M's Animal Hospital

In the last unit of the Entrepreneurship class, we learned a lot about how business are created and where funding comes from. We got the chance to talk with the founder of purple asparagus and the director of 826CHI and ask them questions about their businesses and how they run. For this Action Project we were tasked with creating our own business. It was very difficult to come up with a lot of the information for this but since we had the entire span of this class to work on it, I was able to find my information overtime. Overall I am very proud of the way this came out, enjoy!

The Road To My Future In Law

In the last unit of the Endurance course, we looked into how survivors of an endurance battle came out on the other side. We looked into how they managed to get through and how they were able to come out alive on the other side. For the Action Project, we had to look at our own missions and goals and come up with a survival guide. I chose to take a path in law so I looked into the different things that go along with my mission. It was very difficult come up with some of the parts of the project. I am very proud of the way my project came out and I hope you enjoy. 

__________________________________________________________________

Why?

In my life, I hope to one day change the world. I want to be able to say once I am old that I was able to make a difference in the world. By becoming a lawyer, I will be able to do my best to make sure that no one will be treated unfairly. I really want to be able to not only change someone else’s life as well as my own. I know that with being lawyer I will be able to live comfortably and happy. I think that I have started my journey already by being able to shadow my uncle and see what life would be like. I hope to become someone that can happily say that they help others rather than just helping ourselves.

Lay of the Land

In order for me to become a lawyer, I would need to complete 7 years of study after high school. 4 years of undergraduate studies followed by 3 years of law school (My Future. N.D.). I will be attending University of Dayton for my undergraduate studies. For the 4 years I am there, I will have to take many classes in order to prepare me for the 3 years of law school that follow it. The legal profession requires basic knowledge of the government, as well as its history and processes. Courses in these subjects are advised, so I will have some understanding of the topics before you begin law school. These courses are usually reading-intensive, which is also great preparation for law school. The classes I would have to take are United States and world history, economics, Government, Jurisprudence, Law and/or taxation, and any political science. My legal education will build on writing, analytical thinking and public speaking skills, so courses that showcase my ability to excel in these areas will look good on my undergraduate transcript. The classes I have to take for that is debate, english, literature, logic, philosophy or public policy, public speaking, and writing. Some other helpful courses that I could take are criminology, psychology, sociology, and religion. (Michelle Fabio, 03/19/2017). While at Dayton, I will need to maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to keep my scholarships. When I have to start preparing for law school, I will have to start looking for more scholarships to help me pay for law school. If I maintain higher than the needed GPA to keep my scholarships, it will make my transcripts look better and potentially gain me more leverage to get more scholarships and get into a top law school.

There are many things needed in order to become a lawyer, I would need to earn a bachelor's degree in any subject. Then, I will have to take and pass the Law School Admission Test to attend law school and acquire a Juris Doctor.   Next, I will complete a clerkship at a local law firm to gain experience (optional). Finally I will take state Bar Examination and hopefully find a job at a firm. (Criminal Justice, 2012).

I have decided that I want to pursue criminal and civil rights law. There are millions of lawyers all around the world, there are so many people I can learn from. Law is a very serious and tough subject that requires a lot of time and dedication. There are so many different things that one can learn from lawyers. With the large amount of lawyers that exist in the world I can find thousands for each field of law. There are different things I can learn from different people in each field. In the case of law, there are overarching characteristics and traits that all lawyers follow, but when it comes to the specific sectors of law, I would be able to learn best from someone within the field.

Timeline:

1: Graduate from High School (2017)

2: Maintain 3.0+ throughout my 4 years of undergraduate study (2017-2021)

3: Graduate from College (2021)

4: Get into law school (2021)

5: Graduate from law school (2024)

6: Complete a clerkship at law firm (2025)

7: Take Bar Exam (2025)

8: Get job at firm (2026)

9: Make partner (2030)

10: Retire (2060)

Resources and Materials:

Undergraduate Study (University of Dayton): $229,480

Law School (NYU): 178,674

Bar Exam (NYC): $250

Non- Negotiables:

I think I would be willing to sacrifice the school I attend. I want to be able to get the best education I can and learn everything I can to become a good lawyer, if I have my heart set on one school and I don't end up getting in, I don't want to let that stop me from becoming a lawyer. I think that it really wouldn't matter what school I went to because at the end of the day I am there to learn as much as I can. I would not be willing to sacrifice my job as a lawyer. I am passionate about this and I don’t think I would be willing to give all of that up. I also would not sacrifice my happiness and well being. I think that wherever I end up working, I will need to be happy. I wouldn’t want to work at a place that was not benefitting to my well being because then all of the work I had done would have all been for nothing. I would want to work somewhere that I would be excited to go to every day rather than dreading it.

