SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT - PART 1.
Explain in detail your topic choice. Why did you choose this topic? What are some of the key points you discovered in your research? Who did you interview? What did you learn from the interview? How have you changed? How can the community benefit from your findings?
I chose to do my Senior Seminar project on Greyhound Rescue. My project focused on how people use greyhounds for entertainment purposes at the greyhounds’ expenses. Ever since I was a little girl I had always wanted a greyhound and my parents said no every single time I asked. Greyhound Rescue is a project worldwide that helps to take retired racing dogs and put them into loving family homes. Through my research I found the reasons behind the necessary action of re-homing these dogs; greyhounds are brutally killed when they could no longer bring money into the racing industry. From birth, a greyhound is raised to be one of two things; a racing dog or a breeding dog. These dogs are mentally and physically abused during their lives at the kennel compounds as well as the tracks. They are forced to live in kennels that are too small with nothing more than shredded newspaper and are fed cheap and diseased meat. Most of their lives are spent in kennels in unsanitary conditions and they are rarely shown any love; they are more prone to being violently hit and swung at than be given a hug and a treat. There are many things that can end a greyhound’s racing career. Everything from broken bones, compound fractures or even something as small as a scrape can end a career. Sometimes the greyhound doesn’t even have to have an injury; if they greyhound in general just hasn’t been doing well in races by either pulling up or not finishing they will be killed. It costs money to race and care for greyhounds and industry owners are greedy folks, they don’t want to spend thousands taking care on injured greyhounds that can never race again because they will be losing profit. Greyhounds are considered commodities in the racing industry; disposable whenever seen fit, especially once their career has ended. The greyhounds are killed in horrific ways; they can be beaten, drowned, shot, kicked, starved, and sold to animal experimentation labs before they finally die. When a greyhound gets rescued however, they are given a second chance at life. Most rescued greyhounds become the laziest and lovable dogs ever. They are commonly referred to as the 40MPH couch potato because of their amazing ability to get up to sprinting speed really quickly. To learn more about the topic and how to help rescue greyhounds, I visited Northern Greyhound Adoptions (NGA) in Georgia, VT. I interviewed Sue Gerry and I got to see two of the greyhounds that NGA still had up for adoption; Conan and Karma. Karma was a beautiful black puppy that was wicked shy until she got to know you. Both Conan and Karma were adopted within that week right before NGA got another shipment of rescued greyhounds. I was also extremely happy with the fact that NGA gives every greyhound that comes through a stuffed animal; it’s something for the greyhound and no one will try to take it away similar to the aspect of a child having a security blanket. To become an adoptive parent, you have to pass a background and home check with anyone who lives there- if you pass you can now be the new proud parent of a greyhound. From doing all my research to playing with Karma and Conan, I haven’t changed much. I’ve always been a dog lover and advocate for their rights and this project just helped fuel the fire. It bothers me most of the time now to go out and see dogs of any kind in kennels because I always get a feeling of guilt as I leave knowing they are stuck at a shelter. Dogs will always have a special place in my heart and I think that can be the same for just about anyone. The community can definitely benefit from my research; especially if you just want a friend to come home too after a long day of school or work. Greyhounds don’t generally make good attack dogs which is why they can be perfect family dogs.
ReplyDeleteFor my topic I chose to research high sugar diets. This was a topic of interest for me because I felt that people are aware that sugar is bad for them, but they don’t know exactly what the harmful effects are. I wanted to pick a topic that was interesting to me and could be helpful for the community. I found this topic interesting because the harmful effects of sugar are based in science, my favorite subject. By educating people on the harmful effects of high sugar diets I am helping people be more conscientious of what they should or shouldn’t be eating.
ReplyDeleteWhile researching I discovered that when someone eats high sugar foods dopamine is released in the brain. This is the same effect that addictive drugs have on the brain. This effect has caused thousands of people to become addicted to sugar. The reason this occurs is because of evolution. Our brains are hardwired to seek out high energy foods. This is because our ancestors needed to convert these high energy foods into fat to be stored and used as energy during long cold winters. Now this gene has a negative effect because high sugar foods are easily accessible.
I interviewed Jennifer May. She is an outpatient oncology dietitian at the UVM Medical center. One of the key points I learned from her is that when someone eats high sugar foods they are likely not getting any other nutrients. High sugar foods are just empty calories with little to no nutritional value. She also stressed that there is room for sugar is a balanced diet. As long as someone doesn’t overconsume they can still be healthy.
I have changed because now I am much more aware of how much sugar I shouldn’t be eating. I check nutrition labels to see how much sugar I am eating. I also know that once I become less active if I eat a lot of sugar the harmful effects (build up at visceral fat, increased blood sugar) will occur. Having this awareness will help me, especially in the future.
The community can benefit from my findings because having awareness about the harmful effects of sugar can help people be more healthy. Having awareness is the first step towards change. If people know that they aren’t helping their bodies by eating a lot of sugar they will be more motivated to change.
For my final project I explored organ and tissue donation because it has directly impacted several people I am close to. I have a heart condition and because of it I have met others with conditions as well, two of which had heart transplants. If someone had not agreed to be donors neither of them would be here today.
ReplyDelete22 people die everyday waiting for an organ transplant and one is added to the list every 11 minutes. The first type of organ donation is deceased donation when a person agrees to donate their organs after they have died. All a person has to do is sign up either at the DMV or online registry which only takes a few minutes. This can save up to 8 lives, however only 3 in 1000 become eligible. There are over 125,000 people waiting and therefore living donation is needed as well, particularly the donation of kidneys. All major religions support organ donation but many people have their own spiritual reasons they choose not to which was really interesting to learn about.
I interviewed Bob Opel, the organ donation coordinator at the University of Vermont Medical Center. He spoke to me about the process as a whole for both the donor and recipient and what role he plays. He talks to lots of different departments to find a match for an organ, gain consent from both families if necessary and organize the logistics of transportation. He also gave rebuttals to many myths that people believe about organ and tissue donation. For example, many people believe that if they come into the hospital in critical condition, the doctors will see they are an organ donor and not try as hard to save their life. The reality is that in that situation, it is organ death that would kill the person and the doctors would therefore have no motive to do so. Also, the transplant team and team saving the life are never the same. Lastly, Opel spoke to me about how the program is run at UVM Medical specifically and the need for blood donation.
I have changed because I will forever advocate for organ donation and encourage others to join the registry. In the future I would love to donate a kidney if I am physically able which would save or greatly extend the life of someone else.
My topic choice was the overprescription of medication, what it is, how it's affecting our society, and how it can be solved. I chose this topic because when I grow up I would like to be a doctor, and I feel that this topic would help me prepare for the stress and very hard dilemma that I will be forced to face. Also I have seen this happen, with me after tooth surgery, and with my grandmother being prescribed so many drugs she doesn't need she can barely function, it motivated me to act.
ReplyDeleteThere are many things that I discovered about antibacterials and opioids when I was doing my research. One of the most important and scary things that I have learned is how many doctors are being paid to prescribe drugs. In Vermont it is only 23.5 percent but in other places in the country it is easily over 80 percent. This goes with the fact that most drugs are being prescribed when they don't need it, and make is so that harmless bacterias are able to mutate and kill the patient. The last interesting thing that I learned is that the hospitals and drug companies are actually the people who are making this happen. If you have a 4 or over on the pain scale your pain has to be addressed, and this leads to many people prescribing opioids when they don’t need them.
For my interview I interviewed Deborah Thompson, a PA at the university of vermont medical center. She showed me how corrupt the system is, and all of the systemic problems that are coming from medication. Many people are not getting the help that they need because insurance may only cover medication and not alternative treatments. This causes patients to become addicted to opioids when they do not even need to take them in the first place. Also I learned that the precautions taken by doctors in giving more antibiotics than needed is actually leading to resistance. Though I knew this resistance was dangerous I didn't realize that people around me were being damaged by overprescription, and that many die.
I have changed by this because no longer do I want to sit by and watch this happen. When I become a doctor I want to be proactive, and make sure that I can always do the best for everyone who walks into the door. If anything this project made me more aware of the problems I will hopefully be able to fix when I grow up. This is why the community can benefit from the work that I did. Not many people know exactly how corrupt this system is, and I feel that by letting this out into the public I am helping everyone who has been prescribed medication when they don’t need it, or soon would be. Raising awareness I hope to help the community fight this drug epidemic.
The topic(s) I chose to research were the Electoral College and Superdelegate systems. I chose to research this because in the midst of an election cycle there was lots of debate over the ways we elected our presidential nominees/president elect. Superdelegates are part of the system used by the Democratic Party to select their presidential nominee and because of many Superdelegates deciding to vote one way (usually for Hillary) when their state voted another (often for Bernie), there was lots of controversy. The Electoral College is always a contentious issue, but became even more so when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and still lost the election. A lot of people raised arms about this, but before I made any comments on it myself, I wanted to research more into why we use the system and decide based off of actual research, not what my peers say, whether or not we should keep the system around. For both of these systems I researched what they were, why we use them, possible alternatives, and eventually concluded whether or not we should keep them in place.
ReplyDeleteOne of the key points I discovered for Superdelegates was that their intended function was to prevent the nomination of a candidate deemed unlikely to succeed in the general election. They have so far done this quite well actually, seeing as how prior to the system being put in place there were a few poor candidates (such as George McGovern), but since then there have not been. As for the Electoral College, a driving force behind my decision to maintain it was the fact that without it (and assuming we would use a direct popular vote instead), the election would be decided by just 146 of 3,000 American counties due to over half of the US population living in these 146 counties. This would mean that much of the country would be completely, or almost completely, excluded from the campaigning process of the election. The Electoral College protects the small state’s say in the election as it was created to do by our Founding Fathers. This is incredibly important and was also very surprising for me to find out.
I interviewed Phil Fiermonte, State Director for the Office of US Senator Bernie Sanders. Fiermonte also worked on Bernie’s campaign pretty heavily during the primary and was very interesting to interview. He clearly had a lot of insight into the Superdelegate process, being such a contentious issue because of the Senator, and he also knew quite a bit about the Electoral College (as you would expect someone with a career in politics would). He was the one that first taught me that Superdelegates were created to prevent the nomination of a candidate that would perform poorly in the general and he also directed me to the National Popular Vote Bill. The NPV Bill is a bill that would essentially negate the Electoral College given they can get enough states to add up to 270 electoral votes to sign it into law, which they are very close to doing.
My opinion on these processes have changed pretty dramatically since the beginning of my research. When first hearing about the fact that Hillary won the popular vote and lost the presidency, I was upset that that could happen in our country and wanted it changed as many did (and still do). Then I researched the real reason we have the Electoral College and determined that as undemocratic as it may seem to give the presidency to someone who didn’t receive the majority of votes, it’s more undemocratic to exclude a vast amount of the country from the entire election process. In terms of Superdelegates, I had not taken a hard stance on that prior to researching it, but I guess that’s what changed about me, I now do have a definitive stance on whether or not I think we should get rid of Superdelegates.
The community can benefit from my findings in the same way that I did. I made up my mind on a certain political issue based on pretty much an entirely partisan stance. However, doing research for myself and studying reliable sources pushed me to consider my beliefs more strongly and ended up actually changing my mind. I’m not saying that everyone should agree with me, if you want to get rid of the Electoral College that’s fine, and I see your argument. But, now more than ever it’s very important to consider things for yourself and do nonpartisan research for yourself before taking a hard stance on something. I provided this research to members of my community and hopefully that helps them begin to think about things from a (possibly) different perspective, but it is still important for them to go home and do more research for themselves.
DeleteAs of four years ago, I saw the first Iron Man movie. From this point I became fascinated with a power source that could make that suit a reality. In Antimatter I found that potential energy source. About four years ago, as well, I became interested in theoretical physics and physical philosophy. Antimatter is just one branch of theoretical physics that fascinates me. Along with antimatter I am fascinated in the Standard Model, String Theory, Quantum Mechanics, and higher dimensions. It is because of these two developments that I choose to do my research project on the deeper analysis for how antimatter could be used as a potential future energy source.
ReplyDeleteAs previously stated I had a passion for antimatter before the research project began. Because of this, I had already done some learning on the project. In addition, I have done a project on theoretical particles. However, in this learning I more focused on the Standard Model and String Theory. Because of this antimatter was a good topic to learn more about.
