important it is to become a young woman. A mature, respectful young woman. I wanted to work with girls because the girls in my generation have a bad reputation. I didn’t want them to follow in the bad footsteps. Me and my partner, Amirah Bolling, came up with lesson plans and fun activities we thought the girls can and would benefit from. We talked about boys, sex, school and parents. Those are things that young girls mostly go through. They start to get interested in sex because now it’s all around them on social media and their friends may be talking about it. We talked about boys because they are young and may be interested in boys more than they ever were.

When we first introduced the project to the principal at Wagner Middle School she was more than happy to let us have the mentor program their and to help us. We choose Wagner Middle School because Amirah’s mom works there. A permission slip was sent home to the girls who were going to attend the program, so that their parents know and are okay with what we were going to be talking about with their daughters and taking pictures for evidence. We had girls in sixth to eighth grade. When the girls first walked in they had food, snacks and drinks waiting for them.

I wanted to do a mentor program because I know that I am a good role model for young girls and can teach them the importance of having morals.


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Bibliography:

http://chronus.com/how-to-start-a-mentoring-program

"How to Start a High-Impact Mentoring Program | Chronus." Chronus RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2016.

This is a website that helps people start their mentorship program. It gives them a sense of how to start the program and what they are starting it for. Guidance was needed to start the mentor group so that young girls know the ways of life. We had to make a permission slip for the girls, so that their parents were okay with what we were going to be talking about and if they’re okay with their child being photographed for our project.


http://www.cdc.gov/std/hiv/stdfact-std-hiv.htm

"STDs and HIV – CDC Fact Sheet." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 May 2016.

This site gets to the nitty gritty of how serious sexaully trasmitted diseases. It talks about how some stds can turn into HIV. And that’s something you can die from. We had to teach the girls how serious catching sexually transmitted diseases is. It informs about the treatment if something do happen. This information is to not scare the young girls, but to show them how consequences work if they are not practicing safe sex.


http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/understanding-stds-basics

"STD Facts, Causes, Types, Transmission, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 May 2016.

This site is informing visitors about sexually transmitted diseases. They inform people about the most common sexually transmitted disease. It show what you can do to not contract an std by wearing condoms and practicing abstinence. It shows people how to contract and sexually transmitted disease. It example the breakthrough of sexually transmitted diseases.


https://www.plannedparenthood.org/

"Planned Parenthood | Official Site." Planned Parenthood | Official Site. Web. 18 May 2016.

This website was used to teach girls on how to handle what they need to handle. By handle I mean if they were to contract and STD. Or to become pregnant. Of course they would have to tell their parents, but this is a place that they should know to go to if they need anything if they don’t want their parents to know.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/grilled-chicken-sliders.html

"Grilled Chicken Sliders : Ree Drummond : Food Network." Grilled Chicken Sliders Recipe : Ree Drummond : Food Network. Web. 18 May 2016.

The young sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Chicken sliders was apart of our lesson plan. The guidelines was giving to inform on how to make the chicken sliders. All of ingredients had to be required and needed to produce what was needed to produce. The girls will accomplish at least learning how to make a food, if there is nothing else to eat. It is a great way to learn something new and it’s fun. The have to learn the ways of being an adult. Their parents is not going to be there for them all the time to make food. It’s also something to can surprise their mom and dad with on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.


http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/easy-beef-tacos/426c261d-b2eb-4e22-9cba-0066f3335591

"Easy Beef Tacos." BettyCrocker.com. Web. 18 May 2016.

Beef tacos was needed because not everybody need or eat pork. Tacos and quesadillas were made to teach the girls on how to cook. Making tacos were a fun and is a fun way to cook. It also give them a new taste. Since most of the girls are African American females it gave them something new to try. Tacos are considered an Latina, cultural type of food. It introduces them to new things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHwi_l4sg3o

Mreae. "How to Grill Salmon Perfectly." YouTube. YouTube, 2008. Web. 19 May 2016.

One of the ingredients for the tacos or something that were included in the tacos were salmon. Since salmon is an uncooked food and can be very bad if eaten uncooked can be a terrible thing. The girls were shown how to cook a raw fish. It doesn’t have to be burnt but it can be well done. They have the choice of following something that is very helpful for them and give them options of different sauces to put on the salmo. It gives the tacos a certain flavor that they might like. They would be proud of theirself for cooking something so good.


http://www.pbs.org/parents/parenting/raising-girls/body-image-identity/raising-a-powerful-girl/

PBS. PBS. Web. 19 May 2016.

One of the lesson plans that was for the young girls was to talk about parents. As young girls, you and your parent can tend to clash and “bump heads” a lot. Young girls feel like they know it all and that their mom is being mean for telling them what to do. When in all the mom is trying to help them. They don’t understand that. This conversation was to teach them not everything has to be an argument. They need to know that they can have great relationships with their self and their parents.


http://nypost.com/2016/02/21/how-social-media-is-destroying-the-lives-of-teen-girls/

Dawson, Mackenzie. "How Social Media Is Destroying the Lives of Teen Girls."New York Post. 2016. Web. 19 May 2016.

Social Media is a very opinionated place. Not everybody follow the rule “if you don’t have nothing nice to say don’t say it at all”. People are cruel now and days and everyone has a social media account no matter if it’s instagram, twitter, snapchat, kik and periscope. It allows you to put yourself out there but people need to learn the what side of their self to make public. Anybody can go look at your stuff and know who you are or what type of person you are just by your captions and the pictures you put up. Everything needs to be PG-13 because there are older woman out here not setting the right example.


http://www.youngwomenscollegeprep.org/

"Home - Young Womens College Prep." Home - Young Womens College Prep. Web. 19 May 2016.

The mentor group is at Wagner Middle School, although Wagner Middle School is a good school, it can always improve. Students can always benefit from their school becoming better. The girls need to know that getting degrees is very important and needed in life to have a comfortable living. It’s good to see what other schools talk about or do when it comes to their school. We can do the same thing they do and probably do it better.


Noah Caruso Safe-Self

​Check out out our website here!

For our capstone, Pilar and I wanted to do something that could potentially impact and save people's lives. We decided to do a self defense course directed towards women because the harassment of women is a major issue in society today. Our goal was to make women feel safer in a city environment where they consistently feel violated and in danger. 
The capstone process was a long, arduous one. At first, Pilar and I wanted to teach a self defense class every week after school. When faced with the sad truth that no one would attend, we settled on a website because we wanted our help to reach as far as it possibly could. While Pilar focused on mainly on self-awareness and precautions to take before desperate measures need to be taken, I recorded videos of self-defense I learned throughout my thirteen years of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The product is something I’m proud of, but also something I feel could’ve looked better had we started with it from the jump. 
I learned a lot through our capstone about the constant harassment women face. It helped put into perspective why what I was doing mattered when, before the project started, I felt very disconnected. I hope this project helps both women and men alike learn about the effects and dangers harassment brings, and how they can help put a stop to it.


You can find my sources here.


Hannah Nicoletti Capstone

For my capstone project I worked with a foster care organization trying to figure out what the needs of the children in the system were. By setting up a gofundme page and receiving many generous donations, I was able to purchase many of the items we came up with together. All together I was able to purchase twenty bags and fill each with a water bottle, a blanket, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a notebook and pens/pencils, as well as an unique item for each child. With the money I had left from the donations I was able to give school supplies for the kids who are traveling around a lot. Throughout the capstone process, a few little lives were made a little easier.