What if?

There are many setbacks that come with being a lawyer. With the economy and job market only getting worse, I am going to have to work incredibly hard to complete my goal. There are a few worst-case scenarios I could encounter. One could be me not getting enough scholarships to pay for law school or not getting in. Another setback I could experience would be me not getting a job once I was done with school. I think that if one of these things actually happens and I am forced to change my path, I would want to work for a non profit for animals or kids or something. I would work within the finances or something like that. Or I would work within their law division if they had one since I would have to degrees for it. I don't like to think of a backup plan because I want to think that I will not have to rely on a backup plan. I have been working extremely hard all my life and I want to be able to do what I am passionate about and something that I love to do. I want to do my best to help people in any way I can so if need be, if law school or something ends up not working then I still want to be able to complete my mission of helping people no matter what. However I will have to do it, I will do it.

Inspiration:

-You must keep your mind on the objective, not on the obstacle. – William Randolph Hearst

-Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass. ― Napoleon Hill

-Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

-If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents.

-Value what you know and start charging for it. – Kim Garst

-Either you run the day or the day runs you. – Jim Rohn

Map:

This is the structure of a law firm. One day I hope to become partner at a top law firm.

Your Choice:

My goal later in life is to one day own a big house with my family and finally be able to see that all of the hard work I have done all my life has paid off and that it was all worth it.

My Time as an Ambassador

Over this past school year, I have done many things to help and sell the school to people all around the city. I have participated in multiple open houses for perspective families as well as talking to the board about how this amazing school has given me so many great opportunities that I am so excited to take advantage of. Throughout the year I also had multiple perspective/incoming students shadow me to see a day in the life of a GCE student. Doing this week after week allowed me to branch out and become more responsible. I had to make sure I was talking up the school and I had to make sure the students were engaged and enjoying their day at GCE. This was a super cool opportunity I was given and I really enjoyed my time meeting new students that may one day attend school at this wonderful place. GCE is a big family and we are always growing so I am very happy that I was able to be a part of connecting these new students to our lovely school environment.

GCE. 2017

My Time in Law

In the second unit of the senior class Endurance, we looked more into Dante’s Inferno and talked about the 9 gates of hell. We looked into a lot of different people’s situations dealing with different physical issues. We talked about David Blaine and Laura Dekker and their very different journeys they took to complete their mission. For this Action Project, we were tasked with doing something for 12 hours that would lead to completing our overall mission. I decided to look into law and work with my uncle for 12 hours to see the different aspects of law and what an average day would look like. It was very difficult to complete this project since it was a lot but I think that I was able to overcome those obstacles and make a really good project.
_________________________________________________________________

Autobiography

In the first unit of Endurance, we talked all about other peoples experience enduring different physically and mental challenges. We also tried to endure some challenges ourselves. the first was sitting without moving or talking for 10 minutes, the next was holding ice in our hands for a minute, and the last one was doing a bootcamp with a karate teacher. For the Action Project, we were tasked with imagining our lives in the future and looking at the things we endured to get where we were. We had to write a chapter to an autobiography all about the experiences that led to out future. It was difficult to come up with how my future was going to look since it is so far away. I am happy with the way that my project came out.

___________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1: The Beginning

As I look around the courtroom at all of the people cheering and celebrating I smile knowing that I was a part of making history. The first transgender supreme court judge had just been sworn in. I look at all of the smiles throughout the room and think back to a time when I thought I would never be where I am today.

Growing up, the words “you can do it” were a part of everyday life. I heard them learning to walk, learning to ride a bike, before a soccer game, before a sprint, and many other milestones I passed throughout the years. When I started to get older, more obsitcles started getting in my way. It started small, teachers or other adults would start saying “let him do it.” or “don’t hurt yourself hun.” Throughout my high school and college years when I started getting serious about my career, the same thing started happeneing. Except this time people were telling me that I should “quit while I’m ahead” or that there “might not be enough room for you in this field.” As a biracial female, working in the law industry has not been easy. There has been countless times where I have had doors slammed in my face or been turned away from jobs that “were not for me”.