One sad thing about my project was the discovery of disdain that people held for learning about particle physics. While this is a hard topic to understand, it is very fundamental in understanding in how the world works. I did, however, get to talk with one individual that was an electrical engineer that knew the topic. Finding someone that shared my same passion when he was in college was revitalizing to say the least. We were able to discuss matters more detailed than originally written on my trifold. We were able to talk about how a Rubidium atom was “cooled” to just above absolute zero, and how the particle reaches a state of matter called a Einstein Busidate condensate. It was very revitalizing to know there are people out in the world that actually care about particle physics.
I was able to interview Bob Zwonik. With his job at IBM I was able to learn about the general process which new technology must go through in order to become a usable energy source. His impactful work with microprocessors allowes for smarter and smarter phones to exist. The stages of theorizing, testing, development, and production are the steps that microprocessors must go through to be sellable, and these are the steps antimatter will have to go through in order to become a usable energy source.
What I chose to research for my final senior seminar project was the importance of space travel and space exploration. One of my main focuses was getting humans to Mars because that is something that is relevant in today’s culture. I chose this topic because space has always been something that fascinates me, I always love reading new wild things about discoveries in space and what the plans are for the future of space travel. I figured that by picking a topic that was interesting to me I would be able to enjoy the work I was doing more that if I picked something that did not interest me.
ReplyDeleteI separated my learning into two parts, important things about Mars travel and then important things about space that do not relate to Mars travel. For my Mars research I focused on NASA and SpaceX’s plan and reasoning to get humans to live on Mars. The main research reasoning was to further study how Mars was formed because in doing that the hope is that a lot would be learned about how Earth was formed as well. Understanding how our planet was formed allows to not only learn more about it, but also be more knowledgeable in how to treat it. Something very important that exists because of human’s knowledge of space is different types of satellites. Satellites are very important; they enable us to predict the weather and see dangerous storms in time to get people to safety if need be. Communication satellites are one of the main reasons people call today ‘the age of information.’
I interviewed John O’Meara, Physics Department Chair and Professor of Physics at Saint Michael’s College. I chose to interview him because I assumed that someone who spent his entire life studying and being interested in space would be able to give me some well informed answers to help me with my project. The most interesting thing I learned from the interview was that it is currently believed that every star has (or has had) at least one planet orbiting it. What this would mean first of all is that there is an unreal number of planets in the universe, and second of all that it would be incredibly likely that one of these planets, besides Earth, would have life on it.
In doing this project I not only learned a lot but was able to change as well. I realized how massive the universe is and how little we know about it. I also came to more understand how small humans are on the scale of the universe. I gained a lot of respect for the many scientists and people who, in studying space, push forward the human race and expand the horizons of the entire planet.
The community can benefit from understanding my topic because it is important to the entire planet. This stuff doesn’t just benefit one country or one group of people, it pushes all of humanity forward. A lot of problems are specific to one or a few countries, but studying space has a global influence and importance. It also benefits the community because NASA is funded by taxpayer dollars. NASA’s budget is something that is often debated and understanding why space travel is important allows people to know why their money might be going towards that research.
I chose to research the Opiate Crisis in the United States, specifically EMS involvement and Bodily Impacts. I chose this topic because as an EMS provider, I have come across this even locally in the town of Colchester. The opiate crisis in the United States has been an ongoing problem within the last 13 years, which has shown no sign of decreasing. I wanted to dive more deeply into EMS involvement because there has been a lot of safety issue when it comes to EMS and responding to an overdose call. Through my research, I found out what an opioid is, what an opioid does to the body, how EMS providers can be affected when responding to a call and why we need to take action in preventing this epidemic. Although I am only a Senior in high school, there are many things that I can do as a citizen, student, and EMS provider to help this epidemic. This can include spreading awareness to those around me and giving support to anyone I come across, giving them any resources available. I also learned more about a Safe Injection Site and what they do. I was able to share my opinion about this topic, even though some might not agree with me, I was able to express my opinion in a respectful way.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed Kat Shaw from Colchester Rescue. I learned many things from Kat including that without looking at statistics and just from experience, there has been a significant increase of opiate use and overdoses in Colchester and the state of Vermont. Kat kept telling me about how safety is one of the most important things when going to any call, but being even more cautious when around a patient or weapons that could potentially harm us.
I believe that I have learned a lot from this by researching and presenting that I am able to express a more educated opinion. This topic was a very scary/ controversial topic that a lot of people would come up to me and share their opinions. I think by doing this presentation I am able to understand some first hand experience when it comes to opioids. I believe that this is an issue that is affecting our environment as well as our economy and resources, by keep spreading awareness, the community might be able to come together more to help out anyone who might be going through withdrawl or on opiates and giving them the support that they need during this time.
I did my project on the effects of recess. While I was researching I explored the advantages of recess, the disadvantages of recess, the guidelines, and the reasoning for while it is necessary for young students and not as necessary for older students. I chose to research this topic because I volunteered at Mallets Bay School during the fall as a recess monitor a couple times a week and began to be curious about how the students had so much energy during recess and how letting out that energy affected them.
ReplyDeleteDuring my research I discovered that the major advantages to recess are: that it increases focus, reduces stress, allows students to learn faster, and retain more information, help to develop social skills, sunlight can improve wellness, and it promotes exercise. I also discovered that there are official guidelines set up by the government in order to make recess a more positive experience. Some of these guidelines include: recess should be before lunch, recess should not be taken away to do extra work or as a punishment, there should be a designated indoor space along with an outdoor space in case of bad weather, and recess should not be replaced by physical education. Some argue that a disadvantage of recess is that it takes up learning time during the day. However, this is not the case because productive learning is not possible for young students without a mental and physical break from the classroom. The results of not having recess will actually be the opposite of what most would expect out of more classroom time.
In order to learn more about the topic I interviewed Mark Winchester, a teacher at Mallets Bay School. By talking to someone who experiences how recess affects students learning first hand, I found out that if there isn't recess for some reason one day or there is indoor recess, that students struggle to focus and pay attention in the afternoon. He also informed me that students sometimes bring in conflicts from the playground, however that is good because it teaches me to work things out themselves and develop their social skills.
I come out of this project with a more in depth understanding of how the children brain works and what it needs to be successful. I have learned a lot about the behavioral and learning patterns of young children and hope that my future career involves interacting with children.
Elementary school children are going to make up the future generation. Their success in life starts to develop at a young age. Recess allows young students to have many benefits that will transfer over to adulthood and allow them to learn more, making the future society more successful.
Over the course of the Senior Seminar class, I got the opportunity to explore a topic that I was genuinely interested in. Through the process, I realized that doing so is incredibly unnatural to me. Generally, in the education system that I have engaged in for the past twelve years in my life I would be funnelled into grinding through a project that wasn’t worth anything to me, or the community.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, I chose to draw from my technological and educational interests by investigating virtual reality and education. Once I first started reaching out and gathering information on my topic, I realized that what I was starting to bite into was at the forefront of some people’s careers. People were engaging in the same line of interests that I was, all around the world as well as locally in the community. I have never had that experience before, what I was researching was real, it had potential, and it was important for me to present it to the community.
I learned that VR is going to vastly change the way that teachers adapt to visual-learning styles that most students have. It will certainly make its way into classrooms as a crucial tool for experiential and visual learning. Right now, VR isn’t quite ready to hit the stage. It’s too expensive, too proprietary, there isn’t enough content, and there isn’t a solid public understanding of what it is. On the gallery night, it was about half and half in terms of what community members knew what VR was, furthermore that it’s edging into education.
I started to contact experts for interviews, and I got excited responses from my outreaches, I realized that there are careers for what I am interested in. This opened up the idea that this could be my career focus. Reaching out to interview professionals, and eventually getting access to interview Linda Henneburg, opened up my mind to the possibilities of my future and career, and ways in which I could improve the concept by engaging with it.
Ultimately, I think the community benefited by getting access to something that they had never heard about before, and beyond that, demonstrating its importance to the future of education. I can say that since starting this project, my interests in this type of technology have gained momentum, and I feel more self-directed in my mission than ever before to push it right along.
For my senior seminar project, I chose to research and create a mini documentary on the history of Colchester High School with ideas around the importance in understanding and knowing your local history. I wanted the names on the plaques and benches to be more than names and dates, and to understand the story behind them and their importance. Not even a handful of students know the history behind the place they spend their time everyday. However, this project shifted from mainly history, to history and overall experience as I talked to many different point of views. I began with research, then proceeded to interviews, and continued with videography throughout the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteResearch and planning as tough at first, due to a serious lack of resources. My main resource for all information around the construction of the school in 1974 came from a previous student’s project. Beyond that there was not much else to use as research, and there barely anything about the school online. Other research I did was around mini documentaries, and tips on how to plan them, film them, and edit them. I used my Nikon camera for about 80% of all the shots used, and my Iphone for the rest. The research was a bit tough, but I knew that I would get most, if not the majority, of my information from talking directly with people.
Beyond all of this, all my information came from interviews. Planning and organizing these interviews was very tough, because I knew I was going to need a crazy amount compared to everyone else’s projects. Since I created a mini documentary, I needed way more than the one required interview the project initially asks for, because beyond interviews the documentary would be lacking a lot of content. I emailed roughly 15 people, but was only able to successfully schedule and interview seven. Even though it’s less than I intended, it was still a lot to plan. I interviewed one former principal, two current teachers that have been here since close to the opening, one teacher who was CHS class of 1989, and three current seniors at CHS. I came up with lists of questions ahead of time for each person, and made sure to send them over email to each person so they had time to prepare. Each interview went incredibly smoothly, and I had a lot of fun talking to all these different people about CHS, and learning things that not many other kids are aware of.
The video aspect was the last step. I pushed off planning the structure of the video until I had all the footage I felt I needed. I used two different camera angles during each interview to make sure I had a variety of shots to choose from when editing, and got a lot of footage of old yearbooks for B roll. I planned on getting shots around the school and outside, but the weather was not working with me. Luckily, I had helped create the Smart Start video for the freshmen earlier in the year, so I used a bunch of footage from August in my video. Editing took a total of 8 hours- not all at once. The hardest part was going back and forth between seven different interviews and figuring out what topic to bring up next. However I made it through, recorded voice overs, put pictures from my 4 years at CHS, and created something I’m incredibly proud of. This project was tough to tackle at first with the lack of resources and small time frame, but I pushed through and accomplished a lot more than I had originally thought I could. By making a documentary, this project has been more fun and engaging for me as well. The topic is interesting, and I loved that I was surrounded by what I studied every day. It made the project more personal and real, and I hope other students find the video and topic interesting for the exact same reason.
Two years ago during physical education the teachers showed us a video/documentary that went into detail the main cause of the United States, and international, obesity epidemic. This frightened me as to the future of Americans health and how large of a role that the sugar industry had in increasing the obesity issue. As a result, my brother and I went, and still are on, a diet to cut all unnecessary sugars out of our diets. In this sense, my project has been a two year project where I have looked into the vast effects that an overconsumption of sugar can have on a person’s health. Besides the obvious and mainstream effects of type two diabetes and obesity, I found that dementia, early aging, asthma, and cancer were just some of the effects that result from eating too much sugar.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the sugar industry is concerned, I looked to see what were the trends of production, profits, and consumption in the United States and around the world. Ever since the 1950’s there has been a spike in the amount of sugar in sodas, ice creams, and other processed foods. This is in correlation with a large increase in the production of sugar in America, the Caribbean, and other places in the world. Whereas, in the 18th through the 20th century sugar plantation largely were in sugar colonies in the Caribbean, there became an increase the places and means for harvesting sugar plants, like sugar cane and sugar beets.
I interviewed Mr. Steve Davis, the Director of Food Services for Colchester School District, on the issues I researched and how they can relate to the school. Interestingly, he also feels as though the school is falling victim to the industry and society, as he is losing money by trying to install healthier foods in the lunches and a la carte. He also showed his frustration at the open campus policy of the school because of the idea that seniors can leave the school and go to the unhealthy fast food chains of Colchester.
