For my capstone, I created a podcast with a few SLA staff members to learn more about them as people and to emphasize the importance of a teacher and student relationship. My final product is two video podcast episodes. However, they were derailed a little due to me testing positive for COVID last week. I recorded two episodes, one with Mr. Lehmann and one with Ms. Gasser. My goal was to be able to learn more about their story and who they are beyond the classroom. The bonds that I have created with teachers are so special that I wanted to be able to show them through this podcast. I want to show how SLA is able to give students such a special space to be able to connect and feel comfortable with the teachers and staff. I want this to be able to be listened to by students, parents, alumni, and prospective students.

Below is my annotated bibliography, some pictures from recording the episodes, and the 2 official episodes of Teacher Talks!

I hope you enjoy!!

Thank you!!

— Max Blakelock

For my capstone project I started a prom committee so there would be decorations and a theme for the senior prom. This idea came to me during the summer last year and I thought it would be a really fun capstone project. Last year we didn’t get a junior prom due to covid and being online so I really wanted this to be the most memorable prom possible. I wanted to combine my love for planning and art through decorating to come up with a night to remember. I started off by making a presentation to pitch to Braskem in hopes of getting funds to decorate. It was a really amazing experience. In the following weeks to come I waited for news on whether or not I’d gotten the funds, and about 2 weeks later I was notified that I got the money I asked for and a mentor to help guide me. I’d meet with my mentor every once in a while depending on if I needed help. After this I started to plan meetings out for the committee. Unfortunately not too many people showed up the times I tried to have meetings so I ended up reaching out to my friends and other seniors that were interested in helping me with decorations. I already had a theme in mind from a “Prom decor” Pinterest board I made a while ago so it made it easier to decide. I also made a mood board of the things I ordered with the title “ An Enchanted Evening”. I also visited the venue to see where the decorations would go. There were some bumps in the road with the venue at times but everything worked out in the end. In addition to all this I also sent out a google form to gather songs from seniors so everyone could have at least one song they like played at prom. I’m still waiting for decorations to arrive but I have a plan for when they do and have support from friends, family, and other community members at SLA to help make this a memorable event for the seniors.

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iIrejrrhgggQ5e0f971yYgKd_hpzWu19axTV8dJWTGY/edit?usp=sharing

Powelton Village is a beautiful historic neighborhood located in the northern part of University City. It is also the neighborhood in which I grew up. Growing up, I have always been very close to my neighbors. The community that we have formed together over the years has been a very influential part of my life. While brainstorming how I wanted to capture the past four years, I immediately gravitated towards Powelton. There are many topics of interest that I could have focused my project on: from the history, to the architecture, to the people. When thinking about all of the unique stories that I could tell, I quickly realized that many of the names that came to mind were names of artists. And then the question hit me: Why are there so many artists in Powelton Village? This became my guiding question as I set out to make a documentary exploring and celebrating the diversity of talent condensed in this small region. I made three short individual profiles where each artist got a chance to share their backstory, their process, and to show off their work. Each one describes their own unique connection to Powelton and how the community and the region has influenced their art and their lives.

Here is a link to a website that I created to compile everything into one place: Artists of Powelton

Bibliography