All my life I have wanted to help people. I love playing sports and was really into ones involving team work. Outside of school, I was occuying my time with playing sports, reading, and arguing with my cousins about silly things. I always dreamed that one day I would be a part of making history in some way shape or form. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school when I started coming up with an idea for my future. I knew where I wanted to eventually be, but I had no idea all of the stuggles and roadblocks I was about to face. Going through my undergraduate studies was easy. I attended a stellar university that I really enjoyed and hope to one day be able to return the favor by donating money. Once I moved on to my graduate studies, that’s when life became a little more difficult. Since I am a biracial woman, I was not taken very seriously by some of my classmates. Everyone knows about the pay gap between men and woman and how there is some discrimination towards black lawyers. When I started pursuing this dream, I was prepared to deal with all of those things, but I will admit, there were many times where I wanted to quit.

Production in the OC (continued)

In the last unit of Stage Chem, we dove farther into the idea of stages and the different aspects that go into creating one. We visited the Steppenwolf Theatre and got a chance to learn more about what goes into building a stage and we were also able to walk around a set for a show that just ended. For the Action Project, we were tasked with creating a stage using our blueprints from our first project from this class (you can view that here). We had to build the stage, create two moving pieces, and safety procedures that go along with it. It was difficult at first to come up with the two moving things I would use since my show doesn't really have a place for trap doors or anything like that. I really like the way that my stage ended up looking. Take a look down below!
___________________________________________________________________

This is the model of my stage. I used a scale in which 1 inch =  2 feet. In this stage I would be putting on a production of an episode of the popular tv show "Bob's Burgers". I recreated a section of their restaurant for this production. There are also a few features of this stage that move around to switch scenes.

MF. Model of Stage. 2017

The Movable Pieces: 

LEGO Deck:

For my production, there is a time during the show where time moves forward quicker than it should. I decided to use a moving deck and have one of the actors ride it across the stage with a sign that shows the time passing. I thought that this would be the most efficient and organized way to do this. The actor will ride across the stage from wing to wing.

MF. Moving Deck. 2017

My deck weighs 5 lbs which is 22.2411 Newtons. In order for the deck to move across the stage, there needs to be a force of 25 newtons pushing it across the stage. The deck has to be pushed 15 meters. In order to find out how much work would need to be done to push it 15 meter I used the equation Work = Force x Distance. When I put my numbers in, I got the following:

Work = 22.2411N x 15m = 333.6165 J.

MF. Force Diagram. 2017

Moving Deck

Down below there are some safety precautions for the crew to follow during the production. 

• All crew should be cautious not to step on the deck.
• Stow deck properly when not in use to avoid accidents. 
• Before the actor goes across the stage on the deck, make sure there is a perfectly clear path.

MF. Safety Sign. 2017

Retractable Tables and Benches:

For my production, the story takes place in both a restaurant and a living room. I built the main part of the stage as the dinner style since a majority of the play would take place there but for the small part of the production that takes place in the living room, I decided that taking the time to move sets completely just for a small portion would be unreasonable and time consuming. The booths and tables inside the restaurant fold up into the wall to create space to put in some small set furniture.

MF. Moving Deck. 2017.

Down below there are some safety precautions for the crew to follow during the production. 

•  Be careful when lifting the tables and booths, they are very heavy.
• Make sure to properly secure the tables and booths to the wall. 
• Authorized crew members only. 

MF. Safety Sign. 2017

Reflection:

While creating this AP, I came across a few minor struggles. It was difficult to decide how I was going to build my stage while also having moving pieces included. I had a lot of ideas going into this project that I soon realized would not end up being possible based on the time and equipment I had. Another problem that I came across was finding a way to include those two moving pieces and figuring out the best way to execute it. I finally decided to just use a skateboard-like deck as well as having the booths and tables fold up into the wall in order to have more room to switch scenes. I enjoy building models and designing spaces so this project allowed me to easily play to my strengths to create something I was proud of. I think that this project was very fun and I was able to be creative with the way that I wanted to stage my production.

Production in the OC

In the first unit of stage chemistry, we looked at the basics behind creating a production. We talked a lot about lighting, different types of stages, seating, and other amenities that come with theaters. We referenced different theaters that we have been to and looked at the differences between them. For the Action Project, we were tasked with choosing a space and a story that we would like to make into a production. We then had to look at different amenities that our space had that was bennifical to the audience as well as the artists. It was difficult at first to choose where I wanted my show to take place since there were so many options, but I am glad that I ended up using the OC.