As far as internal reflections go I have changed not as a result of my findings, rather my previous findings allowed my to understand the type of project I would produce. I changed my diet two years ago, and that made me want to tell and show people how horrendously effectual sugar and the sugar business can be. For my findings the community would benefit from the benefits of a balanced diet: chief among those positive impacts are a longer life and a happier life.
I chose to do my Senior Seminar project on the relationship between wildlife rehabilitation and wildlife conservation. I chose this topic because I helped rehabilitate injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife for my volunteer work to ultimately release the wildlife back into the wild, and I wanted to know what impact my work had on the conservation of wildlife. I interviewed licensed Vermont Wildlife Rehabilitators Lisa Germaine and Katelyn Chicione, who run the Safe and Sound Wildlife Rehabilitation organization that I volunteered at. In my interview, I learned that rehabilitating endangered species has a great impact on wildlife conservation, as releasing just one animal who is part of an endangered species greatly benefits its own species and all the other species in its ecosystem. I also learned through my volunteer work that wildlife rehabilitators monitor anthropogenic issues (human influence on nature), and they prevent the spread of diseases among wildlife, among many other beneficial things. Wildlife rehabilitation helps promote biodiversity, thus helping to fulfill the goals of wildlife conservation. Wildlife conservation is a task assigned to all people as it provides future generations with land, ensuring a prosperous life for all species. Wildlife conservation is a necessity because wildlife and nature serve many beneficial purposes for humans economically, medically/scientifically, aesthetically/recreationally, and ecologically.
ReplyDeleteI changed in positive ways while volunteering at Safe and Sound Wildlife Rehabilitation, often to due witnessing many gory, heart rendering scenes, including death. On one occasion, I held a young squirrel as it died because of inappropriate human intervention. The person who had found it gave it milk before finally turning it over to a rehabilitator. Without the experience and knowledge I have gained while volunteering at Safe and Sound Wildlife Rehabilitation, I might have made the same mistake of feeding a wild, baby squirrel cold cow milk. This tragedy made me realize how important education is on this topic, as it is a necessity for humans to care about wildlife and do their fair share in helping the critters who live alongside us. Through this invigorating experience, I grew very passionate about wildlife and the protection it deserves and desperately needs. Due to my eye-opening work, I plan to pursue a career tied to wildlife conservation education, which otherwise I would never have considered. I learned that there are many opportunities available for community members to take action to help the wildlife around them thrive in harmony with humans. Participating in mindful behaviours will help reduce the number of animals brought to rehabilitators, mitigating out-of-pocket costs and the amount of time and energy expended on wildlife rehabilitation. Since wildlife rehabilitation is nonprofit and comprised of volunteers who save wild animals out of the kindness of their hearts, reducing business by being mindful about actions that will negatively affect wildlife would be very good because it would actually save money. Examples of ways people can help include making sure pets receive their annual vaccinations to reduce the spread of disease between pets and wildlife; keeping cats indoors as it minimizes predatory behavior; being judicious about the use of pesticides/herbicides; picking up trash; and restricting pruning and landscaping to non-nesting season for wildlife, which leads to fewer orphaned wildlife.
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ReplyDeleteI chose to do my Senior Seminar project on the Water Crisis in Kenya. My project focused on the health issues caused by waterborne illnesses, how clean water projects/aids have benefited those who have been affected, and how dirty and clean water affects the Kenyan woman. A few health issues include: 22% of children do not make it past the age of 5 in Kenya and 41% of Kenyans rely on undeveloped water sources such as ponds, shallow wells, rivers, etc. that are filled with contaminated materials. Also different water programs are beginning to make different options for Kenyans to obtain clean and safe water for drinking and sanitation needs. More specifically I looked into WaterAid and Water.org. WaterAid works with a wide range of government, civil society, and private sector parties in order to work towards their goals of equality, sustainable services, integration, and hygiene within the need for water. Whereas water.org uses an arrangement called WaterCredit, a loan system. Water.org partners with both microfinance and commercial financial institutions to develop as many ways to scale WaterCredit to as many Kenyans as possible. The last big idea of my research was with women. With clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene, to be a girl is… to be in school, to have your period safely, and to be safe from attack. One girl said, “Periods shouldn't come in the way of us achieving our dreams. I don’t think any girl should miss a school day because she is a girl.” – Melal, 15, Kenya
I chose this topic because my family friend, who also happened to be my interview, got me interested in this idea about 2 or 3 years ago. I am interested in public health and want to be working in healthcare after university, so the many illnesses waterborne diseases cause caught my interest. I also believe it is critical for everyone to have clean water and find it striking that they don’t have access to this basic need that we (in most parts of the US) take for granted.
Part 2: My interview was with Ken Puzey, owner of the company Quantaspec that focuses on global health, food safety, national defense, and homeland security. He is an electrical engineer by degree, but has done more than anyone could imagine with his knowledge and heart. Ken first began interested in waterborne illnesses when he was on a mission in Haiti. He was working in a clinic where this young girl had been infected with parasitic worms, he knew that this parasite had come from drinking dirty water, and he knew that just giving this girl antibiotics was not going to help the overarching problem. When he came back to the US he began creating a solar water boiler. He then met a Kenyan pastor that needed safe drinking water for his community located in Kisumu, Kenya. That is how Ken ended up in Kenya.
ReplyDeleteI learned many new facts about Kenya from interviewing Ken. One was 1.3% of the population dies from a waterborne illness every year. 1.3% doesn’t sound like a lot but taking that chance every year over a span of 30 years turns into a 1 in 3 chance of dying. Another was that boiling water gets rid of all bacteria, viruses, and parasites, whereas chlorinating or filtering water only gets rid of 2 out of 3 of the above pathogens.
I feel as though I have become more passionate about helping others who are suffering in general, but also those in developing countries. I have always wanted to go on a medical mission as soon as my age and education were no longer roadblocks to that opportunity. This research project helped me gain insight into what issues I could be dealing with and frankly, what issues I want to be dealing with. The issues that can be changed and improved with proper equipment and education that is available today, but haven’t yet, are always the ones with the most riveting change.
I would hope that the community would want to help and get involved. Being an engaged citizen of not only a community but of the world can create a feeling of fulfillment and wellbeing in oneself. Hopefully the community would donate money to organizations like water.org or Wateraid. Maybe some would even want to physically become invested and travel with these organizations to build wells or plan specific Watercredit programs for individuals who are hoping for a brighter future.
ReplyDeleteMy topic was based on community service. It all started during the 90’s when the National Community Act and Trust was passed to promote community service in the society. In 2009, The Serve America act also made a huge impact because it provided 2.49 billion just on community service opportunities. These Acts, allowed more schools to pursue steps to receive federal funds for service-learning curricula.
I discovered that, although some schools are funded by the government for community service, the schools still have to promote community service because of the disengagement of the students. Many students are more interested in the academic realms instead of being involved in the community. Many schools are making community service a requirement to solve this issue by making students see the connection between the school and the society.
I choose this topic because I wanted to be more involved in my community and be a change in the life of others. So, I planned and delivered the gingerbread houses along with other seniors at nursing homes, and children hospital. This is because I wanted to bring the sense of unity and togetherness in school. I continued the idea of togetherness by painting the mural in the school promoting diversity and unity; the painting was opened to everyone in the school. The purpose of my project is to show my fellow students that life is not just about receiving the education but also about what we do with the education we are daily receiving from our teachers. I want them to develop the passion to influence other people even through smaller actions. I also want them to be daily reminded that “an individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity” Martin Luther King.
I interviewed Susie Merrick, a Champlain College online teacher and she also works part-time as the Healthy School Coordinator in the South Burlington School District. She has been working at South Burlington High School for seven years. Healthy School is an umbrella over four areas identified by their school district as contributing to the well-being of students, staff, and families. Besides work, she is also the co-Chair of PACT which is an organization led by students and supported by adults to help celebrate children and teens. I learned through her that community service actually brings happiness in a person’s life and it contributes to a person’s success as well. Community service helps us to find “the spark” inside of us.
I have changed throughout this project because I figure out that I live with a fire of leadership inside of me. So everywhere I go, I need the right fuel (Community service opportunities) that will make my fire shine more in order to be the change in my community.
The Community can benefit from my project because they can understand that community service for students comes from the passion a student has for something, helping a student to choose a volunteer opportunity in their grasp. They also can understand that life is not just about receiving the education but about what we do with the education we are daily receiving from our teachers.
For my topic, I chose to study pollution in Lake Champlain. I focused specifically on phosphorus pollution, and studied the environmental and economical impacts that it has on our community. I also examined the legal action being taken on the federal and state levels to address this issue. Over the summer I attended Boys’ State, and had the opportunity to meet State Treasurer Beth Pearce. She spoke about her involvement with the Clean Water Act, and how she felt it was very important to protect Lake Champlain and Vermont’s other water. As someone who benefits immensely from the clean waters of the lake, I decided that pollution was a very relevant topic for me to choose. The consequences of this issue could end up having a significant impact on my own life.
ReplyDeleteDuring my research I discovered a lot about my topic. My eyes were opened to the vast amounts of pollution that humans load into our waters. The source of our pollution comes from point sources (single identifiable entities that load pollutant directly into a water source [like a sewage pipe]), which contribute to about 10% of the overall pollution, and nonpoint sources (all other sources that contribute due to pollutant-filled runoff). When nutrient pollutants (like phosphorus) become abundant in an ecosystem, it can lead to accelerated algae blooms, which can become toxic in some situations. Vermont has placed what is known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (a calculation of the maximum amount of pollution allowed to enter a water system without impairing its use) on Lake Champlain to limit the amount of pollution allowed entry in the future. In 2015, Act 64 was passed to enforce these TMDLs and fund physical implementations to reduce phosphorus loading. The cost of Act 64 is estimated to be $2.3 billion over the next 20 years, but the State only has funding for about $1.1 billion of that. This leaves $1.2 billion to be made up in the span of two decades.
My initial plan for an interview was with Beth Pearce. As I mentioned earlier, I had the privilege of meeting Ms. Pearce over the summer. I thought she would be a great resource to provide some insight on the legal and financial aspect of phosphorus pollution in our lake. Unfortunately, due to a busy legislative season and frustratingly poor communication within her department, I was unable to obtain a meeting before the semester ended. So instead I conducted an interview with Laura Hollowell from the resource room at ECHO. Ms. Hollowell works for the Lake Champlain Basin Program, an organization that works to preserve Vermont’s waters. She was able to give me some additional knowledge on the environmental impacts of phosphorus pollution, but unfortunately was not able to provide much more insight on the economic side of this issue (the area I felt that I was lacking the most). However, I still found the interview helpful and informative.
I wouldn’t consider myself an environmentalist. Preserving the natural world, while important to me, has never been the highest on my list of political priorities. This project has allowed me to look at an environmental issue from multiple viewpoints, and has forced me to take a more well-rounded approach on such issues in the future. If there’s anything that stuck with me the most from my interview with Ms. Hollowell, is when she said “every single person’s reason for protecting the lake will be different, but they are all right”. There is no single reason that the lake should be protected, but it is important to for the community to learn about this issue from multiple angles. Lake Champlain is Vermont’s biggest asset, and its impact is greater than many people know. Whether the reason for preventing its downfall is because of economics or recreation or simply preserving its aesthetics, it is vital for us as Vermonters to realize that action must be taken.
