For my Capstone project, my partner Sebastian Torres and I organized a school-wide basketball tournament at SLA, aiming to foster school spirit and community engagement. We planned a bracket-style event where student teams would compete, with the top teams facing teachers in a Student vs. Teacher game, alongside field day-style activities, a concession stand, and music to enhance the atmosphere. Throughout the process, I researched best practices for event organization, focusing on logistics, participation, and crowd management, especially given the challenge of a broken gym divider. We tried to collaborate with the NHS for event promotion, used flyers and Google Forms to recruit participants and helpers, and worked closely with staff to secure a date and resources, including a trophy for the winners. Although unforeseen scheduling conflicts prevented the event from taking place, the planning process taught me the importance of communication, flexibility, and accountability in large-scale projects. I learned that building a sense of belonging and school pride requires thoughtful organization and collaboration. Reflecting on the experience, I am proud of the structure and outreach of our project and believe it set a foundation for future community-building events at SLA.

Link to guide/bibliography: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ML_UT9yrwonRS_1Vdo5m6CvHYr9UPfd3?usp=drive_link