_____________________________________________________________

MF. OC. 2017

I chose to build my theater right inside the GCE location. I chose to use this space because it is a great size and the layout of the room was perfect for my production of Bob's Burgers. Since my production takes place in a restaurant and a house, having the square size room worked very well. I used a proscenium stage because I felt like, with the restaurant theme, the audience would feel like they were sitting in the restaurant with the actors. 

This idea was very easy to bring to life because the room is in a space that I have access too. I was able to easily gather my measurements and figure out the way that my stage could look. I chose to use this space because I was also able to use other rooms that are connected to the OC. I was able to use the cafe as a lounge and backstage area, while it looks crowded with all of the tables inside of it, when removed, the space is the perfect fit for a backstage area. The purple crates can be used for prop storage, they are right near the door to enter the stage so it would be helpful for them to have everything they need for the show easily accessible. People can stay in the cafe until it is their turn to be on stage and they will have easy access to the stage.

There were not very many difficulties with this space. The only one that was a small disadvantage was the lighting. The OC has large glass windows that have no shades on them so the lighting is very hard to control. If I were to do this project over again I would try and use another location that has better lighting so that I can control it.

Goodman Theater: My Theater: %

Area of Stage: 4000 sq ft 140.25 sq ft 3.5%

Maximum Capacity: 856 people 35 people 4.08%

Box Office: 20 sq ft 200 sq ft 10%

Lobby: 1912.5 sq ft 486 sq ft 25.4%

Prop Storage: 525 sq ft 212.5 sq ft 40.4%

Concessions: 168.75 sq ft 200 sq ft 118.5%

SWOTting FE's at GCE

In the last unit of the senior STEAM course Systems and Models, we looked into peoples motivation to do things. We talked about Maslows Heirchy of Needs and how that plays into the motivations people have to do things in their lives. We watched a lot of TED talks and TED drawing episodes that explained where peoples motivations come from and how they appear. For the Action Project in this unit we were tasked with choosing an aspect of GCE and using SWOT to explain the good and bad things about it. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For my project I chose to look into FE's at GCE. It was difficult at first to come up with all of my SWOT sections but at the end I am very proud of the way my project turned out. Check out my project below.
__________________________________________________________________




For my SWOT, I decided to examine the field experiences or “FE’s” that my school has. Field Experiences are sort of like field trips except they have more of a purpose. Our FE’s are trips we take in order to learn more about what our teacher has been teaching us. We get to meet with people who work closely with what it is we are studying. They allow us to hear another voice on the things we are learning in class.

Looking at something that is not a physical thing, thinking about the Commons (a shared resource that is freely accessible” for FE’s can be difficult. The resources that are used to make the connections for FE’s come from many different places. According to my teacher AMD “Some FE plans are brought in from previous years and previous successes. Sometimes we have one-of-a-kind opportunities, and lastly we rely on connections from our previous careers and relationships, people that the staff knows, people that parents/students recommend, and sometimes even just sending an email out cold, hoping that someone replies.” When teachers make or find connections for their class, they will often bring them to all of the teachers so they can possibly use them as well if it fits with their class. At the same time however, if no one can find any connections at all there is no starting point for any class. If that is the case then the class will just stay in the school on that Wednesday and work on something else.

The tragedies from the Commons relate to my threats and my weaknesses from my SWOT chart. FE’s sometimes fall through which can be very harmful to the teacher and the students. If an FE is planned and the group makes the trip to the site and it ends up being canceled, that's an entire class period gone because of poor communication between the guest and the instructor. Another big weakness is when the FE isn’t what it was expected to be. When that happens then the students are not engaged and it turns into more of just a random field trip. A friend of mine LS talks a bit about that. He says that “Occasionally, there are some FE's that don't fulfill the intended goal. If an FE just ends up being a presentation given to the students for hours on end, it fails to engage the students in their learning. These kinds of FE's become boring for students and don't excite us and make us want to learn more.” When the trips end up being disappointing, this can cause issues with action projects if an FE was important in order to complete part of the project.