My topic choice was turning an idea into a profit and Vermont’s impact on small businesses. It focuses on how people often think of ideas but usually never take the action to turn their idea into a finished sellable product. I found through my research that starting a new business takes time and money and you must be dedicated to all aspects of the business or else it won’t be successful. A traditional business plan is essentially writing down what you plan to sell, how much it will cost to make/do, how much needs to be sold and at what price to make a profit, and know who the intended customer is. Working with this plan helps determine if the idea will be financially successful. Before, I thought that the owners were responsible for doing all of the legal paperwork and know what licenses and permits they need to run their business. An attorney can be hired to take care of all of the legal paperwork and establish the business with the government. I also looked into small businesses in Vermont and how our society has changed the buyers market. I chose this topic because I will be studying pharmacy next year so I took this opportunity to study business which would probably be the route I would take if pharmacy wasn’t the right choice. I also grew up watching a lot of Shark Tank where entrepreneurs pitch their businesses and offer a part of their ownership for an amount of money. I have always wondered how those people get to that point of where they need to go on that show. I found out through my research that 99.1% of businesses in Vermont are small business claims. This is a unique economic structure for the state and show how supportive we need to be of small businesses. Last year was a record for the number of closure and bankruptcies in Vermont so the success of small businesses have been on a noticeable decline. I interviewed Glenn Cummings, the owner of Cummings Electric and Infinity Brewing. I learned how he had to go to school in order to become a master electrician. I realized that certain operations need licenses in order to operate. Also he taught me how customers need to be treated well and give your best product you can. I have changed by knowing the responsibilities of starting a business and the current conditions of Vermont’s struggle with working in the state. The community will benefit from my findings because they will learn the issue of small businesses in Vermont and how it is important to support them. The society has shifted from handcrafted quality products to quick cheap products that need to be replaced with something new every year. Vermont’s small businesses often follow the old way of handcrafted quality products but the cost-effectiveness is making small businesses struggle.
ReplyDeleteMy research project focused on cybersecurity. I chose this for a topic because I have thoroughly enjoyed working with computers most of my life and wanted to continue with it somehow. Because of my interest and knowledge at the time of choosing, I figured I would both be able to demonstrate my understanding and learn more to further educate myself on the topic. Through my research, I saw a lot that I already knew, but also learned more about what to watch out for online, how to handle a cyber-attack should it occur, how expensive cybersecurity spending can get every year, and some basic policies to guarantee online safety and security in a work environment. It’s a lot easier than most people think for a hacker to gain access where they shouldn’t, whether it be on a personal computer, a business workstation, or a server for cloud storage. This makes it crucial to never allow users to “read up” or “write down”, which means that a user should not be able to view any files above their permission level or edit any files below their permission level to prevent unwarranted access to sensitive information. It is also essential that every user stay wary of any popups or emails that contain links – if there is any doubt as to the legitimacy of the link in question, the best bet is to not click. To avoid this, users should try to stick to reputable sites. I interviewed Scott K. Stafford, who is an IT manager for Heritage Automotive Group in Vermont. Scott further educated me about the tasks an IT worker is responsible for at their workplace, including patching/updating software, be educated, have the proper tools, and to keep up with current events in technology and the Internet. They are also often responsible for monitoring every user’s online activity and keep an eye out for anything strange to prevent an attack. There’s a bit of a process involved if something does happen, involving figuring out things like what happened, if it’s still going on, who or what is responsible, who will take care of it, and how. Scott also informed me that despite being one of his tasks, he doesn’t particularly “enjoy” working with cybersecurity because of the nature of the topic, but it must be done because the prevalence of cyber-attacks is always on the rise. I haven’t changed in a significant way, as I have been planning to work with computers for a career for a while. I intend to attend UVM for four years starting this fall, pursuing a degree in Computer Science (B.S.) and perhaps using my skills to focus on cybersecurity to help protect users in the ever-growing online world. Because not everyone is a computer expert, it is essential to have people who know what they’re doing working to guarantee safe access for all users to be productive and enjoy their experience online.
ReplyDeletePart 1: I chose to study motivational learning specifically as a part of the Colchester School District, in which I also studied the educational curriculum worldwide. In comparison I took statistics from PBS, and Scholastic to find CHS in relation to reading and writing skill sets, overall it highlighted the gap between these skills in the classroom and SBAC testing. Worldwide I noted our location in the system and our development and there lack of development for K5 students, and again in relation to success rates later on. I also took a look at technology and the positive and negative associations it has with learning, specifically motivating kids to learn. What I found was that in High Schools everywhere technology has developed as a distraction, but in earlier grades it has and is becoming a beneficial tool for the classroom setting. Newsela, Seesaw, and Readworks are just some examples of nonfiction reading sites that incorporate all levels of learners. These tools are building in class confidence, and quickly riding the classroom of social discomfort and shame. These are all incredibly important elements to analysis because if students are desiring the information they are much more apt for success later on. It is important that students feel comfortable in the classroom and that learning is attached to a more positive understanding of education. The stigma towards reading and writing should be enjoyment driven, and its not. In other areas such as Norway they don’t even start teaching reading in schools till they are seven, and that is because many surveys have found kids are the closest in reading comprehension around that age. Why should we start teaching a group of kids information so young when the information will digest differently for all of them? What about the kids that aren't ready to read yet? During my interview with Sara Blake, the Colchester School Districts Head of Reading and Writing, we went over all the benefits of “A Healthy Classroom Environment.” Kids will learn the best if they are motivated to learn and when reading and writing in schools is so strict kids will turn away from it entirely. That is why teachers need to configure new ways of delivering the information to their students. This information has brought upon a lot of old memories for me, struggling with CMS reading logs and never being the most “scheduled” learner. It makes me realize how important it is to develop a motivated classroom setting so that kids can enjoy their work, we need to make them think they want to learn. It is okay to not be where other kids are in the learning system but it is also hard to physically deal with that pressure. We need to change our community in order to understand that to development kids perception of education we need to enhance their desire to learn.
ReplyDeleteFor my topic I chose to look at cell phone and social media addiction. With the advancements in technology and the increased use of smartphones and social media within the past decade the research and data for this topic are new and still being done. The age that people are being exposed to these devices and apps is getting younger and younger. With how new this technology is, the consequences and effects of chronically using smartphones and social media is almost unknown. It is for this reason and the experiences that I have of constantly being surrounded by cell phones, social media, and people using them that I decided to research this topic. During my research I focused on why social media is so addictive to people and especially focused on adolescents and the generation of kids that are growing up with these devices. I researched the adverse effects that this addiction can have on the developing and developed brain.
ReplyDeleteBy looking into the effect that social media and cell phone addiction have on the brain and on developing minds, I learned a lot about how serious this issue can be. Young children are not developing the social skills that they should be developing and are not developing interpersonal relationships that they normally would have at their ages. This is quite concerning considering that only twenty years earlier children were much more social and getting jobs at younger ages than their present day counterparts. Social media draws people in because of our psychological need to be involved and know what other members of our ‘pack’ are doing. We get a rush of dopamine when we get a notification or a response on our phones, making us want to keep using it. All of these adverse effects and how addictive these devices/apps are is very concerning.
I interviewed Dr. Rob Williams Jr. A lecturer and professor at UVM who teaches many undergraduate courses that incorporate media, journalism, and communication. I chose to interview Dr. Williams because of his expertise on the topics of social media and marketing. Because of the courses he teaches and his experience with real world aspects of these topics, he was the perfect person to interview about the addictiveness of social media/cell phones and the effects that they have on the developing and adult brain. From the interview I learned that app developers and the engineers that create smartphones purposely make them as addictive as possible. They know how the brains of people work and so they include things like an autoplay feature, likes, hearts, and snapstreaks in order to keep people involved and engaged in their devices/apps. I also learned that these same developers and engineers do not let their own children use these apps and devices, which shows how they know the detrimental effects that they have.
I have changed by being able to understand my own habits with my phone, and recognize how much of my life is affected by social media and my smartphone. Researching this topic has made me try to limit myself on phone use, and try to experience the world in front of my eyes more and not the one behind the screen. By knowing the effects that social media and our constant access to cell phones has on our brains and on children the community is better suited to protect themselves from the negative consequences that result from them. Cell phone/social media addiction is a very new issue that is not fully explored and the more we learn about it the more we can understand how to not get lost in it.
ReplyDeleteMy topic was on gentrification, particularly the general causes and its effects, as well as some guidelines. Gentrification is generally defined as the arrival of wealth or higher income individuals to a destination, leading to a change in that place housing stock, demographic, and culture. For causes, I looked at some region directed policies, urban preferences, and a tight housing market, which all culminates to an influx of wealth/capital into a community. For effects, I looked at two primary factors: the rise of business and the displacement of original residents. Businesses rose because they are attracted to the new presence of wealth, which draws in larger corporation like starbucks and home depot. Unfortunately, this means original business (mom and pop shops) can be driven out due to be outcompeted. This idea is same in the displacement of original homeowners, whereby the influx of wealth lead to a rise in property value. For the most vulnerable: low income renters, landlords may want to raise rent to meet market rate, renovate, or upgrade their buildings. These renters can't afford the rent increase, so they driven out/displaced, leading to a change in the demographic of the area. I chose this topic because I saw the indicators of gentrification happening in vermont, particularly in the Old North End in Burlington. Not only were there demographic changes, such as a rise in income, education level, but there were also economic indicators in original housing stock being converted to more luxurious apartments/housing. I also think the effects of gentrification on a human level are quite interesting, in the idea that the individual is being alienated from his home, by sumlin change in the surroundings, culture, etc.
For my interview, I interview Peter Nelson, a professor of geography at Middlebury. His research was on rural gentrification, which there is currently not a lot of research in. For rural gentrification, it involved the conversion of land parcels into housing stock, rather than original, old buildings,or factors which is apparent in urban gentrification. He also gave me an important tidbit of how one can gentrify an area without displaying its residents, but certain public provisions, such as affordable housing. This turns gentrification and revitalization for everyone.
I feel like I have become more socially aware of my surroundings, particular in vermont's current affordable housing history and the current blooms of gentrification across america. I feel like I also got a better sense of what I want to do later, which hopefully involved something in creating housing that is affordable, given such a practice seems to be very helpful for not just buffering gentrification, but just a helping hand for those who are unable to afford market rate housing.
The community can benefit from my surrounding by focusing more on affordable housing, since producing and preserving affordable housing, such as by the Champlain housing trust in vermont, can help with preventing the involuntary displacement of homeowners under gentrification.
My senior seminar project was on the science of mental illness. I focused specifically on schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. I chose these because they are some of the most commonly misunderstood mental illnesses. I was originally going to do depression as well, but in general, most people know more about depression because it is so prevalent. I researched a lot of the specific neurology connected to the causes of the disorders and their symptoms.
ReplyDeleteI chose this topic partly because I am majoring in psychology and behavioral neuroscience next year so it is a very relevant and important issue to me. I also believe that many people think of mental illnesses as more abstract, psychological concepts than they really are. By understanding the physiological aspects behind mental illness, it is easier comprehend a disorder as a whole. In our society, mental illnesses are often treated as less real or less important than illnesses of the body. Spreading awareness and being informed helps prevent stigma and allows people who suffer from mental illness to feel comfortable seeking help.
For schizophrenia, some studies suggest show that too much dopamine or too many dopamine receptors are related to the development and continuation. Different symptoms are tied to this overabundance depending on the area of the brain. DID is a rare disorder, and difficult to diagnose. There have been many cases of faked symptoms and exaggerated diagnoses. Criminals have claimed to have DID to avoid taking responsibility for crimes. Some doubt the legitimacy of DID, but there is significant evidence to support it. PTSD was first observed in WWI and II soldiers; originally called “shellshock” or “combat neurosis”. In the 1970s, PTSD started being observed in women who had experienced sexual trauma. Recent data shows that women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, even when the event is controlled.
I’ve learned a lot over the course of this project, and I feel very strongly the importance of this topic. Many people in the United States are affected by mental illness, either themselves or someone close to them. People with mental illnesses often don’t seek help, sometimes because society doesn’t consider it to be as serious or as valid as a physical ailment. Societal stigmas can prevent people from asking for help when they need it. Learning and informing others is the key to fighting that.
My topic was the Neuroscience of Learning and Implications for Teaching Practices, specifically with a focus on technology. As a student, I found it very relevant to understand how I learn and how to improve learning. I’m also thinking about majoring in neuroscience in college.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my topic ended up being kind of broad and multifaceted, so I wouldn’t exactly recommend it. Key points: even having a basic understanding of neuroplasticity can change teacher behavior and student performance, the brain is most engaged with moderate stress levels, in the challenge “zone of proximal development”, social interaction, and informal learning. One big way technology can be integrated to provide personalized challenge levels is through adaptive learning softwares.
I interviewed Superintendent Amy Minor. We talked about a lot of interesting things, but the biggest pieces that I hadn’t gathered from other sources were the challenges that schools face implementing neuroscience findings into education and some hopes for the future. Specifically, for Vermont, schools have to adapt to teaching students with brain trauma from concussions and drug-related issues, as well as funding schools that are losing students. She mentioned the idea that students could be grouped by readiness, not age, in the future.