Click the link below to follow the process that was taken to complete this project!
https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1FhnrogidPpG_EOkZEGZiMkXZVseKY_zM4zPII9-DWpI/edit?usp=sharing

Kara Rosenberg's Capstone

Over the course of my four years in high school, I have been diagnosed with anxiety, watched it grow, and learned how to overcome it. Anxiety is a part of my everyday life. At first, I felt alone, but then I realized how many other people suffer from the same problems I do. I decided to create a capstone that reflects how many people have anxiety, and how different anxiety can look from person to person. The goal of my capstone was to not only show people these differences, but to also simply spread awareness of how common anxiety is and can be. 
I created a blog where I, for the first time, publicly told my story with anxiety. Not only did I post my story for the world to see, but I regularly posted my daily feelings of anxiousness. This aspect of my project helped me deal with my anxiety in a way I wasn't used to. I also interviewed people who wanted to share their stories with anxiety. I conducted 5 filmed interviews of my SLA peers, and many written interviews of people of all kinds. With the filmed interviews, I created a montage film of all of the interviews combined. This video clearly displays how different anxiety can be.
My goal is to continue the blog after graduation. I also hope to create a submission space for visitors to post their stories on my blog. I started the blog in March, after my original capstone of a pet adoption event fell through, which is why the blog posts don't start until then. 


Bibliography:
I completed a bibliography for my old capstone, which is what I received my original grade for:

1. "Buying vs. Adopting." Pet Adoption: Why Adopting Is More Humane than Buying. American Humane Association. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. 
This article discusses the difference between buying and adopting an animal. It explores the benefits of both, but goes into depth on how to go about buying an animal from a responsible breeder. This source is mostly informative, however it is a little biased towards adopting animals rather than buying. This source also defines what a responsible breeder is, and how to tell the difference between responsible and responsponsible breeders. This source will help me most when making flyers about breeders. I don’t want to make it seem like all breeders are bad, so this will help me inform people on how to responsibly buy an animal if they choose to do so. 

2. Stilwell, Victoria. "Shelter vs Breeder." Positively. Victoria Stilwell. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. 
Victoria Stilwell is a world renowned dog trainer. This source is her blog, Positively, where she tells you everything you need to know about owning a dog. This article explores the pros and cons of both adopting an animal and buying an animal from a breeder. Some of the benefits she lists of adopting a pet is that you will save an animal’s life, most animals already have their vetting, and most of them are already potty trained. However, some of the challenges she lists are that some of the animals have had traumatic pasts, so it’s unclear how they will act in your home, and also that the animals may be mutts, so you won’t know their breed. It is a truly unbiased view from a very credential professional. This source will be beneficial to my project. I will mostly be using this for background information for my flyers. 

3. Best Friends. How to Conduct Successful Adoption Events. Kanab: Best Friends. Print. 
This manual is arguably the most valuable source to my capstone. It is an extremely extensive manual that walks you through every step to running a successful adoption event. Best Friends, who published the manual, is an organization dedicated to saving the lives of homeless animals, and now all animals. They started off with opening animal sanctuaries around the nation, and now they have multiple spay/neuter clinics as well. This manual first lists steps that you need to take to organize an event, then it also gives resources such as a timeline as to how to plan and conduct the event, as well. It is clear how I will use this source, as I will use it as my guide to completing this project as a whole. 
 
4. "Success Stories." Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society PAWS. Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society PAWS. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
This is a page dedicated to animal success stories from PAWS, the shelter I am partnering with for my capstone. There are many different stories about different animals’ lives- how they got to the shelter to where they are now. I’m planning on using success stories as advertisements for my adoption event, and also for the pro-adoption campaign part of my project. However, I don’t know if I’m going to use the stories on this episode or if I’m going to use actual people that I know. If I can’t find anyone in real life, I’ll probably use these stories. I also have an idea to use these stories for flyers and maybe take videos of interviews of people I know since those might be more in depth. 

5. "Ten Reasons to Adopt a Pet." The Humane Society of the United States. The Humane Society of the United States, 9 July 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. 
The Humane Society is definitely on the side of adopting rather than buying animals. This source is an article published by the Humane Society, listing ten reasons why everyone should adopt a pet. The reasons range from that you’ll save a life to because you’ll get to brag to your friends. One reason that really stood out to me was that by adopting an animal from a shelter, you’re ultimately fighting against puppy mills. Puppy mills are factories for breeding puppies, and  put profit over the dogs’ lives. After every reason, there is a description supporting it. This source is also important for background information to use for my posters and advertisements. 

6. Brandow, Michael. A Matter of Breeding: A Biting History of Pedigree Dogs and How the Quest for Status Has Harmed Man's Best Friend. Boston: Beacon, 2015. Print. 
Michael Brandow’s A Matter of Breeding is crucial to my project. This book is about how purebred dogs are always on demand, however it’s not because people want to honor a tradition, but because purebreds are a status symbol for success. The book goes in depth on the history of dog breeding, and how our focuses have shifted from the well being of the animal to our own appearance. These poorly thought of animals are paying the price with bad health, while the owners show them off like trophies. This book is great for turning people off of breeding. I think that this will be a great aspect to my project, whether I use it in posters, advertisements, or an introduction on my website. 

7. Walkowicz, Chris, and Bonnie Wilcox. Successful Dog Breeding: The Complete Handbook of Canine Midwifery. New York: Howell Book House, 1994. Print. 
Bonnie and Chris’s Successful Dog Breeding is a guide to breeding. Both of the authors are long time dog breeders, citing their personal experiences throughout the chapters. The book is aimed towards any person who is interested in dog breeding, whether it’s your first time or you’re a long time dog fancier. The book is made up of personal experiences from the authors and other breeders, and also from research from veterinary journals. This book is a good source for my project as it argues the other side, that breeding is worth-while and a great option. It also gives a lot of information to inform me on how breeding actually works. 

8. Garecht, Joe. "How to Build Your Prospect List." The Fundraising Authority. The Fundraising Authority. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. 
The Fundraising Authority is an organization on fundraising. Their website is very informative, explaining the steps to take if you need to fundraise for an event. This specific article explains how to build your prospect list. A prospect list maps out the people who will be donating to your cause. One of the points they give is that the closer your relationship is to a person, the more likely they are to donate. However, they also say that you shouldn’t limit your donors to those who you know, because there are many people in the world who probably want to donate to your cause that you simply don’t know about. This source is crucial to my project, as the main part of my capstone is an event that I will most likely need money to run. This will help me fundraise for my event and know the right people to ask for donations. 

9. "City of Philadelphia: FAQ." Managing Director's Office. The City of Philadelphia. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.
This source is the frequently asked questions page of the managing director’s office of Philadelphia. The questions specifically relate to special events. Most of the questions have to do with permits, and what permits you need to receive to host a public event. One part of this website that is very important to my project lists what open spaces you can rent out for an event. This is important because while I don’t know where I am having my adoption event yet, it may be outside, so I will be needing to get a permit and file a lot of paperwork to conduct it. This FAQ lists all of the questions I could possibly have when thinking of conducting the event outside, so it is very important for the planning aspect of my capstone. 

10. Rubenstein, Eliza, and Shari Kalina. The Adoption Option: Choosing and Raising the Shelter Dog for You. New York: Howell Book House, 1996. Print. 
Eliza and Shari’s book, The Adoption Option, explains the animal adoption process. It informs readers on how to go about choosing the right dog for their family by first determining what type of dog is best for you, and also how to find a good shelter to adopt from. The Adoption Option also gives very helpful information to how to raise your dog once you bring it home, and what to expect when it is transitioning from a life on the inside to the outside. This book is another good resource for my project explaining the adoption process. This can help me when I am actually at the adoption event and people don’t know what animal is best for them.

However, I did use this source for my current capstone:
"Understanding the Facts." Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Web. 19 May 2016.
This article published by the ADAA, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, explains what anxiety is. The article starts with a definition of anxiety, then some facts as well. What I find most interesting about this article is the chart that explains the differences between everyday anxiety and anxiety disorders. This chart in specific is very helpful for my capstone because it shows how the word “anxiety” can mean different things. Some people have an anxiety disorder, and others just have everyday anxiety, but they all are feeling some form of anxiety. This is a good foundation article for me to use for simple definitions of anxiety, especially for my blog.

