My capstone was centered around blending my CTE engineering education and music experience to improve the SLA music spaces. I did this in two main parts; first by starting the SLA Rock Band and then subsequently improving the band room using direct feedback from the musicians using it. It was also important to me to get the SLA band involved in school events so that I could cement it as part of the community. I held rock band practice every Monday, and we played at both the SLA Game Show event and the SLA Art Show in the spring. We also collaborated with Juni’s capstone by playing several hours of music at the fundraiser.

For the engineering portion of my capstone, after playing with the band for a while and assessing what would be the most beneficial, I decided to focus on organization and simplifying the sound system process. Using funding from Braskem, I was able to organize the room using a pegboard and buy new equipment to fix and replace broken instruments. I created a binder to guide students that includes explanations about setting up for a performance, how to fix common issues they might encounter and a long list of song suggestions for future bands at SLA. Overall, my capstone renovated and created a friendly space where experienced musicians and new musicians can play together, as well as simplified the technical process of live music so students are capable and feel comfortable performing in SLA future.

• Below I have attached images of the pegboard I put up in the band room to organize new equipment, the guitars I was able to replace strings on and the secondhand bass we purchased with remaining Braskem funding.

Here is a picture from one of our three sets at Juni’s capstone event!

Here is a link to the information I left in a binder for the band room (to help guide future students):

Band Information

Here is a link to my annotated bibliography:

Annotated Bibliography

For my senior capstone project I adapted two 12V ride-on cars to make these devices more accessible for children with limited mobility, specifically children with cerebral palsy. This consisted of rewiring the built-in pedal circuit in the car to an easy access, external pressure-sensitive button that acted as the new accelerator. Simultaneously, I created a standardized adaptation process across most ride-on cars documented in a series of different academic and workshop-style media: instructional video, written instructions, and a mini-lesson slide deck teaching about accessible design that other CTE Engineering teachers in the School District of Philadelphia can use.

This project took a lot of planning, communication with my mentor and adaptation support network, and research to complete. The biggest thing that I learned when leading big design projects like this one is to always have multiple backup plans, anticipate miscommunications and setbacks, and thoroughly define the purpose of the project (aka the big takeaway you want audience to have).

The goal of my capstone is to help define what affordable assistive technology is in the scope of autonomous mobility in an easy-access and digestible format, increase awareness of the importance and impact of these devices, and inspire young engineers to consider a career in human-centered design, just as I was encouraged during a multitude of experiences throughout high school.