From interviewing Superintendent Minor, I gained a greater understanding of the challenges of integrating neuroscientific research into teaching practices from an educator’s perspective. I’ve also gained appreciation for the informal learning opportunities I’ve had in my home life. The neuroplasticity teacher development study in particular made me more hopeful because it shows that even increasing awareness of neuroscience that much can make a difference.
The bottom line of all of this is that having an educated and engaged public is incredibly beneficial to our society, both locally and globally. A good education empowers students to make a positive impact and change the world for the better.
My topic was the Advantages of Playing Multiple Sports. I chose this topic as it is becoming increasingly popular for young athletes to specialize in one sport at a young age. After playing three sports until my sophomore year in high school in hopes to play a sport in college, I wondered if this was the right choice. I figured, if I was asking this question, then it is probable that many other young athletes were contemplating the same thing. When researching when the “right” time is for kids to specialize, I decided that my research should target three main perspectives when athletes are deciding to play multiple sports or only play one. The first of these three aspects was from a recruiting perspective. If kids have the goal to play in college, it is important to know the advantages of playing multiple sports when wanting to get looks. The second aspect is from a physical perspective, and how the body benefits from playing several sports. And finally, the third aspect is from an emotional perspective, and how a young athlete is affected emotionally by only playing one sport. I interviewed a college coach for my first interview, who right away said athletes who play multiple sports stand out immediately, and that she personally preferred to recruit athletes who played multiple sports. I also interviewed a physical therapist who also spoke of the numerous benefits for athletes who play multiple sports through building well-rounded motor ability.
ReplyDeleteOriginally when I started this research, I thought that I would find the “right time” for when an athlete should specialize if they wish to play in college, yet over time, I found that specialization really depends on the sport and what an athlete's goals are. I feel the community can benefit from the discussion of this topic by raising awareness to not pressure young athletes to specialize until they feel ready or wish to do so.
I took the chance to not only discover for myself but also to share with others that anyone can sing. Too many people have been telling me that they can’t sing because they’re tone deaf or that perfect pitch is a gift from birth makes you the ultimate singer and I wanted to get to the bottom of these misconceptions. Around the age of 13 i realized i have what is known as relative pitch. I’ve had people telling me my whole life that it was a gift from birth but I just couldn't accept that as an answer. A Lot of people believe your sense of pitch just something you're born with but I soon learned that this is not the case at all. Musical education takes up free time, like highschool sports do, so it's understandable that many have to choose one or the other. Some of the most interesting things I learned are that everyone is actually born with the ability to acquire perfect pitch. It’s all about nurture rather than nature which is one of the biggest misconceptions.
ReplyDeleteGetting a workout in is a common stress reliever, especially for teens. What a lot of people don't know is that there are a lot of benefits to singing too. Not only is it a stress reliever, but it also improves blood circulation, helping your mental alertness. Some singing exercises are actually used to help people with dementia or alzheimer's maintain their memory. As people lose their memory, it has been seen that as they’re forgetting the names of their loved ones, somehow they remember tunes from when they were young and I think that is very interesting. There are also several physical benefits to singing. When taking lessons, you are trained to sing in the appropriate posture and this has been seen to help people with their posture with their everyday tasks. There also is the workout for your lungs, diaphragm and muscles within your throat. Because of this, a lot of people have been seen to eliminate their snoring/sleep apnea, giving you better sleep.
The three levels of pitch I focused on are tone deaf, relative pitch, and perfect pitch. Tone deafness is one of the biggest inhibitors of singing. People will use this term loosely with just their lack of musical education but in reality only about 2-5% of americans are medically tone deaf. For those who aren't, their sense of pitch is improvable. Though it becomes more difficult as you get older like many skills, it’s still a simple matter of neuromuscular conditioning. With a lot of exposure and training, your sense of pitch can be improved to almost the degree of perfect pitch. Perfect pitch is being able to sing the pitch of any given note. This ability is somethings that is really caused by the parents work. The child needs to be exposed to music from before birth and their need an extensive amount of teaching. This process is like teaching a child to read. Most parents or trainors will sit with the child at a piano and give them the name of the pitch and with repetition, it will become part of their brain like a language. Perfect pitch has not yet been seen as something you can learn after the age of about 18 months, where unexposed babies lose their ability to gain this skill altogether.
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteA lot of this information I learned from my interview with Bill Reed who has a Bachelor of Music degree along with a doctorate in vocal music education, along with Melissa Towle who is the Choir teacher at Colchester High School. They also shared with me their own experiences with exposing their own kids to music at a young age. Bill sang his children their goodnight songs in the same key every night and even to this day in their thirties, they still sing those songs on the same notes. Melissa sing to her children and brought them to her piano lessons and they because humming and harmonizing before they were speaking.
There is so much more that I learned through this project and I hope that from what I shared with the community I have changed some minds on the stereotypes of singing. Music is so important. It provides a sense of community and self expression that you can’t get with any other skill. No matter your level of pitch perception, music is still self expressive and unique to who you are. That is the real beauty of singing. If you can be true to who you are in your singing, then that is the most important thing of all.
I researched Haiti and its government, adoption process, and orphanages. I chose this topic because I visited Haiti in February for a missions trip, and we stayed a local orphanage -- New Life Children’s Home -- for the week. I absolutely fell in love with the children there, and I was devastated to find out that only a small percentage of Haitian children are ever adopted… many actually end up staying in the orphanage system until they turn eighteen. I wanted to understand why so many orphans are never adopted, and I discovered that Haiti’s corrupt past is having massive repercussions on its present and future.
ReplyDeleteI learned that although Haiti is the oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, they have only had an established democratic constitution since 1990. Absolute majority election processes leave only a small portion of the population satisfied with presidential elections -- leading to frequent and violent political unrest. Due to a past of child trafficking, the Haitian government requires extensive documentation in order to adopt children. The process takes 3-4 years, and is very expensive. Only eight children out of over 100 staying at New Life have been adopted in the last year, and although many of them cannot be adopted, they can be sponsored on their website.
I did my interview with Rick Bain, the Co-Director and original founder of New Life Children’s Home. I learned that New Life was originally created as an outreach program for rural mountain regions, and only became an orphanage after they discovered severely malnourished children living there. I also learned that adoption processes are not prolonged due to government corruption -- the current president is actually doing great things for the country -- the people just don’t know because there isn’t proper education surrounding current politics.
After visiting Haiti, I become incredibly grateful for what I have, and I now recognize what is truly important in life. Haitian people are genuinely joyful, even though they have nothing compared to Americans. The community needs to understand how poverty stricken Haiti really is -- and how they have been unable to recover from natural disasters and a history of dictatorships. If more people understood Haiti’s condition, we could make a difference and change the lives of millions of Haitian orphans left alone and uncared for.
I chose to study solar power in Vermont. Most people are aware that solar power is a way to generate electricity, but they do not understand how to finance it, or if solar is a good investment for their home/ business. I am putting a new roof on my own home soon and my family has considered investing, so I wanted to find out what the solar market is like and how much it would cost. What I have discovered is that Solar panels have reached a point now where the price is low enough and the efficiency high enough for average homeowners to put solar on their houses and start saving thousands of dollars over time.
ReplyDeleteIn my research I discovered that there are multiple ways to finance solar, and also some benefits and incentives that the state and federal government offer. In addition to this, I learned that property value of a home or business increases by 3% when solar is installed. As far as financing solar goes, there are three methods. The first is paying upfront however, most people cannot do this.The second is taking out a loan or a second mortgage on their home (The home being collateral). The advantage of taking a loan is that the monthly bill will be lower than your electric bill therefore you start saving money immediately. The third method which is the least popular is a lease agreement. This is when a company puts solar on your home for no charge, but they also own the panels. This is often viewed as risky and unpredictable although it is becoming an increasingly popular method to get solar on the roof fast.
For my interview, I chose to speak with a master electrician named Donald Schroeder. He has owned his own panels for over 20 years and has been installing solar on other peoples homes for even longer. He explained that for a typical home, solar is usually around $15,000 for the total install and in some cases even lower. He also explained that the time to pay off the installation and panels can be as soon as 7 years.
After completing this project, I am more aware of people, businesses, and even the town of Colchester’s investment in solar and also how to effectively finance it. The community should certainly see if solar power is a good investment for them because there is a lot of potential to save thousands of dollars and also contribute to cleaner energy production.
Simply said, change is a process. Change takes time and has to go through different levels in order for it to take action. For example for a law to be passed it has to go through different levels. The bill is drafted and then sent to the House of Representatives. If it makes it passed the committee process the bill will then be introduced to the Senate. The same process is repeated in the senate and any changes are made here. If changes are made then they must be agreed on by both the house and senate. If a compromise is made and the bill passes through both House and Senate then it is seen by the president. The president can either veto the bill or sign it into law. In relation to this idea of change and process it can easily correlate to the idea of how developing forensic science equipment takes time and lots of trial and error. Without this we would not develop to methods and equipment that would function properly.
ReplyDeleteI changed because I learned how to see the world and government through multiple perspectives giving my an advantage and open mind to the current issues in our world today. With more insight on different sides of a story and being able to see both ways has given me the upper hand and allowed me to gain more knowledge than I ever thought about the world.
I believe that I made a difference in the sense of helping others gain knowledge about topics that may not be common in our everyday life. I really liked the idea of being able to bring the idea of forensic science to light for some people who have never heard of it. If I did this project over I would have done more interviews I believe and with different people who may have had more hands on training and skills to get a different perspective.
The feedback from Senior Sem Night really helped me to educate people on the future of forensic science and how the new advancements are helping to shape my future and how involved I will be some day on the new cutting-edge technology.
The overall senior sem night and work that I did on the project has definitely enhanced my knowledge on forensic technology and how important it is to the world we live in today. How new developments have helped to make our world a safer place by catching criminals and being able to bring people to justice. My future plans at WNE include me studying forensic science which means I will be able to get my hands onto some new equipment and test out new methods which will be very interesting for me.
My topic of choice was stress amongst teens. I split this up into three different categories of stress. Sleep, school, and social life. I chose this topic because it was relevant to me, and being in a high school environment, it’s relevant to many other people as well. I wanted to inform people of how stress can affect a body, mentally and physically, and how to prevent it.
ReplyDeleteSome key points were that most teens suffer from social pressures, and pressures by parents wanting their kids to do well academically. Students often don’t get the required 8-9 hours of sleep, this can affect one's immune system, it can cause poor memory and concentration. The feel of failure of not getting accepted into college makes them feel like they aren’t good enough. People are pressured socially, wanting to fit into certain cliques. Chronic stress can cause chronic illness, leading to heart disease, obesity, diabetes etc. as well as depression and anxiety.
I interviewed my pediatrician, Dr. Collman. I thought this was a good choice to get some inside information from other patients. Something from the interview that stuck with me was that a students day can be harder, and more stressful than adults. This is because we go to school, take tests, do extracurricular activities and maybe an after school job. Fitting all that into one day can be very stressful.
From learning about this topic, I can say I have changed by informing myself on the harms stress can do, and doing ways to prevent it. I have been lowering caffeine intake as well as phone time before bed and making a schedule for myself to balance my responsibilities. The community can benefit from this topic because many people deal with stress, teens and adults. They can learn the harms it has on one's body because no one really realizes how harmful stress is. They can learn how to prevent their own stress, as well as a friend.This was a very beneficial topic for me, and others, as it engaged a lot of people’s attention at the senior seminar night.
I chose to do my Senior Seminar project on mental health in sports. As a basketball fan, I saw that there had been a recent trend of NBA players speaking out about their mental struggles and wanted to look more into the causes of mental issues within sports, and how they can be dealt with in the best way possible.
ReplyDeleteThroughout my research I found an abundance of quotes from professional athletes detailing what their struggles revolved around and how the stigma of mental issues acts as a plague to society. Finding multiple quotes and first-hand experiences was the best and easiest part of my project, which fit well as the topic is more experience based than numerically based. I chose to focus on three levels of sports: professional, student athlete, and youth. By looking at these levels I wanted to find the factors that affect each level uniquely, as well as constants that are present in all.