Brittany Atkinson Capstone

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




​Bibliography Here.
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Angelica Owens Capstone

​Abstract:

For my capstone project, I self-published a poetry book. With this project, I got in contact with a publishing company and started the process. I started a document with the poetry I wanted to be in it. I put them in order and put the table in contents so the publisher knew what poem to put where even though I put the poems in order on the document too. I emailed it to him and he kept in touch with me. I asked Amanda to do my cover because I heard she was a good artist and I told her the vision I had for it. After I received the books, I had a book release party at school where my family, friends and my two nurses who took care of me at Temple came since I am donating the money to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Temple as well. During the process, I learned how important it was to keep tabs with people who are putting together my product. It was very stressful at times because the publisher would be out of town a lot and not email me back and it was getting closer to when I wanted to have my book release party. I also learned how many people are supportive and think I am going places with my writing as well and how to plan an event since I planned it mainly by myself.


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​Annotated Bibliography: 


Beck, Allison. "25 Best Party Foods Your Guests Will Love." The Daily Meal. N.p., 31 Oct. 2011. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This source talks about what makes food good for parties. It states that if people will be standing up, make sure it is not too greasy and also make it look appetizing as well. I selected this source because it will help me figure out what I should and shouldn’t be looking for or doing when it comes to appetizers for the event. This source is useful because now I know what to do and what’s best for the event when it comes to food so people don’t make too much of a mess. A limitation of this source is that they don’t have a everyday list of appetizers, they only have like fancy ones and some people are very picky and don’t like everything.



Ben-Ari, Elia T. "Special Book Article: Electronic Publishing: Past, Present, and Future." BioScience 49.3 (1999): 229. Web.


This source talks about electronic publishing in the past, present and future. It talks about how things posted online can be easily updated which is a good and bad thing. If it can be updated, you can choose different things but at the same time, you can keep it the same way if you choose to. I selected this source because it gave me a look into the cons of publishing something online which will be half of what I do since I am publishing an online version and hard copy of it. A limitation of the source is that it doesn’t talk about the pros of publishing online.   



What Is a Chapbook. Dir. Christopher Brown. Perf. Christopher K.P Brown. 2011. Web.


This source was created by Christopher “K.P.” Brown. It describes what a chapbook is along with the what they expecting, and the basics of their process for the book. I selected this source because I didn’t know what kind of poetry book I wanted to publish. When I found the publisher, on the site, he was talking about a chapbook, which I had never heard of it. By looking at this source I found out it was a small collection of poetry which could be about a maximum of about 28 poems. This source helped me figure out the kind of book I wanted to do. While I have tons of poems, there are a lot that are touching on subjects I would not put in my book well not my first book. A limitation of the book was the price it would cost for a couple of 100 books and if you wanted extra, how much extra would it cost. That would have been helpful so I wouldn’t have even had to email him first about the price along with telling him I was interested in publishing through them.


Doskow, Minna. William Blake's Jerusalem: Structure and Meaning in Poetry and Picture. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 1982. Print.


This source was created by Minna Doskow and talks about Jerusalem and their interpretation of poetry. In this book, they talk about poetry and their set up of it. This source says that with a poetry book you could have different themes for the poetry. This source is useful because I was thinking of doing themes for my poetry book until I decided that would be messy and mess up the flow I wanted to have with the book. One limitation this source has is not to describe other ways someone could set up a poetry book.  




Giovanni, Nikki. "Mothers." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177837>



This source gives a poem by Nikki Giovanni, a well known poet. In the poem, she speaks about her mother, the last time she went home and her mother passed a poem to her. I selected this source because it reminds me of a poem I wrote for my grandmother in the way I worded it and not so much of the situations are connected. I find this source useful because it shows how I want to change the world with my words but also shows that my poems in the book are talking about real things in my life, good or bad and that they will be coming from the heart. One limitation of the source is that while it is a good poem, I won’t be able to model my work off her because I already sent my poems off.


Hunter, Maya Angelou - Poem. "Still I Rise Poem." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/still-i-rise/>.


This source gives me a poem entitled “Still I rise” by Maya Angelou. I selected this poem because this is my favorite poem by her and by being a huge fan of her, she helped me start writing poetry. This poem is part of the reason why I am who I am when it comes to how I write. It is speaking real situations that has happened but saying that she could care less which is what I strive to do in my writing. This source is useful because it can show the audience why I choose to write and what I want to get across in my book that people are different and to respect their differences but also having a theme of family as well.


Hunter, Langston Hughes - Poem. "As I Grew Older Poem." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This source is a poem by Langston Hughes entitled “As I Grew Older.”  This poem talks about his dream and how he could see it like the sun. I chose this source because it talks about his dreams and how determined he is to follow his dreams which very much reminds me of me and the whole purpose of my book release party which is to get my work published to start my career. This source is useful because it can show people the path of where I want to go and where I want my future to go.


Matthews, Curt. "Self-Publishing Success." American Libraries 43.5/6 (2012): 12. JSTOR. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.


This source talks about how self-published books be successful. It states that it’s all about how you market your book. If you market to more places and make it known that you published a book, it will be more successful. It also stated that if you publish it more than one place than people will be more likely to buy it because they have an option to purchase it online or in person. I selected this source because it can give me an insight into what to do in order to be successful. It reassured me that I am going down the right path. I am planning on publishing my book on Amazon for people who I don’t know that want to buy it randomly or if my family and friends can’t make it to my book release party. I find this source useful because it showed me I am going on the right path to make my book successful. A limitation this source has is that it doesn’t tell the average price that we should sell our books for to be successful.



"The Meaning of Poetry: Breaking Poetry." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6QToz8zYuU>.


This source is talking about the meaning of poetry and what poetry means for the particular speaker and just in general the meaning of people for certain people.  I selected this source as a way showing that the meaning of poetry is more than just writing stuff down but that writing poetry is an escape gateway for people and a way to express their feelings. I find this source useful because this describes my usage of poetry and the reason why I write. A limitation of this source is that it doesn’t speak more on why people who write don’t have a connection with their writing.


Free Verse. Digital image. Slide Share- All about Poetry. Natasha Walker Van Niekerk, 6 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.


This source was found on Google Images under it saying “Free Verse.” While going to the sight investigating it, I found out not only Free verse is majority of what my poetry book is but also that a couple of  my poetry is called Narrative poems which is just me narrating through a poem. This source is useful so I can identify the types of poems that are in the book which I didn’t know all of the kinds at first. I selected this source because it helped me to figure out the names of type of poetry used in the book so I knew.


Lindsey Jones Capstone

The idea for my capstone derived from my pure and honest passion for storytelling. Having no prior experience in the writing world, I wanted to get my feet wet and gain some experience in a field not many trek. Along with wanting to storytell, I wanted to tell a different type of story. In a market where black characters aren’t common, or non-white characters are practically non-existent, I wanted to plant a seed in it. I wanted to show people that black characters can flourish in genres besides urban fiction. In the very beginning, the process of brainstorming and finding a solid narrative was initially the most pressing quest. The first thing I knew I needed to do was just write it. Everything after that was definitely a learning experience. I learned that a complete, solid, and physical book cannot be completely in a mere 6 months. I also learned that I wanted to take my writing in a different direction, since one of my main goals of this project was to attract an audience, something I had no idea how to in the beginning. In a nick of time, I created a wattpad profile where millions of people could possibly take a peek at my work. Aside from the things I learned in the process, overall, I walked away from this project with a solid understanding of the type of material I want the world to see. I want to influence and inspire people with my words, and this is just the beginning of it all.