Another threat that comes from outside forces is when we go places where there are other schools in attendance. Every term we as a school go to see a play at the Goodman Theater. We are not the only school that does this there are many other schools who attend these plays as well. Since FE’s have to be connected to the class, before we go to see the play, our instructors connect an aspect of the play to their class whether it be actual dialogue or the set in which the play is on. We will usually get work associated with it that we will have to do for homework. Once the play is over, the actors will come out on stage and all of the students have an opportunity to ask questions. Since there are a lot of other schools there, sometimes our questions don't get answered and instead a student from another school will just ask a question as a joke when GCE students had an actual question about the play.

Since the beginning of GCE almost 7 years ago, FE’s have been an important part of the curriculum. FE’s were something that was broadcasted when interested students were looking to apply. RD, a classmate of mine, says that she “likes FE's because they prove that what we're learning is actually important. If it wasn't, then there wouldn't be places to visit about that class.” FE’s are something that students like and want to have around. It gives them another voice that they can use to understand the material in more depth.

There are a lot of opportunities that come to and from FE’s. There are a lot of people within GCE that have different connections and friends and family members who may know something about what students are studying in the different classes in GCE. This allows teachers to always have some kind of connection to a possible FE. As well as having staff with connections, there are also tons of parents and students who can make connections. GCE is a very open community which gives students and parents a voice to help make classes work better.

When thinking about how FE’s play in with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, physiological is a big thing. FE’s require groups to travel all around the city. While this is a great way for students to see different parts of the city, it can sometimes take a long time to travel places. Sometimes travel time can take up half if not more of the designated time which causes students to get tired which can also end up causing an FE to go poorly. Self- Actualization is something that is really great that can come from FE’s. While on these trips, students are able to make potential connections themselves for internships or jobs in the future. These trips also play a big role in the esteem category from the hierarchy of needs. When students are able to connect a trip to a personal experience or something that allows them a sense of accomplishment. HT, another teacher of mine says that “The top success from an FE is when a student without prompting from the teacher can find a correlation between the course and the FE, deeper than that when a student can see how the FE is a solution to something that has been talked about in class.” Safety is never really an issue with any of the trip sites, the group take public transportation there and that is the only time where a student may feel unsafe. The trip sites are never in any unsafe neighborhoods and the students are always with at least two teachers. The section about belongness and love can be demonstrated by FE’s when students are able to go on these trips with their fellow classmates which allows students to become better friends and work together.

When it comes to thinking of a solution I thought of it from a systems approach. While there are a lot of good things that come from FE’s there are also those weakness and threats that come from them as well. While FE’s are very important to the curriculum, certain times classes will only end up going on one or two FE’s because teacher end up not planning any FE’s for the units. According to HT when asked if she thought FE’s were vital in order for the curriculums to work “Field experience are the biggest selling point of GCE, our slogan is broken down the walls between the classroom and the world” and we can’t do that unless we go out into the world. We want young people to be able to solve the problems in the world so they need to be able to experience things. It also allows students to gain communication skills and learn how to network which will come up later in life.” When a teacher is unable to schedule an FE, students will have those 3 hours to to do whatever work the teacher comes up with.

I-O psychologically is another way to think about FE’s. I-O is used to study different issues in workplaces areas dealing with people, teams, and organizations. This can play into FE’s when thinking about the different organizations GCE is connected with for FE’s. While also connecting FE’s with things they are learning about in class, FE’s are also a way for students to learn different skills. HT says that “FE’s allow students to gain communication skills and learn how to network which will come up later in life.” This interaction that comes from students talking to different people all around the city allows every party to see how they deal with different people.

The ultimate solution I came up with was that FE’s are a vital part to GCE curriculum and currently there is too little prep time. Lots of classes have not gone on as many FE’s as the teachers and students had hoped and I think that needs to change. I think that there should be some kind of base created where people (teachers and students) can put information on possible connections for different classes. Having this will allow teachers to always have a large variety of opportunities and choices to set up FE’s with. Overall, FE’s are very important and have been working well for GCE for almost 7 years, in order for them to keep working, everyone needs to do their best to help out and find different connections that can be used to create great field experiences for years to come.


Works Cited:

McLeod, Saul. "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Simply Psychology. Simply Psychology, 16 Sept. 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

"What Is I-O?" Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2017. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

AMD. Personal Interview. 2017.

HT. Personal Interview. 2017.

LS. Personal Interview. 2017.

RD. Personal Interview. 2017.