For my interview I spoke with Francis Chamberlain, a youth counselor at Centerpoint, to get a deeper understanding of how problems stemming from the youth worsen over time into adulthood when neglected. Though he doesn't specialize in sports psychology, Chamberlain is very knowledgeable about personal issues within kids and how these issues scar them later in life. The most important information I got from Chamberlain was that a lot of problems are present as a result of the conditions many professional athletes come from as children. Often, kids in impoverished areas look for sports as a way into a better lifestyle, and when they make it and acquire endless fame and fortune and new relationships, they have no idea how to deal with it. This pressure to succeed leads to anxiety and worse forms of mental illness as they have to play for the jobs each time they suit up.
In addition to learning about causes of mental problems in sports I looked at ways society can possibly get rid of stigma, creating a supportive environment for anyone to be open about themselves without the fear of being alienated. There is no true cure for the stigma itself. The only way society can normalize mental health issues is through advocating for transparency about struggles and being supportive, creating a stable homebase for people to fall back on in times of need. We've made great steps as a society to get rid of this stigma, but there is much more progress to be made in order for us to be where we need to be and to make sure we treat mental health issues in the best way.
My project was based on Drone use in the government. When most people think of drones they think of the christmas gift they got last year and accidentally got it stuck in the neighbors tree. Drones are much more than a toy but rather a tool that can help improve and save lives. Police often used drones to gather evidence to further an investigation or even build up a case. Drones are also used to examine a crime scene when footprints would spoil the investigation. Search and rescue is the most used option for drones in which they can better search for people who are lost in the woods. The fire department also has a big key role in drone usage in which they can better determine of how a wildfire can spread. The federal government has been using drones for a long time such as UAV to better protect our borders and even travel to other countries to gather evidence of terrorism.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was doing research on drone usage I wondered if jobs were going to be replaced with this new technology. But after reading many articles and an interview I learned that drone usage will often create more jobs. And many new airports for drones only are beginning to pop up around the border. With the use of drones and regular personnel we are able to increase the efficiency and safety of our own troops.
I interviewed a man named Scott Recor who worked as an agent in Texas as border patrol, and now he works as an operations supervisor in Homeland Security. The interview opened up many new ideas to me as it gave me a real world perspective on drone usage today in the government. Scott gave me key information that I would never comprehend or understand in normal article reading. He also gave me insight to how the border patrol agents work and how Homeland Security operates.
My understanding of drone usage in the government has greatly changed and made me really think of the new technology that is coming out to improve our own government. Our own community can really benefit from drone usage in our local government. The biggest use I can see for drone usage would be in the search and rescue department. With the vast amount of forested land that Vermont has many people get lost. With the help of drones this could really improve the efficiency of how we find people and could save many lives.
I chose to do my project on Sexual Violence in the United States. I specifically chose Rape Culture and the education that is needed in order for America to begin to change. I chose this topic because it is a huge problem in the U.S. that needs to be acknowledged. Information and education on this subject is vital, and health classes and adults tend to ignore or block out this difficult and horrible subject. Teens are told that this subject is too harsh for our age but the sad truth is that it is happening and this subject although too harsh for anyone, needs to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed two people, Mercedes Mack from Hope Works, a non profit organization that works to end sexual violence through Healing, Outreach, Prevention and Empowerment. And also Ms. Laquerre from Colchester High School, on the education aspect of it. They both gave me a powerful insight on facts and statistics. Mercedes Mack shared that 1 out of 5 women and 1 out of 71 men are raped in their lifetime. And that 321,500 Americans report rape per year. Report being a key word here because out of every 1000 rape cases, only 230 get reported. And even worse, out of those 230 reports, only 6 rapists get imprisoned. Making the one of the worst statistics be that out of 1000 rapists, 994 walk free.
The interview with Ms. Laquerre showed me how the health education system in america is failing. People ages 12-34 are at the highest risk of getting sexually violated and because of this, education at a young age is important. In CHS’ case, there is a semester long course in your freshman or sophomore year that gives a fraction of the information needed in order to stay safe. This being said, a lot of students get pulled out of health because of their parents beliefs. There is a lot of controversy whether or not to teach subjects like consent, sexuality, drugs, and rape at the high school level and because of this many students don’t get any education on said topics. Ms. Laquerre wishes that there was more education in order to prepare students for life.
This project had a large impact on me. I am engaged to make a change and help with education and prevention. Although the tri fold was just a small contribution, I feel that my project helped to give insight and information to over 50 people. From here on, I plan to work with womens centers, take self defense courses, and in college help with aid and prevention. I hope that this project has helped at least one person besides myself learn something and take Sexual Violence more seriously.
My topic choice was Climate Change in Vermont, so my project explained what climate change was, what the changes in weather patterns in Vermont are over the past 50 years, how climate change is affecting Vermont, and what people should do in order to slow the rate of climate change down. I chose this topic because my sister decided to become a vegetarian in order to decrease the demand for meat and help protect the planet around the time that we were picking the topic for our Senior Seminar projects, so this got me thinking about climate change. Some key points that I discovered in my research was that climate change is going to have an effect on Vermont’s economy because climate change is affecting maple sugaring and farming negatively. Maple sugaring season is decreasing, and crops aren’t able to produce as well in warmer temperatures. Another key point is that climate change has decreased Vermont’s winter by 3 weeks. Spring is coming 2 weeks earlier and winter is starting one week later than 50 years ago. I interviewed Kaylee Clark, Senior at UNC Wilmington studying Environmental sciences, and advocate for conserving the planet. I chose this person because of their passion for saving the planet and her experience with these issues. She informed me that the most an individual can do to help slow down climate change is to reduce their carbon footprint by decreasing the amount of fossil fuels that they use in their everyday life. This is easiest first step towards change because tackling the big issues would take a lot of work and a large amount of people. I have changed since the beginning of my project because I am now more aware of the amount of fossil fuels that I use. I try to turn off all of the lights after leaving a room, take shorter showers, drive less, and eat less meat. The community can benefit from my findings because many people aren’t aware of the effects climate change is already having on Vermont’s community. By providing people with this information, I hope that this pushes people to be more conscious of the amount of fossil fuels they are using and attempt to make changes in their daily life that will benefit not only their community, but their entire planet as well.
ReplyDeleteI chose to do my Senior Seminar project on the Importance of Physical Activity. My project covered everything including the mental and physical benefits, the types of exercises you should do (cardio + strength), the duration and frequency someone should exercise. Physical Activity is a big part of my life and always has been. It’s important to me to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Everyone can benefit from physical activity but not everybody knows how to get the benefits. It’s important not only to be physically active but to know what activities you should or shouldn’t do as well as how much activity you need.
ReplyDeleteA minimum of 150 minutes per week is the standard. This should include both high intensity as well as days of active rest. It’s important to include both cardio and strength training exercises to a workout. Good cardio exercises include using an elliptical, running at a moderate pace, cycling, swimming or anything that can raise heart rate to within 55 to 85 percent of a person's maximum heart rate. Strength training exercises should include hip dominate (deadlifts, hinges), knee dominate (squats, lunges), pushing movements (pushups, presses) and pulling movements (pull ups).
I interviewed Mike Landsberg. Mike is an Athletic Trainer who also specializes in strength and conditioning as well as performance enhancement. He was also the president of the Vermont Association of Athletic Trainers and has been the legislative affairs chairman for 18 years. Mike is an extremely knowledgeable Athletic Trainer who has been working in the field for decades. He was able to give me an inside view on what he does and sees/gets asked on a daily basis. He has worked with both dedicated athletes as well as casual athletes. I was able to increase my comprehension of physical activity through what I learned from Mike.
My project benefits both individuals as well as society. For an individual, Physical activity has many benefits to the bodies health. It can help manage weight, increase energy levels, improve sleep, and increase bone and muscle strength. Exercise can also help reduce your risk of heart disease and cancers such as colon, breast and lung cancer. For society, if people understand what they should and shouldn’t be doing in regards to physical activity, then they are more likely to be benefiting from it and continue to exercise regularly. As a result of this, their benefits may inspire others to start exercising or they may be more likely to promote exercising regularly to others. As a whole, increasing the number of people who exercise regularly will help bring down obesity levels while increasing the health of people, helping to decrease cancer cases and heart issues.
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ReplyDeleteFor my senior seminar final project, I created a trifold on the effects of social media on mental health. I focused mainly on the negative effects because in my research I found they strongly outweigh the positive effects. I chose to do this topic because as a highschooler, I am experiencing these effects and I feel that at certain points in my life, social media has affected my mental health. I see the addiction to cell phones as well as social media among my classmates and I feel like it is affecting society at an increasing rate as technology develops. While researching, I found that there is not a whole lot of specific research done on this topic because of how relatively new it is, and how often it is changing because of advancements in technology. This was an obstacle I had to overcome because I couldn’t always use a lot of specific statistics to support my ideas and findings, instead I had to focus a lot of personal experiences and my interview. The key points that I focused on in my presentation are addiction, and then the main specific ways that social media has effects. For addiction, I used the Screen Time section in Apple’s settings to show how addicted my peers are to their phones, and specifically, social media. When presenting, I found that many adults were taken aback and disappointed by these numbers. I then focused on the causes which I separated into fear of missing out, unrealistic expectations (body image/self-esteem issues), and lack of face-to-face interactions. These topics were interesting to focus on because they are relevant and many audience members can relate to them while still learning about it.
For my senior seminar interview, I reached out to Jan Shamberger, a clinician at UVM. She was extremely interesting to talk with because of her passion for her job, her experience, and her knowledge on my topic. She has worked as a counselor in many different instances and places. Beginning at BHS in crisis intervention for 21 years, Jan then worked at Lund family services as a drug addiction counselor, and now works at UVM as a counselor that works with patients that have shown signs of poor or concerning mental health. Jan talked a lot with me about the effects that social media has on women. Social media and technology in general gives women the tools to adjust their appearance, whether it be their body or face, and show the cyber world an altered and unrealistic image of themselves. This leads to a lot of eating disorders and low self esteem in women, and Jan shared some of her experiences that she has had with patients on this issue. We also talked a lot about how in general, poor mental health seems to be increasing in society. Jan said that she went to a conference about this and they talked a lot about how anxiety has skyrocketed, especially on college campuses. She doesn’t think that social media is usually the cause of this, but it often makes it worse for many individuals. Jan not only gave me a lot of information to incorporate into my project and think about, but she referred me to multiple online resources to continue my research.
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ReplyDeleteFocusing my research and project on mental health has made me realize how important it is to raise awareness about it because that is one of the strongest solutions. I think that over the past few years, the mental health stigma has begun to fade but is still very real. I think that the community can benefit from learning more about projects based on mental health because it will help get rid of the stigma and it will cause more people to talk about it and begin to self-reflect. This applies to social media addiction as well. By educating myself on just one thing (social media) that affects mental health, I feel like I have gained perspective and a responsibility to regulate myself and become more aware of my emotions and how to respond to them. Interviewing Jan really peaked my interest in psychology and sociology - discovering why people do what they do, why they feel the way they do, and how they interact with others and respond to their emotions and specific circumstances. I think this was really important for me as a senior because as I think about my future, I know what I am interested in.
My topic for my Senior Seminar Project was herbalism. I chose this topic because I had a curiosity surrounding the history of medicine and how we have all the drugs we give out in pharmacies today. My main three parts of research were history, the transition to pharmaceuticals, and the existence of herbalism in the present.
ReplyDeleteLooking back in time, I realized that herbs were the primary form of medicine, being used across the world and creating differing forms of herbalism like traditional Chinese medicine, European herbalism, and Ayurveda. We had many records, some as far back as 3000 BC, that showed specific herbs and their uses depending on the region. Starting around the early 1900’s, pharmaceuticals started to arise. One of the first drugs was the well-known aspirin, the active ingredient being derived from willows. Since the world now had modern medicine, that allowed for more advanced health care and a increase in the growth rate of the world population. However, herbalist still prevails today, up to 60% of the world population still depending on this form of medicine. Practitioners who share the same interests can train at specific schools and become herbalists.