Here is a digital excerpt from the first chapter of my book:

Bibliography


  1. Bureman, Liz. "The 7 Basic Plots: Tragedy - The Write Practice." The Write Practice RSS. The Write Practice, 04 June 2013. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. <http://thewritepractice.com/basic-tragedy/>. I was looking for something to help me with the tragedy part of my novella and this was exactly what I was looking for. It is a website that has basically deconstructed what exactly makes a tragedy a tragedy. It tells about how a tragic story will have a main character that has a serious and intense thirst for something (be it money, power, beauty, youth, anything) and once they achieve that object, life seemingly gets to get better until the walls cave in all around them. There are many classic tragic stories such as Hamlet and Macbeth, and of course, Romeo and Juliet. The website also introduces an option of writing a prompt for the one of the "Dream stages" it describes. I also realized that not all tragic protagonists are anti-heroes. They can be a good person throughout the story and suffer a terrible fate just like bad.

  2. "Character Virtues and Vices." W R I T E W O R L D. Tumblr.com, 2014. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://writeworld.org/charactervandv>. In the process of character creating, I knew I wanted to create well-rounded, three dimensional people that would be seen as real. I focused on the vice and virtues this time. Since no one is completely good or bad, I learned how to evenly give life to my characters through these. Overall, one of the main characters in my book are mostly quiet and to themselves. However, this character wouldn't be completely the same throughout the story. I'd want other traits to come out so readers can decide if they want to root for them or not. So in this website, I found those vices and virtues that I could use freely. I picked five of each and then added detail to each; how they made my character act, how they affected their life, and how these vices and virtues would possibly change them by the end of the book.

  3. "How to Create a Character Profile." Writers Write. The Lazy Scholar, 1998. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/how-to-create-a-character-profile-6986>. I used this website in order to organize and flesh out my characters individually. It's very long, very text heavy, and it really made me think about how I have free will to make the characters any way I want. I actually spent several days filling this out for each character, as it really makes me think about what I am writing and if the character I've thought of really needs to be in the story or not. But after using this this so much, I was able to mold it into something that I would actually use. I didn't want to take up a ton of time trying to fill out each line so I erased some of the questions and only kept the ones I felt needed to be answered. It saved time, helped me vision my characters better and ultimately made it way easier to mold them to the my story.

  4. Grace. "Examples of Themes. Choosing a Creative Writing Theme."Practicecreativewriting. N.p., 2014. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. <http://www.practicalcreativewriting.com/what-is-a-theme/examples-of-themes/>. This website is focused on explaining the theme within a story (narrative/ novel). At first, I thought that stories only had one theme, but after reading through this website and thinking of the other pieces of literature I've read, I've realized that stories can have more than one theme. The function of the website how choosing a theme should be personal to you. That I should care about it so that when I write, I won't get bored or feel like I'm forcing something. The site also gives a list of different themes and some short descriptions of it. I think this is very useful to me since I find that in my writing, theme might not be so prevalent or easy to find. This site will really come in handing when forming my story. I think I should start with this first. It is simple and easy to use.

  5. "Macbeth Summary." Absolute Shakespeare. AbsoluteShakespeare, 2005. Web. 2016. <http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/macbeth/macbeth_summary.htm>. I wanted to look more in different tragedies. Therefore, I revisited Macbeth, another tragedy by Shakespeare. As I read the summary, I saw that Macbeth died at the result of his own selfish actions. He killed many, feigned for power, and ultimately died a death some would say was "just his medicine". I also read further into the site and learned about the different themes and symbols throughout. Even though I already knew most of the things mentioned, I payed attention to how each theme was transpired throughout the story. I think this website is useful in trying to see how different stories with essentially the same themes parallel one another. Even though Macbeth was a majority violent and bloody play, the way each part of the plot connects is what motivates me. I want to do the same as well. After looking through Macbeth, I went on a search for Hamlet.

  6. "Romeo and Juliet Summary." Absolute Shakespeare. Absoluteshakespeare, 2005. Web. 2016. <http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/romeo_and_juliet/summary/romeo_and_juliet_summary.htm>. I stopped by this website in order to get a look at the most classic tragical romance, Romeo and Juliet. I was specifically looking to explore the different themes within the story. I wanted to find out what made it so popular, despite the ridiculousness of both of the main characters. What drove them to ignore their family members despite constant pleas? I was also able to look at the different symbols that are consistent throughout the story, such as poison. What I realized from this explanation was that even the smallest details can change a rather simple story. I also was able to see what exactly the story of Romeo and Juliet was. A narrative of ridiculousness and misinterpretations. Even though the movies dramatize the story, the reality of the situation is that the Montagues and Capulets are fighting over a silly feud that could have been resolved ages ago.

  7. "Stephen J Cannell Lecture Part IV: What Is Three Act Structure? -- *Writers Write*." Stephen J Cannell Lecture Part IV: What Is Three Act Structure? -- *Writers Write*. Writers Write Inc, 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. <http://www.writerswrite.com/screenwriting/lecture4.htm>. This website became especially useful when looking to create structure within my story. It is called the Three Act Structure. Every story and movie is made up of the "Three Act Structure", as there is a beginning, middle and end. Each aspect of the structure tells a different part the story so that everything will make sense. You'd never introduce the main characters in the middle, but in the beginning, which is what the first act is about. In the first act, main characters and conflict are introduced. The middle is where everything gets crazy and the characters are put to the test to see the conflict until the end. The third act is the solution to the conflict and where everything wraps up. This site was especially useful to me because my story definitely needed more structure. I also liked that the article gave actual examples on what to do.

  8. Victor, William. "What Is Plot - How to Build a Story from Beginning to End." Creative Writing Now. William Victor, S.L, 2009. Web. 2015. <http://www.creative-writing-now.com/what-is-plot.html>. This website is pretty similar to the others I've read about plot. However, it is written differently and isn't as simple. It's sort of messy but after reading through, it becomes easier to decipher. The website also gives information the different types of conflicts with a plot. Such as man vs man, man vs nature, man vs self, man vs other. I also learned that all stories would be boring if there was no conflict. People like to read about drama, its interesting. If everyone had a happily ever after, then books wouldn't be popular and literature itself would be lame. That is also a reason that Shakespeares stories are so referenced and beloved. They aren't typical romance stories where everyone lives greatly in the end, it usually ends in blood, leaving the reader in confusion and despair because events occurred that they did not prepare for nor expected in the end.

  9. "The Writer's Toolbox - Ask The Writer - Gotham Writers Workshop." The Writer's Toolbox -Ask The Writer. Gotham Writer's Workshop, 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/ask-writer/what-is-a-novella-how-is-it-different-than-a-short-story>. Here, I learned the difference between a novella and a novel. A novella is not as expanded in conflict as a novel, and is therefore, shorter. But not as condensed as a short story. It is around 15,000 words but no more than 100,000, which would be crossing over in novel territory. I decided from this that I wanted to write a novella. It's going to be short, to the point, but rich with content that will have the reader asking for me, hopefully. I also want my story to be a novella because it gives room to possibly have a series and keep it moving. I'll be able to have cliff hangers and torture the reader, which motivates me to keep going. But one thing that the article reminds me is to just keep writing and try my best. Hopefully everything will come together in the end peace fully.

  10. "Writing A Novel." The Writing Bureau. WL Yorkshire, 2009. Web. 2016. <http://www.writersbureau.com/writing/planning-a-novel.htm>. This website gives a very simple step by step intro into planning a novel. Even though there aren't a ton of details, it was very useful to me. I think starting from one simple and then adding details later is what will really help when writing my novella. It helped me really ask myself questions about what my story was missing and what it had. I like how it isn't as complicated as most of the websites I've went to when looking for information or plot planning. I've already started writing, but this website will definitely come in handy when editing and making revisions. I figure that if I can answer any of these questions in a complete sentence, then my book will be good and easy to read. Even though this website/ article was designed for novel planning, I can still use it to write my novella. Just I will have to take some stuff out.