The Year 2117

In the last unit of the senior humanities course “Equality” we talked a lot about race, gender, and class. We looked into a lot of different aspects of each of these things including feminism, poverty, etc. For the action project we were tasked with completing a few things. We had to choose one topic to create different pieces of writing for. I chose to create my AP around race. We had to write an Op-ed piece, a newspaper article, a government document, and design a toy. It was difficult to come up with a couple of the pieces but I am very proud of the way my action project turned out. Check out my time capsule down below.

______________________________________________________________

First Black Woman President Is Voted Into Office

Written by: MF

Today in the United States, history has officially been made. Everyone recalls back in 2008 when Barack Obama won the election and made history as the first male black president the United States had ever seen. Since then there have been a couple other male black presidents but never an African American woman, now this has officially been changed. Suzanna Thomas has officially been named the next president of the United States.

Born in Albany, New York, Thomas always knew that she wanted to be involved in politics. From being the president of student council in elementary school to becoming her senior class president, Thomas has already done so much for her community. She started to political journey back in 2109 when she became the mayor of new york city. Since then she has done many things to better the city of new york. When the great trash dump of 2110 happened, she was right there picking up trash and finding a solution.

Sam Johnson, the outgoing president of the U.S., speaks very highly of Thomas. He says that “She is completely qualified if not over qualified. I have complete faith in her and I guarantee that the country will benefit with her as our president.” Johnson and Thomas have had many meetings and Johnson has openly campaigned for Thomas.

With only a few months until she takes office, Thomas has vowed to spend her time on trying to change opposing voters minds about her. “I just want to show them that I was the right decision. I want them to see that I will be doing everything in my power to make America work for everyone rather than just the rich.” Voters like Henry Irwin were a bit hesitant to vote Thomas into office. In a street side interview with Irwin, he stated that he “doesn’t want America to fall into so much debt like it did with President Donald Trump and President Hillary Clinton. I just want to have enough money to be able to pay for my family. I don't want to have to start paying unnecessary bills and taxes again. I just want to be able to provide for my family.”

Thomas says she is up for the challenge and ready to go head on for the next four years. She will take office in January along with her husband and 3 children. This will be an interesting 4 years, all of America is hoping that Thomas can stick true to her promises and make America equal again.
_______________________________________________________

35th Amendment to the US Constitution:

It shall be unlawful to prevent women from getting an abortion. They no longer need any consent from a man. If a woman is raped or just does not wish to have a child, it is unlawful to try to prevent her from doing what she has a right to do.
________________________________________________________

Dear Editor,

I am thrilled that Suzanna Thomas has been elected president. As a black woman growing up in New York I always looked up to her and wanted to someday be like her. I was just barely old enough to vote i the primary and I am so thrilled that I got to be a part of this monumental moment in our country. I think that Thomas will stick true to her promises unlike the likes of Donald Trump and Hillary. I learned a lot about these terrible 8 years in history class. After Hillary won the election over Trump, many people had high hopes for her. They thought she would stick to her promises about helping the lower class instead of catering to the upper class like Trump did. They were extremely upset when they realized she was just like him. My grandma told me stories that her mother told her about Trumps reign. She told me that a lot of her friends at her high school started disappearing, either because of getting deported or they ran to get away from Trump's immigration law. She thought Clinton would do everything in her power to right the wrongs that Trump committed but unfortunately she just fed the fire of terror. There was so much pain in those 4 years, she never thought we would get out of it.

Now there is a light at the end of the tunnel with Suzanna. I just know that she will right all of these wrongs from the past years. She is someone who I have always idolized and who I want to try to be like when I get older. I am also very interested in politics and I have dreamed of one day being the president of the united states later in my life. I went to as many of her rallies and speeches as I could on the campaign trail. Everyone enjoyed having her as the mayor of New York, I know that everyone will love having her as the president. All of the people who are skeptical just need to give her a chance and I promise they will have a change of heart.

Sincerely,

Mandy Moore
________________________________________________________

Introducing the newest addition to the Barbie ™ family:

Suzanna Thomas: The Current President of the United States!

MF. 2017.

Suzanna comes with a lot of incredible features. She is able to talk and says many things including her campaign slogan “Make America Equal Again” White House, alternate outfits sold separately.

Short Term Memory: How Does it Work?