The person I interviewed was an herbalist at Railyard Apothecary in Burlington by the name of Nick Cavanaugh. He expressed a great interest in helping individuals and helping the environment, noting that we as humans are a part of nature and not separate from it which leads to holistic herbs to have a profound effect on our bodies. Herbs, being plants with complex chemical structures and numerous compounds, can be multi-purpose for treating ailments. They also do not give side effects if given in the correct dosage, unlike modern prescriptions. Being created from nature, these herbs can be home grown at a small price and can be convenient, unlike drugs that can be expensive and hard to be prescribed. The community should definitely consider incorporating herbalism into their lifestyle. Although herbs cannot legally be used to treat medical conditions today, many people still seek out the healing power of plants. Locally, for example, Abenaki members have hosted plant walks where they identify medicinal plants that can be found in the Vermont forests. Passing on and accepting this knowledge is important to connecting with nature more deeply and honoring the ancient tradition that is herbalism that has been tried and true for millenia.
I chose to do my project on how soccer impacts society. I researched how soccer impacts the economy, the culture and the politics in the world. I investigated the economic impacts that the World Cup has on the host countries as well as the impacts of domestic soccer leagues in their countries. I found that the World Cup creates millions of jobs and has a significant positive impact on the GDP of the host country. I also found that domestic soccer leagues positively benefit their country. Domestic leagues help with tourism, gambling and broadcasting.
ReplyDeleteI discovered that due to the economic benefits of hosting World Cups, there is a lot of corruption within FIFA. FIFA is the governing body of soccer and has a strong influence in many leagues in the world as well as controlling the World Cup. I did research on how many FIFA officials were arrested due to corruption and accepting bribes. I also researched different countries and how soccer affects their culture. I found that soccer is way more than just a game to many countries in the world. The passion that European and South American soccer fans have strongly outweigh the fanbase of American football or baseball.
I interviewed Keith Moore, the assistant coach of UVM Men’s Soccer. I learned about the history of soccer in the United States and how much it has changed and is continuously changing. I also learned that we need to give kids more opportunities to play soccer when they are younger. Researching this topic has changed my view on soccer entirely. I had no idea of the economic and political effects it has on the world. Our community can benefit from knowing the impact of soccer because soccer is growing rapidly in the United States. We need to eradicate the corruption before soccer becomes a big economic contributor in the US.
For my topic I chose plastic pollution. Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic on the Earth’s environment which severely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat and humans.
ReplyDeleteThis was a topic that I was unfamiliar with before I began my research, however, I was aware that our environment was impacted negatively where plastic was being thrown into the ocean and harming wildlife and wildlifes habitats.
I wanted to know more about plastic pollution and its effects that it has towards our Earth. Some key concepts that I discovered is that each year, an estimated 18 billion pounds of plastic waste enters the world’s ocean from coastal regions and also that only 12% of plastic gets recycled. If things like this continue to occur, then by 2050 there is expected to be more plastic then there are fish. As for humans I learned that 93 percent of Americans age six or older test positive for BPA (a plastic chemical) and that in the UK they found that Britain's were consuming over 11,000 fragments of plastic each year. In conclusion, whatever plastic that goes into the fish we consume also goes into us.
For my interview I wanted to know what the recycling companies process was and if they were aware of the situation of plastic pollution. I contacted Christy from Casella Waste. Christy, is based out of the Call and Care Center for all Casellas. Apart of her training is experiencing the process of what Casella does to recycle properly and avoiding plastics from going into the landfills but to be decomposed correctly. I learned more about the actual process of recycling and what they do to prevent plastic pollution. I didn’t know that Vermont was a mandatory state for zero-sort, which means that we are able to throw out our recyclables and whichever company someone is with for waste will sort each item whether it’s plastic, glass, cardboard, cans etc.. This is beneficial because once they sort everything properly they are then baled or made into new products that can be used again. This is all to prevent waste from going into landfills. Christy informed me that a large current issue is landfills are overflowing which can be dangerous because they can emit toxins and Greenhouse Gases into the atmosphere which is very dangerous for wildlife and humans.
I learned a lot from researching this topic and the dangers of plastic pollution. But what I also learned is that it’s important to be a part of the movement to prevent plastic pollution, and it’s not that difficult to participate. I have changed by refusing to use plastic straws, plastic water bottles and avoiding all other single use plastics. By sharing this information with my friends and family I have encouraged them to do the same and to try their best to use eco-friendly products. A big part of this is by spreading the word, when presenting my project to the community many people were unaware of how the situation actually was. I think by just educating the community is very important and beneficial in terms of helping the environment that they live in as well as keeping the wildlife safe and healthy. It’s easy to get on board by refusing a straw or plastic bag at the grocery store, the little things can actually make a big impact.
I chose to do my project on sustainable eating. This is something that can easily be impacted by people through simple changes in what they eat and buy at grocery stores. I also have noticed a lot of ignorance regarding environmental issues lately, both politically and personally. People are mis educated about dairy and meat industries, and assume that dairy is better than meat sustainably, when in reality it isn’t. I feel like informing people about this is really important to bring more focus to this important topic.
ReplyDeleteI found that up to 83% of C02 emissions come from food production which can be dramatically reduced with eating sustainably because of the reduction of your carbon footprint. Even eating more plant based can seriously reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses you are personally accounting for. This is because livestock itself takes up 14.5% to 18% of all greenhouse emissions.
I interviewed Robin Collins who is a faculty member of the Environmental Studies program at Champlain College. She is an assistant professor and teaches Nutrition and Environmental issues. She has been teaching at Champlain college since 2012. I chose to interview her specifically because she has a background in environmental studies, and will be passionate about discussing sustainable eating and helping improve the state of the environment. I want to hear someone’s opinion about climate change and the impact of how people should change what they eat and what she believes is the most impactful change.
This interview was very helpful in deepening my understanding of environmental science and how important sustainable eating actually is in relation to climate change and a person’s carbon footprint. I think having someone else’s perspective, especially someone with a college degree on the topic, makes everything seem more realistic. It shows how important sustainable eating is because it is impacting the environment which some people dedicate their college careers studying. Having this background knowledge will help me even more and encouraged me to educate others about climate change and what they can do to make an impact. I also learned a lot of new valuable techniques for eating more sustainably that I can include in my final project to make my presentation more realistic and motivating for others to make change.
I have changed many of my eating habits, and eat more plant based now as I am more aware of how animals are treated along with the environmental aspects of what you eat. I feel healthier and better about what I eat and am aware of what can happen simply by changing what I eat.
The community can benefit by my findings both economically and environmentally. By buying more products from local business you are supporting more local businesses that treat animals better and also create less of an environmental impact from transportation.
For my senior seminar project I chose to research the “Adopt Don’t Shop” campaign. This campaign advocates for the adoption of animals and for more awareness to be spread about the negative impacts places like puppy mills and breeders can have on the animals. I mainly chose to do this topic because my major in college will be Vet technician, but also I have loved animals my entire life so I’m really passionate about topics like this. Keys points that came from my research about my topic were: negative impacts of puppy mills, breeders, shelters, and the benefits of adoption. These key topic points really helped me to form a clear idea of what the campaign really stands for. One key point that really surprised or interested me was the extremely negative impacts puppy mills can have on the animals health and behavior. The health problems that they could develop included heart disease, epilepsy, deafness, kidney disease and many more. The behavioral problems that they could develop included, extreme shyness, aggressiveness, and just not being able to social well with other animals because of not being socialized at a young age. I wanted to further explore the information and see what some of these things could like on a personal level, so for my interview I went to All Breed Rescue in Williston, Vermont. While I was there I talked with one of the shelter managers and she talked with me about where they get the dogs from, why breeding can have negative effects, and how you could volunteer at the shelter to get involved. My interview overall was really informative for me and showed how even more people need to be made aware of how more dogs need to be adopted. Also that people should get more involved in their communities with volunteering or donating to local shelters. My interview especially really changed my outlook on what the campaign really stands for and what needs to be done so more dogs get adopted. My community can benefit from the research I have done because now I am able to inform people on the adoption process and how not only they can benefit from adopting an animal but other animals out there as well.
ReplyDeleteI chose to do my Senior Seminar project on microplastics within the ecosystem. I mainly focused on looking at the impacts these microplastics had on the organisms within the ecosystem, how humans impacted the issue/how we are impacted, and potential solutions and laws for the issue. I chose this topic because I was curious what ended up happening to the plastic waste that gets dumped in the oceans.
ReplyDeleteI was able to learn that these plastics will often degrade into smaller pieces of plastic called microplastics. I also learned that these microplastics could end up getting eaten by the organisms within the environment and that the microplastics would often continue to stay within their bodies. I looked at studies from scientists and saw that these microplastics were actually able to harm the organisms that eat them and that they were able to move up the food chain over time. Humans can actually be harmed if we eat animals that had microplastics within them due to the toxins that the microplastics end up attracting. I also looked at solutions that researchers were proposing like putting collecting booms around densely populated coastlines to collect the plastics that are generated.
I ended up interviewing Danielle Garneau who is an Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences at SUNY Plattsburgh. She led a study on microplastics quantity and impact within the Lake Champlain ecosystem. I was able to learn a lot of new information from her answers on the study that she did. She told me about how microplastics were an emerging problem within the freshwater systems so society is only starting to become more aware as new research is published. She also talked about how more microplastics are often found in species that are higher up in the food chain due to the plastics accumulating over time.
Looking at the variety of impacts that microplastics could have on both our environments and us really changed by outlook. It makes me pay more attention to the different issues occuring around the world. Communities will benefit from this because as society becomes more aware of the problem, it becomes easier for us to find solutions. Through individual actions or by convincing corporations/governments, change can occur.
The discussion of dogs has always fascinated me. Not only are they cute and cuddly, but they can really make a difference in the world. I wanted to explore the realm of therapy dogs. I started with an overview of therapy dogs, and where they are seen/ what they do. I wanted to find out how therapy dogs help in a work environment. This brought me to also explore where therapy dogs are seen. I looked into schools that have therapy dogs, and places like hospitals. The effect therapy dogs have on people was also a part of my research. How do therapy dogs help? I found that there is indeed a chemical reason. This topic was chosen out of my love for animals, and the hope of a better world through animals. I have always been exceptionally interested in dogs, and although I knew about therapy dogs, I wanted to learn about what they do in different settings, and what allows them to be so therapeutic. I learned a lot of key information from my research. Therapy dogs make your brain release a stress reducing chemical called oxytocin. The number of companies who allow therapy dogs in the work environment, has increased from 5% in 2013 to 8% in 2018. Big companies like Apple, Amazon, and Ben and Jerry's all provide dog friendly environments for their workers. I interviewed Dick Spearman. Spearman helped start the therapy dog organization, Domesti-PUPS. He owns his own therapy dogs, and being a school administrator has allowed him to have a lot of experience bringing his dogs into his work setting. Spearman pointed out some cool things I had not seen myself. ABC reported that therapy dogs were present at the Olympic swimming tryouts. Opening my eyes to therapy dogs being used in high level atmospheres, such as the olympics. I have changed for the better. Having a better understanding of the work animals, such as therapy dogs can do, allows me to looks at the bigger picture in humanity, not just humans. Working is something majority of people have to do. There are so many health benefits to therapy dogs in a work environment, that could help the general public. Therapy dogs are on the rise, and being seen in more and more places.