Carolyn Borock Capstone

Folder with all documentation : https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByFS6Qf7w6XIaldIaDNvUU43eUU&usp=sharing 

Abstract:

Since I have a fanbase of over 200K now on the app musical.ly. I decided to promote the idea of adoption and what it means. The risk you take when adopting a child is not one that most people take. People would rather just have a baby themselves and there are so many children that need homes and loving guardians. Most people don’t know the good things that come from adoption and only see the bad things. Now more than ever do children need loving families. I intend to show people my story and spread the word by doing a documentary.  

That is exactly what I did. I spent time researching how to make great videos and watching documentaries about adoption. I learned all about DSLR Cameras and purchased one of my own. This was a hard subject for me to do because I still have issues with being adopted. This project help me deal with a lot of the process by placing myself in that situation and talking to people about it. I’ve been creating content on my youtube channel to practice with camera equipment and learn more each film. The project didn’t completely go the way I expected.. I wanted to crowdfund but then there was issues with that because if you didn’t make the money goal you couldn’t keep the money earned. The whole point of this project was to inform to people about my story and maybe even help them.



Video:

https://youtu.be/sUSZHCjA2_Y


Bibliography:

"Russia's Ban on American Adoptions Won't Go into Effect until next Year." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

This was informative website that shows the down sides. The things that are shown in the media that portrays adoption in a bad light. They explained the reasons why the adoption ban was created in the first place. Very helpful resource for basic knowledge on the matter.  


Penny, Laurie. "Russia's Ban on US Adoption Isn't about Children's Rights." N.p., n.d. Web.

This is from “The Guardian” and it’s a great research tool. The article is highly informative and shows the downsides to adoption. These downsides are the reasons that the adoption ban was put in place.


"Boy Sent Back to Russia; Adoption Ban Urged." Msnbc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

This article shows how media portrays adoption in such a negative way. This story is about a boy that was sent back to russia from an american family. This was also one of the reasons that the ban was set in place. It’s stories like these that made the ban happen.



"Adoption History::Timeline of Adoption History." Adoption History::Timeline of Adoption History. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.

This site is a great site to have to reference important dates in adoption history. I wanted to use this website because it showed the foundation of adoption. The knowledged that I gained from this website is that adoption started in 1851 when massachusetts passed a adoption law.


"Exploratory Evaluation of the Role of Social Workers During Adoption Disruption." Web. 5 Feb. 16.

This shows the roles of social workers in the adoption process. The paper is mainly about adoption disruption. This is a good research to know because you get to see the other parts. Parts of the story that you didn’t think about.


"The Ultimate Guide to Learning How to Use Your First DSLR - Digital Photography School." Digital Photography School The Ultimate Guide to Learning How to Use Your First DSLR Comments. 2013. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This is a great tool for the video side to the project. This is going to teach me the video side to the project and it’s a great source for everything DSLR. I recently got a camera so i'm still trying to learn the correct ways to film.


"SLR Photography Guide - A Beginner's Guide to DSLR Photography and Understanding Camera Settings." SLR Photography Guide - A Beginner's Guide to DSLR Photography and Understanding Camera Settings. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This is another great source to start learning to film videos with a DSLR camera. The videos will come out better and this is a guide to learning new tips and tricks. This will help me with my project because I will be able to shoot better videos if I know how to use the camera.


"The Basics of Video Editing: The Complete Guide." Lifehacker. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This is a great resource to help me complete my project. Since I’m pretty new to this whole film making thing. I have to learn to edit videos and that’s a major part in this process of creating a documentary. The guide tells you step by step tutorials on how to edit videos.


Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This is a great source because it shows how to grow your social media. The article shows 25 tips on how to expand your platforms. A major part of my capstone is crowdfunding and since I have a fanbase on my social media, I need to learn to keep that up and learn to crowdfund as well. This website does just that!

"How to Successfully Crowdfund Just about Anything." CNBC. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This website is a great source for another aspect of my capstone which is crowdfunding. I’ve never crowd funded so I need to learn and this is a great source for beginners. The website shows the main concepts of crowdfunding and how to do it successfully.




HOME VIDEOS:

Borock,C. (2003).Coming to Estonia video . Unpublished video,Estonia.

Borock,C. (2003). Traveling video . Unpublished video, Varied.

Borock,C. (2003).Coming to America video . Unpublished video,Estonia.

Borock,C. (2006).1st Wedding video . Unpublished video,Estonia.

Borock,C. (2007). School kindergarten video . Unpublished video,Estonia.

Borock,C. (2006). 2nd wedding video . Unpublished video,Estonia.

Borock,C. (2016). A collection of recent videos. Unpublished video,Estonia.



Gabrielle Smullen Capstone

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

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Eamon Kelly Capstone

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

Abstract

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

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

Class of 2016 Projects


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


Teacher Interview Sources

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



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



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



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



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



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


Senior Interview Sources

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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




Other Sources

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

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

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

Tomy Fleurine Capstone

​I created a mixtape/album. I wanted to host a soccer tournament but my original partner proved to be not as available as I hoped and I was not able to raise the funds that I needed in order to have a successful tournament. My goal when starting my capstone was to do something that I can really relate to, have talent in, and that I love. I have been writing music since I was younger and had some songs I wanted to produce and put out there so it was not really a hard decision for me. Furthermore, I was able to find someone else with a Capstone exactly like mind, Ameer Forte. He planned to focus on rapping in his album and I planned to focus more on singing and producing. Therefore, I thought would be smart to work with him and create the album together. 

This has been a masterpiece in my opinion. All the Science Leadership Academy core values have been incorporated into this project. I collaborated with Ameer to get it done along with his uncle so collaboration was key. I have researched different ways to sing work on my voice so it sounds clearer, editing songs and make them sound good, and getting into a good flow of songwriting so research was key. I used inquiry to use my new found knowledge and apply it into the final product. I also used the remaining two core values which are presentation obviously and reflection. Enjoy. 

https://www.scienceleadership.org/media/open/38711
01 Intro_ I Hope You Feel Me (Prod. DougieOnTheBeat)
Our Struggle(Prod. Uncle Savage AKA Ramsey Forte
Dirt (Prod. Daw Beats)
04 All My Love Feat. Tomy Fleurine (Prod. Roland Forte & Classixs Beats)
05 Right My Wrongs_When I lost it (Prod. Lobia)
06 The Scene (Interlude) (Prod. P.SOUL)
Never Trust. (Prod. beatsinmybackpack)
Rotation Feat. Sincere The King (Prod. Nique Musiq & Ameer Forte)
09 We'll Be OK (Prod. Ricky Vela & Ameer Forte)
Tbh (Prod. Uncle Savage & Ameer Forte)
All The Feels (Interlude) (Prod. Ameer Forte) 2
Love Story Feat. Keely (Prod. Curtis Drummond)
13 Intentions (Prod. Flip)
Outro_All I Know (Prod. Canary Julz)

Annotated Bibliography

"Advice for New Referees | US Youth Soccer." US Youth Soccer. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

Since we will be spending so much money for the tournament, we won’t have enough to hire referees for the game. We will be doing the refereeing ourselves therefore we needed a website showing us how to referee a game. Soccer is a very fast paced and dangerous game so we need to be fair to everyone and be in favor of the safety of everyone. However, we can’t be too soft and we need to know when people are flopping and when people are being fake. There is going to be yelling at the referees especially since they have to pay money to enter the tournament therefore we need to learn how to keep our composure. This website is a really good source about referees and how to referee effectively.