In the second unit of the senior STEAM course: Systems and Models, we went away from looking at ourselves and looked at big groups of people and how they work. We looked into the way that these groups work together, the way they are structured, who runs them, etc. For the Action Project in this unit, we were tasked with coming up with a topic and a question that we could do a experiment on. I chose to do an experiment on short term memory. Something that was difficult for me was actually creating the project since there is so much writing. I am very proud of the way my project turned out, take a look at it down below.

Chicago Teachers Union

In the first unit of the senior course Equality, we looked at equality in gender, class, race etc. We looked into all of the times where sexism and racism had an impact on our world. For the action project, we were tasked to pick a topic that deals with race, gender, class, occupation, etc.  and write a chapter of a history book on it. I chose to talk about the Chicago Teachers Union strikes. Something that was difficult was picking out my topic. There were so many that I wanted to do but I am glad that I chose the CTU. I am very proud of my project.

A Self Portrait

In the first unit of the STEAM course Systems and Models we talked a lot about ourselves and the type of people we are. We took a bunch of different types of personality tests and really dove deep into who we are as people. For the Action Project in this unit, we were tasked with creating our own self portrait and write an artists statement. We had to create our own portrait and we could use any medium we wanted. I decided to use photography as my medium. I think that the easiest part of this project was picking a medium and executing the portrait. I really enjoy photography so it was cool to be able to play around with the photos for a project. The most difficult thing was choosing what the picture was going to be of. Over all I am very happy with my project.

_____________________________________________________________

MF. ME. 2017.

The title of my portrait is “The Life of M”. I chose to use photography as my medium. My photo is an average 4’11 size when printed. My self portrait is a depiction of me and and everything that I enjoy in life. The top of my head from the bridge of my nose and up is pictured with other things I enjoy around me at the top of the photograph. My photograph shows me in the present time. It sheds light on the things that I like in my life and the things that help me stay happy. There are no other people in my photograph but the small things that represent me ties the girl in the photo (me) to my life.

In my photo I included the the enneagram test (I am a 7). I represented this by hiding a 7 above my head. I also included the Myers Briggs test. I represented this by including some things that resemble and extrovert as well as the word extrovert. I decided to include these two because they are rather similar but they also have differences. I think that my greatest quality is how outgoing I am. I am always up to do whatever and want to make life as fun as possible. I knew that placing the little things that represent my life in the background would bring some connection to that but, I wanted to be more direct with it so that people would be able to get a better understanding of the person I am. I wanted people to be able to understand why I took the photo instead of talking about the photo itself. I was given examples of this in my interview with Charlie Jensen. He told me that he “writes all of his artist statements for his work through my heart. I let that move my hands around the keyboard. I don’t only write about the art I did, I write about what made me want to capture the photo.”

In my project I wanted to look at the experiment that talked about how award winners live longer than the people that lose. Throughout that article is talks about how social status and high self esteem is something that everyone wants. I can see that in myself because although I have pretty high self esteem most of the time, there are times during the day where I doubt myself a little bit. Reading through this experiment helped me realize that self esteem issues are something that everyone faces and the fact of the matter is people need to realize their self worth to move forward and have a happy life. Another study I looked at was the Stanford Prison Experiment. The guards treated the prisoners very poorly because the power went to their head. Most of the people that played the guards had dominant personalities and, according to the DISC test I have a very dominant personality. I think that when people with that type of personality are placed in a place of power that title can cause them to make bad decisions. I think that when people with that personality are around others with the same personality in that type of situation, they can egg each other on to the point where it gets out of hand.

I chose to do a photograph because photography is something that has always been a part of my life. Since this project was a “self” portrait, I wanted to show myself and the things in my life. I chose to do this in this way because I think that it was a good way to represent myself. I want people to be able to understand the kind of person I am. I want people to feel like they know me better than they might already. I want them to be able to see things that I enjoy and the kinds of things that make me happy.

The road to creating this photo was long. I initially had to choose my medium which ended up being the easiest thing in this process because I have loved photography for a long time. After that I thought for a few days about how my photo would look. Would I be in it? Would I edit it? Once I felt solid on my idea I just had to execute it. I had to make sure everything was i the right places so that it looks natural. I think that was probably the hardest part of this entire process. I wanted to pick and choose the right objects behind me in the photo that would best represent me and what my life is. I think that this is now one of my favorite photos because it turned out exactly as I’d hoped and I think it’s a perfect representation of me.