Capstone - Bey - Wed — Science Leadership Academy @ Center City

Amirah Bolling Capstone

Posted by Amirah Bolling in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 11:05 am

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.

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

Brittany Atkinson Capstone

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 9:46 am

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.

Carolyn Borock Capstone

Posted by Carolyn Borock in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 9:05 am

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

Posted by Gabrielle Smullen in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 8:37 am

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.

Annotated Bibliography

Eamon Kelly Capstone

Posted by Eamon Kelly in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 7:24 am

*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.

LINK TO ONE OF THE EPISODES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_XW35D_qPo&feature=youtu.be

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

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.

Javier Peraza Capstone

Posted by Javier Peraza in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 10:27 pm

For my Capstone I decided to write a twenty-four part novella to reflect on and hone my skills in writing. I aspire to be a published writer one day and I thought doing a writing piece for my Capstone would not only give me practice with long pieces of writing but also allow me to discover who I am as a writer. Every part (or chapter) came out to be approximately 5,000 words each. I say "part" instead of "chapter" just because my novella is not broken into chapters but rather parts that can be read out of chronological order. When writing something so extensive your process is very tedious. Some parts I spent months on because revisions were hefty. I revised the first part at least seven times, and not just small grammar mistakes. The first part actually went through seven full out structure changes, each one making the story read differently than the last. As of now, I am still undecided on which structure works best for setting the scene of my novella. It is something I can reflect on over the summer. Although I did learn a lot about what I was capable of as a writer, I learned more about what my true work ethic was. I saw when I worked best and learned how to know how much I could get done before even starting. I also taught myself to sit still long enough to put at least 3,000 words on paper at a time. In the end, I am more confident as a writer and have this enduring obstacle under my belt. Please enjoy part 2 of my novella which is attached below.

Kristina's Captsone

Posted by Kristina Scalia-Jackson in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 10:11 am

How does it feel to be hungry on the streets of Philadelphia? I went into this 80 hour journey with a plan to just feed the homeless; expecting to see the superficial effects of street life through appearances. I expected everyone in need walking by to accept the offered water, take an extra napkin, welcome a warm meal. I never imagined pride becoming such a motivating factor behind who accepted the meal and who didn’t.

My capstone centered around homelessness; even those too prideful to admit they need a hand. I originally planned to open the SLA doors and host the “soup kitchen” in our cafe on a lonely Saturday morning. With some help, I budgeted how much money I would need in order to feed an estimated shelter. It wasn’t cheap; so I fundraised through the SLA community as much as I could before the big event.

That big event was unfortunately pushed back a while, leaving me room to explore more shelters and central ideas behind my capstone. I started to develop an outside mentor, one who has a heavy foot in the recovering addict community. He helped me acknowledge why some people end up on the streets, and why some people are hesitate in lending a hand.

We reached out to shelters in Kensington area, local to his rooming home for men and women suffering with substance abuse issues. We spread the word that there would be warm lunches available on Saturday. Spreading the word became easy; people in the rooming home started telling friends and the turnout was great.

"Www.phillyvetshouse.org." Philadelphia Veterans House. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016

This source represents more than just a webpage. The philadelphia veteran house was one of the original shelters i reached out too; completely lost on how to bring my capstone to life. I originally thought I would have to scrap them as they have a volunteer application process and deadline, but they were still able to provide me plenty of information about veterans in our area.

Through their website and telephone communications, I was able to get an understanding of how volunteers begin their process. This source allowed me to keep in contact with them for questions, concerns and help spreading the word.

"Wish List." Philadelphia Veterans House. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

This section of the Philadelphia Veteran House was extremely helpful throughout this whole process. As simple as it sounds, by listing all the supplies they use and need donations of on a daily basis, I was able to gauge what supplies was really necessary for me to ask for. Having such a successful guide also helped me compile a “wish-list” of my own to pass along to the Community Involvement Club. There were many times google searches for supply lists needed for a soup kitchen stretched 4 pages long, while this one listed necessary and realistic supplies I should aim to buy.

Volz, Cat. "What Does It Feel like to Be Homeless and Poor in America?"What Does It Feel like to Be Homeless and Poor in America? Quora, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

I stumbled upon this source miraculous, simply looking for more accurate supplies list. Not knowing what food is appropriate to serve and what is not, I searched for actual experiences. This source gave a tremendous first hand encounter on how it was to be on the streets- for the exact minute she was able to get off. This opened up a whole other door to my capstone leaving me to ask much bigger questions about who I was truly appealing too. Having this inside knowledge I was able to brainstorm ways to incorporate her feelings into how I both presented my capstone and spoke about it.

"Facts on Homelessness." Project HOME. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

This source was different than what I was used too, which helped me put some things into perspective. Majorly a statistics page, it offered insight into homelessness nationwide, even narrowing into veterans. By going in depth about the homelessness rates fluctuation, I was able to examine any outside factors effecting that change. The source also offered useful information about what population of our nation is homelessness, ie. their age and sex. It even discuss possible causes of homelessness, which in itself suggests ways to fix the system. This simple source also offers statistics specific to Philadelphia, and whether they are sheltered or unsheltered.