"Affiliates." Tournament Travel. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


Soccer is played all through America. Especially in the youth soccer system in America, in these systems there are many tournaments. These tournaments help organize American soccer in ways that help develop soccer players throughout America in ways that help strengthen the game of soccer throughout America. This source gives an example of how soccer tournaments are supposed to be announced, documented, promoted, and hyped up to produce numerous participants and sustain organization.


"How to Organize a Soccer Tournament." WikiHow. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

Organizing a soccer tournament takes a lot of time and energy. You have to promote to the public what you’re going to do, let as much as the public as possible know, and have the energy to have a successful tournament. Through hard work and dedication, a successful soccer tournament can be made. Sources like this help us understand how a tournament is supposed to work. Through making sure how everything is supposed to function to making sure everyone is having a good time. This source is an excellent way to help someone organize a tournament of any kind.


"How to Play Soccer." WikiHow. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


Soccer, who is also known as football everywhere besides the U.S., Canada and Australia, is a fun, competitive game. It is the most-played sport in the world, with over 200 million players in about 200 countries. Now, it is referred to as "the beautiful game" because of its dazzling degrees of technical skill, team play, and individual contribution. This source shows a lot of information about the sport itself and it shows a lot about what you need in order to become a successful soccer player. It also shows a lot about different kits and other objects you need in order to play the sport.

"How to Host a Kick-Ass Event - Eventbrite Blog." Eventbrite Blog. 2009. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


Hosting an event a takes a lot of work and hard dedication, and sweat and tears, blood and guts, haha jk . But forreal hosting an event is no joke, with it has to come a heart to serve your community and to have fun of course. Many events, whether they are formal events for an office party, concerts for famous singers or performers, or anything that requires an immense amount of concentration and dedication. This source helps us understand what it takes to host a successful public event.

Micah’s:

"How To Play Soccer." How To Play Soccer. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

Soccer allows people to stay healthy and energized. Through this tournament, not only will the community be positively affected but it will enhance the knowledge of my partner and I to be better with our organizational skills as well as helping our community in ways we don’t have to. We plan on having money to raise to help the community through selling drinks at the tournament. We plan on even possibly teaching some of the kids at the tournament soccer as well. Understanding fully how to play soccer is necessary to complete this tournament. This source helps greatly with our cause.


"North Texas Soccer." Tournament Applications and Forms. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This source is a  really good source. It shows a lot of different tournament applications that we need to host the tournament. Soccer is a very fun and amazing sport however, it is also very dangerous. That’s the reason why we need a lot of different forms in order for a tournament hosting to be legal. This source provided me with a lot of information and forms so that my capstone can be successful. I’m going to get people to sign the forms and I’ll be good. This website is essentially a template for tournament forms.



Oklahoma Soccer Association." How To Host A Tournament. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

This source helps us understand with much more understanding of how to create a successful tournament. We have many sources that help us make a successful tournament on this doc and this one is one of the most valuable. It helped us understand there is more to a tournament than just making it. It helped us see the true meaning of helping the community and what it means to have a successful Capstone.

"How To Play Soccer." How To Play Soccer. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.



"Tournament Brackets - Printable Single & Double Elimination." Tournament Brackets - Printable Single & Double Elimination. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This source allows our group to understand how brackets. Brackets work different ways and work often. Brackets can work for tournaments, competitions, events, social events, athletic events, non-athletic events. Other events like baseball tournaments, bowling tournaments, football tournaments, golf tournaments, such as PGA, the Masters, soccer tournaments. Which the Champions League, Copa del rey, World Cup, and other soccer tournaments like these. Basketball tournaments such as March Madness, the amazing, incredible, world class event known as the Olympics, the NBA Finals, along with many other beautiful tournaments in the world of sports. Brackets will help us organize our soccer tournament better.


"The Philly Soccer Page." The Philly Soccer Page. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


Soccer is an amazing sport. Around the world, almost every country plays this sport, from Germany, to Australia, from Japan, to China, America, Greenland, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, France, England, Austria, Belgium, Narnia, Canada, Honduras, Peru, Turkey, Jamaica, Switzerland, Hawaii, Nigeria, Russia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, the Congo, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, along with many others in the world. Soccer is a great sport. This source helps us understand world soccer better which ultimately helps us understand soccer better, which then helps us understand soccer better, in our city, which then helps us understand soccer better to do this tournament which then helps us complete this tournament because we understand soccer so well. This is a very beneficial sport.


Rockets Finish 2nd Straight Undefeated Reg Season; Earn 1st Rd Bye, Host Rd 2 Game on Fri, 5/20

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The past two weeks have been rough for the Rockets. Multiple rainouts, shuffled games and a shortage of officials led to seemingly interminable breaks in action before the final three regular season games could be played. The waiting was certainly frustrating, but when it came time to play the Rockets outscored their last three opponents 35-6. Freshman Kristian Ramos had his Varsity debut, going 5IP with 9Ks, no walks and gave up just 1 ER. SLA starters racked up another 32 Strike Outs to just 5 Walks, and while pitching has been dominant all season, the offense had it going on too. With each opponent suffering through at least one dreaded inning when every Rocket would bat, sometimes twice, before the defense could record 3 outs. 

Kensington dropped a late season game to Edison, which handed the B-Division title to the Rockets on a day they didn't even take the field. Even though they had won their 2nd straight Division title, which signified the team moving up to the top division of competition, the general energy on the team was, "so what's next!?" They knew they had won the B Division two entire weeks before it became official, but the hunger for something greater tempered the celebrations. The same held true when the final out of the regular season was caught by Senior Shaion Denny out in Left. The team gathered and lightly celebrated another undefeated regular season, but the true goal of a City Title was still five games away. 

More waiting would unfold as The Rockets wondered aloud who they would face in the 2nd round after a well-earned Bye in the first round. 2016 will mark the first time in team history they earned a Bye and will get to host the winner of MLK (B6) and Maritime (C6) from a lower Division. SLA knows a little bit about what it means to be underestimated, so they aren't taking anyone lightly once the tournament starts. 

And they'll channel that "we can beat anyone" energy on Friday in Mt. Airy just as they did against Germantown Friends a few weeks ago. Lots of games and Divisions are still on the line, but one thing is certain. Whomever wins on Wednesday, will have to deal with a Rocket team that outscored their opponents by 111 runs on the season and a starting rotation that posted an unheard of combined 0.58 ERA. A win on Friday will set the wheels in motion for another serious run at a City Title. 

NEXT UP: Either B6 MLK or C6 Maritime. Regardless, come out and support The Rocket on Friday, May 20th and you'll get to say you were there when the Title Run started. 

Home Playoff 1 (Rd 2)
Mt. Airy Playground
7001 Germantown Ave 
(btwn Sedgwick and Mt. Pleasant)
Game Time: TBD

Cameron Hinton-Capstone

​All throughout my high school experience, I have seen the same ole sport uniforms from each team. Each team used the same exact logo and the same colors. I wanted to change it up a bit for a more updated look for the school because we also have come a long way from when we first opened up.

For my senior capstone, I decided to come up with new designs for the sports teams in the school for seasonal uniforms and or fundraising purposes.I was first introduced to this by my coach, Mark Johnson, during our 2016 track and field season. He had explained to me how this would work for everyone because of how easy and simple it was. It’s called Ares Sportswear and it was a really beneficial and useful tool for my capstone.

My final product was to end up having a meeting with all the coaches in the school and have a little hands on session with the website so that they could get used to it and ask any questions that they would have. Essentially I set up accounts for each sport and then I had certain designs made depending on the sport. I think that this should be passed down and used for another capstone, because I know that sometimes the teams like to try different things and might want to continue to have different sport uniforms because when you look like a team, you play like one.

Here is the link to my bibliography
This is the link to the evidence

Jada Terrell- Capstone

For my capstone, I started a National Honor Society chapter at SLA. National Honor Society is an national organization that promotes leadership, scholarship, service, and character. It is popular in most high schools in Philadelphia, but there has never been an active chapter at SLA. I heard about NHS from my previous middle school, which also was a high school, because they had a chapter. The reason I took interest in this organization is because service and being an overall well rounded student means a lot to me. Education's importance has been emphasized in my family always. This process for my capstone began in 
June of 2015 when I was brainstorming what the 2015-16 school year would look like for NHS. My capstone mentor, and previous NHS member, is Ms. Jonas. Collectively, we brainstormed different service opportunities, how the application process would go, leadership activities we could execute, and more. I decided that service and leadership would be the two aspects that were emphasized. All NHS members executed their own volunteer work throughout the school year and have been committed to attending meetings. Meetings were about once a month, just to check in, plan what's coming next, etc. We had a formal  induction ceremony at the Franklin Institute where all members received a pin for recognition. NHS is not over. We have a group service project to close out the school year. I haven't quite decided what we are going to do exactly, this process of finding an organization with lots of opportunities for us is harder than I expected, but it's in the works. 
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  1. "Welcome, Students." National Honor Society. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2016. <https://www.nhs.us/students>.

This is the National Honor Society website. I used this source for a lot of different reasons. I wanted to truly understand the mission/goals of NHS. There is a lot of information on this site about how to start a chapter, renewing a chapter, getting scholarship information, a link to the NHS apparel website and more. I learned about the 4 aspects of NHS: leadership, character, service, and scholarship. Reviewing this website, I now understand that it is essential to continue building leaders for this generation and servicing our communities, which are the two aspects I plan to highlight in my chapter.

    2. "Teaching Youth to Identify Essential Qualities of a Leader." FASTEN. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 2016. <http://www.urbanministry.org/wiki/teaching-youth-identify-essential-qualities-leader>.

This website was a good example for how to have the leadership development. In the NHS chapter, we need a foundation in such a way that we can build off. This website concluded that the major aspects and qualities are: courage, risk taking, confidence, self discipline, honesty, and perseverance. These I agree are qualities and skills that it takes to be a successful leader. A main aspect of NHS is leadership and I was concerned with having the proper tools necessary to have a leadership course. I think the most important are confidence, self discipline, and risk taking. Without those, you probably won’t be a successful leader.

     3. "National Honor Society (N.H.S)." Central High School. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <http://www.centralhigh.net/pages/CentralHigh/7197040085141361346/Main_Nav/6675467167782716626/Clubs_1/National_Honor_Society__N_H_S_>.

This is Central High School’s National Honor Society website. The reason I used this as a source for research because this is the first time I’m being directly exposed to NHS. This website serves as an inspiration for my website. I will add much more to mine but they have links to sign up for tutoring, an introduction article, etc. This website actually didn’t much information, but it served as an example of a website because I’m making on.

     4. "Mayor Jim Kenney's Office of Civic Engagement & Volunteer Service."Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://volunteer.phila.gov/#s>.

This website serves as a volunteer match database for Philadelphia. I have used this source in the past and will continue to do so as I am looking for different volunteer opportunities. This site, in my opinion, does a wonderful job in organizing the opportunities because they are broken down into different categories. It also gives the location. NHS could use this source because depending on the time of the year, the holidays, etc, we can plan accordingly to somewhat fit a thematic scheme.

      5. El, Savannah. "What Is NHS Like?" Telephone interview. Sept. 2015.

Savannah El is a close friend of mine who is a member of NHS at Girard Academic Music Program. I spoke with her to get an understanding of what NHS is. I also looked for different ideas that her chapter have done because this is something I’m doing for the first time.

      6. Jonas, Pearl. "What Is NHS?" In Person interview. June 2015.

Ms. Jonas, who is also my capstone mentor, was a NHS member in high school. The purpose of this interview was to establish her as my mentor. I also spoke with her about how we can implement NHS (a traditional club) in SLA (a modern-non traditional school). We worked over the summer to get ready for the school year. The interview was informal, however we outlined a lot for the year.

      7. SLA Juniors/Seniors. "NHS at SLA." Online interview. Oct. 2015.

I conducted a survey for SLA juniors and seniors. I got the word out to SLA about NHS by putting information on the advisory memo. The survey was for people to sign up. The information that I gathered from the survey was that most people are interested in leadership development/networking and service. The majority of people had volunteer experience and were interested in continuing it. That is how I got the idea to emphasize on leadership and service.

      8. Perle, Elizabeth. "Is National Honor Society Membership Worth It?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/is-national-honor-society_n_3267251.html>.

This article was published on the Huffington Post by Elizabeth Perle. It is about whether or not a NHS membership is worth it or not. The article was very thoughtful is talking about what the membership actually means. The author explored the idea that it doesn’t matter if you are a member, it matters how active you are. At the end of the day, people aren’t interested in just hearing that you were a member, they are interested in hearing what you did as a member. That is something that I want to keep in mind as I am bringing this to SLA. I want to make sure that we are all active members and we keep a good name for NHS at SLA.

       9. Boyington, Brianna. "7 Essential Life Skills for High Schoolers to Build Before College." US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/11/05/7-essential-life-skills-for-high-schoolers-to-build-before-college>.

I used this source to get ideas for things we can talk about/explore deeply about during times when we aren’t planning for an event. I want NHS to be about leadership development just as much as service and I want for us (the members) to learn together how to become better versions of ourselves. The seven essential life skills for high schoolers to build before college according to this site are: managing money, planning, staying safe and healthy, studying, apartment hunting, getting around, and cooking. I can try my best with my mentor to see which of these skills we can talk about.

      10. National Honor Society, Handbook 17th Edition. Reston, VA: n.p., 1974. Print.

This is the National Honor Society handbook. This handbook outlines everything regarding the chapter from procedures, mission, background, etc. This handbook helps the group outline the induction ceremony, how the members are selected, the duties of the chapter officers, the advisor, and the council, graduation ceremonial things, etc.


Osman Bangura Capstone


For my Capstone I shadowed a nurse practitioner at Pennbroke Health and Rehabilitation Center. During this time, I was able to get close, and hands-on experience with how medical practitioners work with patients. I got to witness one on one patient care, medical procedure and got to tour around a hospital. This was quite an experience, and I learned abundantly as to how it is when a medical practitioner is on duty. I learned how much effort and work goes into simply diagnosing patients and giving them proper treatment and care. There is so much documentation involved in treating patients, before actually treating them. I also learned about the collaborative roles of nurses and doctors, and was explained and demonstrated the differences between the two. This gave me great insight into what I want to do in the future, which solidified my interest in the medical field and gave me a sure fire feeling that this is what I wanted to do with my life. At the end of the shadowing I said goodbye to the nurse practitioner at Pennbroke and had took an audio recording of the whole shadowing event right up at the beginning, towards the end. Generously I was allowed a picture of nurse practitioner Tim Trotter. Overall the experience shaped and sharpened my knowledge towards the medical field and gave me a clear picture of what it's like to be a medical practitioner. 





Annotated Bibliography


  1. "Who's Who in the Hospital." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Steven Dowshen. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Aug. 2014. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. <http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/medical_care/in_hospital.html#>. The information on this source is only for educational purposes, so it doesn't serve to make a profit from anything. It gives comprehensive information about the different roles of a hospital and makes clear what people do what in a hospital. This will help me understand the different types of people I will be assessing when I go to shadow in a hospital. If I know the people who work in a hospital, it will make it easier for me to understand different areas I'll be in when I try to shadow for my capstone. Also it's good to have that specific type of information, if I'm going to shadow I should know about the different people I'm shadowing.