Leal, Daniel, Marc Galanter, Helen Dermatis, and Laurence Westreich. "Correlates of Protracted Homelessness in a Sample of Dually Diagnosed Psychiatric Inpatients." Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 16.2 (1999): 143-47. National Coalition for the Homeless. Web. 17 May 2016.

As my capstone shifted away from veterans, I developed a new focus area for homelessness. The addiction community is heavily scrutinized while also being heavily judged. My outside mentor is certified in the addiction field, but he dealt with recovering addicts. This source gives information about the substance abuse effects on homelessness and how it differs from the average homeless person. This source was very useful because it also paired with other coexisting issues besides substance abuse. Besides explaining how the addiction cycle could lead to homelessness very easily, the source gives background to how the state is involved in limiting addict homelessness.

"Overdose Deaths Among Homeless Persons." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 May 2016.

This source discusses the effects of substance abuse in homelessness. This source specifically overviews the different substances that may be abused so much to the point of overdosage. This source made me do a double take because at first it seemed unreliable. Despite being a .gov and seemingly trusting website, I was hesitate to trust the information on this particular page; I had nothing to verify this data was accurate. But after researching more on the National Institute on Drug Abuse website I feel more confident that is is a trustworthy source. This source is helpful with understanding the effects of homelessness; even if that person is an addict.

Zalot, Morgan, and Vince Lattanzio. "Homeless Youth: A Silent Epidemic."NBC 10 Philadelphia. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

This source is extremely different from the previous ones my research has been based off of. This article was published by NBC 10 News, regarding the dangerous epidemic on homelessness in youth. After reading this article a few time I was not going to reference it because of the person nature the author wrote the article in to try and engage your sympathy and concern. It seemed forced, or like it was fitting into an image. But as I read the comments and reread the person accounts, I realized the author succeeds in using these youths to make a point.

Hughes, Ryan. "Kensington Sees Largest Increase of Homeless Individuals during 2015 Count." Philadelphia City Paper. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

This source gets very specific about homelessness in the Kensington Philadelphia area. This source discussing the dramatic rate increase that Kensington experienced for its homeless citizens and suggests people may not want to even go into a city shelter. Since this article is so short, I was not originally going to cite it. But the discussion on the homeless not wanting to go into city shelters sparked my interest for further research and became a very useful source. The personal accounts, and empathize on their polite attitude, became extremely useful in mentor conversations. It provoked conversations about living conditions for homeless; there is a major difference between shelters and housing.

Mago, Vijay K., Hilary K. Morden, Charles Fritz, Tiankuang Wu, Sara Namazi, Parastoo Geranmayeh, Rakhi Chattopadhyay, and Vahid Dabbaghian. "BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making." Analyzing the Impact of Social Factors on Homelessness: A Fuzzy Cognitive Map Approach. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

On first glance, this source seemed great. It had every analysis of societal impact on homelessness, and vice versa. As I read through this source, I realized a lot of the information was fluffed up. This source went in depth with the government's impacts on homelessness, whist including graphs to backup all data referenced. This gave me confidence in the source as each important statistic had another reference point to back it up. The source was also useful because of the explanatory graphs that connected to the text. At times there were some extremely statistic things, strictly formulas, but otherwise it the source was beneficial.

Sands, Jim, and Jill Atkey. "Homelessness." SpringerReference (n.d.): n. pag. Nov. 2009. Web. 17 May 2016.

This source is beneficial on almost every page. Instead of deeply analysing the societal effects of homelessness, this source depicts how homelessness affects everyone, not just the homeless. This has to do with mental illness, troubled/misunderstood youth, substance issues and many more important factors. The source becomes extremely useful as they examine different forms of homelessness. This is the most relatable source I have found as it does not try and sugar coat the impacts of homelessness, rather simply explains how certain factors impact each other. This source also uses many visuals to back up their cited facts, giving me confidence in their reliability.

Desmond O'Donovan Capstone

Posted by Desmond O'Donovan in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Monday, May 16, 2016 at 2:25 pm

For my Capstone I conducted a survey of birds in the two Wissahickon Valley Meadows (Houston and Andorra), during the fall and spring migrations. I posted the survey results on a blog so that people could see what birds were passing through the meadows. This served as scientific data, and a reference for bird enthusiasts. I went to the two meadows on a weekly basis to count individual birds. I recorded their specific locations in the meadow, as well age, sex and the size of their flocks. At the end of each migration, I created spreadsheets accounting for each species, and each individual bird seen. This data showed how common each species was, and when they were seen. I learned about what types of birds pass through the area, and how many. I also learned more about birding and surveying. I learned about diversifying my surveys, going in different types of weather and different times of day to get a broader range of data. I learned about the birds themselves, their habits and behaviors, as well as how to better identify them. I learned how to distinguish the sexes and ages of certain species. I hope that this data can benefit the Wissahickon, and the people that bird there.

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Term: 2015-16

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