  2. "Shadowing Physicians." Shadowing Physicians. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/admissions/applicants/shadowing>. This is a medical school website. On this section of the website, it gives comprehensive information about shadowing and how people who may be interested in becoming doctors, go about shadowing. It is useful for my capstone because I will need to know how to shadow and how to go about it. It instructed me to try to get contacts, and even gave me a list of contacts, of national shadowing programs I could get myself into, to be able to shadow. It told me I should contact friends, my physicians, or family, also if I volunteer in a hospital, I could get a network of shadows there. It is a very helpful source and since it's on a medical school website, it is nonprofit. It also gave me a long list of questions to consider when I am shadowing, that really helped me get a broader idea of what type of information or insight I'm looking for when i'm going to shadow a doctor. It also let me know that shadowing is mainly to see if I'm appealed by all the things shadowing consist of.

  3. Wheeler, David. "Emotional Extremes: A Day in the Life of a Neurosurgeon." Emotional Extremes: A Day in the Life of a Neurosurgeon. The Chronicle of Higher Education, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~perry/p596_au99/Assign/topics/neurosurgeon.html>. This is a good source, that gives factual and insightful information about how Neurosurgeons are. Specifically their work schedule and how they go about things throughout the day. The source is trustable because it's published from The Chronicle, which is not necessarily nonprofit, but has a firm goal of informing the public, which contains credible information and facts from credible sources. Also the writer is a publisher who graduated with a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, and won several awards. He has written for publications like the Boston Globe and Washington Post, and has been writing for over 25 years at the Chronicle of Higher Education. He is a credible source and has extensive experience as a science writer. Furthermore, this source produces a real life example of a Neurosurgeon and pretty much writes out that Neurosurgeon's typical day. Spanning from talking about how that doctor has to work from the early morning to late at night, and to the different procedures and situations that doctor has to take care of. Also it talks about how a neurosurgeon has to go from successfully finishing a surgery, to having to spread the bad news of someone having a malignant brain tumor. For my capstone, It makes me understand the circumstances of shadowing a neurosurgeon, whereas their workload is very extensive and they are under constant daily pressure.

  4. "Unite For Sight." Guidelines for Observing and Assisting Doctors. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.uniteforsight.org/international-volunteering/module5>. This source is a nonprofit, and gives insightful information on several medical projects and procedures. This information gave me a greater understanding of observing a doctor. It showed me how to observe a surgery well, if I were to be shadowing a surgeon for my Capstone. This is essential because I need to know exactly how to observe and pay attention to a surgery, if I'm going to be shadowing a neurosurgeon and I get to that point. It taught me that I should always be quiet in an operating room, and try not to disturb the flow of the operation, also to listen to what the surgeon says at all times. When I'm observing a surgery during my shadowing, I will know exactly how to act, and I will act very properly. Not only in the operating room did it teach me how to act, but also in the Clinic, it told me to act with obeisance, which is essential to being stable when shadowing. When I go shadow, I will be able to properly be in a hospital environment.

  5. "About Neurosurgery." About Neurosurgery. Columbia Neurosurgical Associates, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.columbianeurosurgical.com/neurosurgery.php>. This is a credible source, it gives me background information about Neurosurgeons, and the different things involved in being a Neurosurgeon. It also differentiates between Neurosurgeons and Neurologist. It gives me good factual information about what neurosurgeons do. This is helpful because it gives me a firm understanding of how a Neurosurgeon would be operating, and the different types of surgeries they may be do. It be help me better be able to assess the different things a Neurosurgeon would be doing in a hospital, which would be helpful in me knowing how they are. This source is from a viable sponsor that gives veritable and trustable information to the neurosurgical area. It would give me an accurate description about neurosurgeons.

  6. "How To Effectively Shadow a Doctor as a Premed Student." The Medical School Headquarters. N.p., 24 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://medicalschoolhq.net/how-to-effectively-shadow-a-physician-as-a-premed-student/>. This is a credible source because it's derived from the medical School Headquarters, which is an upstanding derivation because it is centered around dispensing proper and precise information about medical school and things involving medicine. In this particular source it talks about how to effectively shadow as a pre-med student. This is helpful because it gives very proper information about how to shadow a doctor well, as a student. It says that one should shadow if they are trying to get knowledge and a closer look into the medical field, and also it says to expand horizons and go to different areas of the medical field to know what interest a person would have. It says how to shadow, where it talks about how a person should shadow a doctor consecutively for a couple of weeks, and really get insider experience about being a doctor. This helps me for my capstone because the plan would be to just shadow a doctor just once or a few times, over a spread out period, but it recommends to shadow the same doctor over a consecutive time frame, that's very helpful to me because i will grow a relationship with a physicians and really understand what it's like to be a physician. Also it tells how to act when shadowing, and the proper actions to go about, to be able to shadow. It also talks about how to maximize experiences when shadowing, whereas keeping a journal to catalogue key events and occurrences. This is helpful because I will really get a better sense of how to document my shadowing experience. Overall this is a very comprehensive and well written source.

  7. Becker, Christian. "Pre-Med Preparation: The Importance of Physician Shadowing - Student Doctor Network." Student Doctor Network. Coastal Research Group, 22 Mar. 2008. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.studentdoctor.net/2008/03/pre-med-preparation-the-importance-of-physician-shadowing/>. This is a very credible source because it is sponsored by the Student Doctor Network, which is an organizational and accredited online institution that talks about different aspects of medicine. It gives proper information. This source aids me in my capstone because it helps me have a good understanding of shadowing itself and shadowing physicians. It gives me good guidelines as to how to go about shadowing. It list times that are appropriate for shadowing and how to dress when shadowing. It also highlights the importance of shadowing physicians as a whole if one is trying to get into the medical field particularly. It says that a person should shadow a doctor to really get a better view of shadowing and it gives good credentials to applying to medical school, because of someone getting a closer inspection of hospital life and what it’s like to be a medical doctor.

  8. "University Academic Advising Center." Shadowing & Clinical Experience:. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.northwestern.edu/advising-center/extracurricular-opportunities/shadowing-clinical-experience.html>. This source gives valuable information about shadowing and clinical experiences. It relates shadowing to clinical experiences by pointing out that shadowing is important for people, especially students trying to become doctors, who would need that crucial type of experience. They also talk about how volunteering/shadowing at hospitals can be valuable experiences and help people. It talks about how one should be trying to establish a network of contacts to be able to better be able to shadow. It talks about the different opportunities available when trying to shadow, and programs involved in shadowing that can help people be able to shadow. This is a trustworthy source because it is from a University, and they are usually for educational purposes only, when dispersing information.

  9. "Shadowing & Faculty Mentors - Thomas Jefferson University." Shadowing & Faculty Mentors - Thomas Jefferson University. Thomas Jefferson University, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jefferson.edu/university/skmc/student-resources/student-affairs/career-counseling/shadowing.html>. I looked through all the catalogues on Jefferson University’s website about shadowing and their available shadowing programs and found several different shadowing shadowing programs that I could be able to participate in, in order to be able to shadow doctors. One of the programs I found, allows those interested to shadow doctors working in different departments, which is helpful to me because I’m trying to shadow in the Neurosurgical department. It gave me different resources that I could use to be able to shadow, and different contacts, a few of which I’ve obtained where I can start contacting that hospital to try to arrange a shadowing date and look for available shadowing times. It is a useful source because it’s from Jefferson University and the information used is only for educational purposes.

  10. "Medical Students Training Program - Shadowing Program - Penn Surgery." Medical Students Training Program - Shadowing Program - Penn Surgery. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/surgery/Education/medical_students/shadowing_program.html>. This is a credible source because it is from the University of Pennsylvania, and only gives out factual information for educational purposes. It talked about their shadowing program held there and the circumstances that are held with it. It talked about how there are set times for shadowing and how a person shadowing has to be when they are shadowing at the hospitals offered. There were several contacts under the page of doctors who are very willing to give office hours for students who are interested in becoming physicians. This is an extremely helpful source for me, because now I have a comprehensive list of surgeons who I can contact.

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