ReplyDeleteFor my senior seminar action research project I chose the topic technology in the classroom. The reason that I chose this topic is because it is something that I am really passionate about. For the longest time I have always known that I have wanted to be a teacher, so doing this project was really important to me. But also it is important because I will have to know how technology affects students in order for me to do succeed in teaching. Some key points that I was able to discover from my research was that technology supports the idea of personalized learning plans, and because each person learns differently, technology allows for each student to have their own set of obstacles and challenges. This makes the students more motivated because they feel more confident because they are doing the work on their own. Another key point that I discovered was that technology increases the access to education infinitely, there are so many more resources, audio books, and online classroom programs that are now available for students and anyone in general to use. For my interview I interviewed a teacher at Porter’s Point School in Colchester, Vermont, and the teacher was named Miss Moore. What I was able to learn from this interview was that there are so many programs that students can use in the classroom to improve their skills, and all of them involve technology. One of the coolest programs was a math program called Dreambox , this program is personalized for each student and when the student may be struggling on a specific area the program will make the problems easier until the student gradually gets better at that specific area. I think that I have changed from this project in the sense that it makes me so much more excited for (hopefully) my future career as a teacher, and being able to help students gain more access to education and being able to learn on their own more as well. I think that the community is able to benefit from my findings because maybe they don’t always understand or even know how their child learns in the classroom everyday, so maybe by me telling them it can help them to have awareness and fulfillment knowing that their child is able to learn in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI chose to research the importance of world language education for my topic. I focused specifically on early education and why it is better to start learning a second language at a younger age. I chose to focus on this because I grew up learning two languages, so language is something that is very important to me and is a big part of my identity. When I started taking Spanish in eighth grade, it was a little harder to learn the language. I always wondered why it was more difficult the second time around. Senior Seminar gave me the opportunity to research this while also getting credit for it.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot about the neurological benefits of learning a second language, especially at a younger age. I always knew that there were some benefits to being multilingual, but I never knew how exactly. I also learned a lot about the education system in America, how it treats language education, and how it differs from other countries in the world. Many states don’t require any language classes in order to graduate, only 10 states actually do. More than 20 European countries require at least 1 year of a second language, and about 92% of European students are learning a second language.
I chose to interview Yara Hanna, a French teacher at our school. She is fluent in 3 languages, so I thought she would be the perfect candidate. Her answers really emphasized my research. I learned a lot more about the difference of the language education system in America and other countries from her personal experience. The interview was very eye opening, and kind of made my research come to life. I saw a lot of my notes come true in her own experience with the language education system. I also realize more than ever just how important language is, especially in a world that is now more connected than ever. The American population is becoming more and more diverse, and we are being exposed to different cultures and languages. I hope that in the future schools make a change to the language system and give students more opportunities in the world later on in life, and now I know that I will fight to make that change.
I chose to do my Senior Seminar project on concussions, and was mainly focused on them in the world of sports. I was interested in learning about statistics, and how we could lower the number of concussions. I chose this topic because I knew that it’s a hot topic in the sports community, especially surrounding football, and I wanted to learn more about just how important they are to prevent.
ReplyDeleteSome important information from my research is that there are lots of concussion cases that go either undetected or unreported, both of which are very dangerous because that means the athletes are continuing to play and put themselves at so much risk for a very serious brain injury if they’re hit in the head again. In order to lower the number of concussions and lower the number on them that are unreported, I think we need to increase awareness about concussions and have informational courses that athletes are required to take so that they understand how serious concussions are and so that they can hopefully recognize the symptoms if they have one, and then know what to do.
I interviewed Maria Thibault who is a physical therapist at PT360, an athletic trainer for UVM club teams at UVM, and an adjunct professor at UVM. She has lots of experience and is very knowledgeable in her field, and I was able to learn a lot from her. I learned a lot about the online concussion tests as far as payment and effectiveness.
I think this project has made me a lot more aware of how serious concussions are and how vital it is to try and prevent them as much as we can, because with the threat of CTE looming from repeated concussions, it’s important that athletes stay safe while they’re playing sports. I think the community can benefit if we take action to get more education for players, parents, and coaches as to information about preventing and detecting concussions.
I chose to do my final Senior Seminar project on the Death with Dignity movement or Physician Assisted Suicide via life ending drugs. My project focused on the legislation that has been passed to legalize this service, the drugs taken by the patients who request this service and some of the social ramifications of the service. I decided to choose this topic because I had some brief previous knowledge about the topic. I was aware of this option for terminally ill patients and knew that it was highly debated in many parts of the world and our country. With this knowledge I was curious to investigate the topic further and deepen my knowledge. Some of the most important things I discovered in my research was that the bills passed to legalize this service doesn’t cover those people who are paralyzed or who have neurological diseases such as ALS or Cerebral Palsy because they don’t have a specified timeline for their life. Patients who request to take this drug must have six months or less to live to be able to get it prescribed. It was surprising to me to learn this because I assumed that these people would be allowed to receive these drugs because their conditions are significantly hindering their quality of life.
ReplyDeleteFor this project, I interviewed current CHS nurse and District Nursing Supervisor, Deb Deschamps. She elaborated on some of the services that hospice care centers are able to provide (as this is the current main option for dying patients) while also giving insight to some of her own personal experiences with ill relatives. I was surprised to learn how scarcely discussed this movement was just 20 years ago when she was getting her nursing degree and working at Duke University. She talked about Dr. Kevorkian and how revolutionary his ideas on Physician Assisted Suicide were in the 1980s. This project forced me to think about of my life that I tend not to at 18 years-old. I began to think about how this movement could affect me in the future, and how changing legislature now could benefit me many years into the future. Planning for the future is essential, and my research has made me realize how important it is to be prepared for the future, and how important it is to have the tools to do so. I hope that when I am older, this service can be available for me wherever I am living and if I so choose to utilize it. By educating the community on this topic, I hope people can be more informed about their options at the end of their lives and realize that death doesn’t have to be painful for people if these options are available.
I decided on this topic because of stories I have heard from my mother. She is a kindergarten teacher in Burlington at JJ Flynn Elementary. There are many stories and actual experiences I’ve heard and seen of the parents of her students. Seeing people suffer from addiction is hard, the pain you go through and the results on your loved ones.
ReplyDeleteWhen I decided that opioids were the specific drug I wanted to research, the amount of data I found was astounding. Government websites along with private sites filled with data, facts and research. Some of the more important things I discovered while researching was the problem of over prescription. When patients suffer from and injury or have surgery, they are often prescribed opioid painkillers, which I believe in. In the days after an incident the amount of pain is high and something to fix that is necessary. The problem is when people are given way too many and continue to take them even after pain subsides, that is when addiction starts.
I interviewed Jolinda LaClair, Vermont State Director of Drug Prevention Policy. I originally intended to interview Governor Scott, his office directed me to Jolinda. She gave me more information than I could have dreamed for. She told me of all the things her council has accomplished to help end the crisis in Vermont. Some of them include getting rid of safe injection sites, getting help to those in rural areas and helping open resource centers.
My interview, research and project really did change me for the better. I am knowledged enough to be able to inform my friends and other about the dangers of prescription opioids. Seeing and hearing about a project is one thing, but researching it really gives you an in depth look on what that problem is.
If my project got enough attention for people to talk about it, the more people will know the true dangers of prescription opioids. The more and more people who are informed the less likely the problem is to spread, and by informing people, maybe I am doing a part in fixing the opioid crisis.
The field of agriculture has always peaked my interest. Starting at a young age I was immersed in the world of agriculture. Despite being apart of the agriculture world from a young age I was curious about how agriculture affected the water systems in Vermont. When starting my research I focused on the effects of large dairy operations on the water systems of Vermont. I found out very shocking information through my research.
ReplyDeleteLarge dairy operations feed lots of corn because it is a cheaper and easier feed. However, corn crops are a major contributing factor to the pollution of our lakes and rivers. Corn crops are treated with harmful pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that are high in nitrogen and phosphorus. These fertilizers and pesticides enter our waterways due to heavy rain and flooding. They bring with them harmful cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria is the culprit of the blue-green algae. The blue-green algae has polluted much of the lake causing more than 80% of vermont’s side of Lake Champlain to be unsafe to swim in back in 2016. After learning about the pollution that agriculture has contributed to the waters of Vermont I became curious about the legislation around agriculture in Vermont. This curiosity led to my interview.
I interviewed Anson Tebbetts, Secretary of the Vermont Department of Agriculture. Talking with Secretary Tebbetts gave me a better understanding about the legislation around agriculture. We talked about the legislation in place already and if there were plans for more legislation in the future.
This project made me more motivated to make a change to start protecting our waters. As someone who wants to pursue a career in agriculture, it was important for me to learn about this topic. It helped me realize how I can work to protect the waters and reduce the amount of pollution that enters our lakes and rivers. This project has changed me. I try my best to buy organic when it is feasible so that I am not supporting the large amounts of pesticides and harmful fertilizers that larger agricultural operations contribute to the pollution.
I chose to do “Depression and Its Effect on Learning.” I wanted to do a topic on depression because I’ve realized how much of an impact it has on people’s lives now. There has been a drastic increase in depression amongst teens in the past decade so more and more people are developing depression. As a freshman, I didn’t really realize what depression was because I’ve never encountered it in my life. Now as a senior, depression has affected me significantly; being a witness not a person who suffers from it. I’ve realized now that many people play this personna in school because they have to to get by. However, when they get home, they’ve introduced with a new wave of emotions and things going on. We don’t get to see the other side of people most of the time but when you do get the chance to, you will realize how influential your role in their life could be. My research was more focused on the brain’s role during depression. There are three main components to this that get affected. All located in the frontal lobe, the amygdala, thalamus and hippocampus. This is where all critical thinking, cognitive skills, emotions and memory. When affected all these get impaired making it more difficult for the person who suffers from depression.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed Dr. Paul Foxman who is a psychologists at Burlington. I learned from him how the specific parts of the brain gets affected. For example, the amygdala is associated with emotions so when impaired by depression, the process of such emotions occur faster. So when there is an event that can trigger those emotions it comes in a rush which is why sometimes people get random angry outburst or emotional ones.
After learning all of these new things about depression, I’m able to understand how to possibly help someone or get someone help if they ever need it. I’ve learned that once you are apart of someones life in a significant way, you need to always be there for them because that is the best way for people to deal with things. It’s best to talk about problems then rather having it bottled up inside of you.
As a society, we need to be more cognizant with people who have depression. We can’t categorize people with depression under one column but rather work with them and be more flexible with treatments because depression affects everyone differently. We need to raise awareness so something can be done. We need to understand depression more so people won’t have to suffer through it alone. People with depression need to know they ave people to talk to and that's our job.
or senior seminar class I chose a topic I was very passionate about. My topic choice was gun control and why I believe further regulations and restrictions on guns are unnecessary. Moreover, gun control infringes on the second amendment right to keep and bear arms. While doing research I learned that states with strict gun laws typically have a higher gun violence rate. For example, Illinois. Illinois is in the top ten for states with the strictest gun laws, yet, they continue to have a very high crime rate related to gun violence. Furthermore, data shows that when the handgun ban becomes effective in Chicago around 1982, the portion of crimes committed by hand gun shot up extremely from below 40% in 1982 to more than 70% in 2010. The law was revoked after 2010. However, this shows how ineffective gun laws are. Gun control makes law abiding citizens vulnerable to criminals. Criminals want easy defenseless targets. I refuse to be the victim.
ReplyDeleteFor my interview I chose to interview Officer Mark Jacobs who is the Colchester High School resource officer. I decided to interview him because he deals with criminals all the time and has to carry a gun for his job. Therefore he is able to make connections between criminals and how they carry out their crime which was helpful for my project. After interviewing officer Mark Jacobs, I learned that Vermont has very lenient gun laws. In Vermont individuals are allowed to carry a gun in their vehicle, in state parks, state and national forests, roadside rest areas and all areas except school buildings and property, courthouse, any state institution and any place where carrying a firearm is prohibited by federal law. Vermont does not have a high crime rate and it is because citizens are able to easily protect themselves.
For this project I was hoping to show the community through my research that guns are not the issue. People are the issue. Guns do not pick themselves up and kill someone. People kill people. I hope that people can put their efforts towards something other than pushing for further gun control. If we can not keep drugs off the streets, out of our schools and federal prisons what makes people think we can keep guns out of the hands of criminals? Once again I refuse to be the victim.
As my topic of choice, I chose circus animals and how they are treated behind the scenes. From a young age, animals have always meant a lot to me. After all, I have been a vegetarian for two years. I despise the way that animals are treated in our society - used ignorantly for both consumption and entertainment, neither of which I agree with. They have emotions just like us and habits just like us that are taken away from them as soon as they are captivated by humans. They deserve to be treated with respect and love, not like accessories to human life.
ReplyDeleteThrough my research, I discovered a lot about what goes on in circus training sessions - during times when the audience is shielded from their sight. I’ve seen a number of videos where trainers have physically abused their circus animals with specific weapons (bullhooks, electric prods, whips, tight collars, and many more. These animals that you see prancing around on the stage or jumping through fiery hoops are not participating in this happily - they are forced into it. Over 50% of the animals that are involved/used in circuses around the world are kidnapped from their natural habitats at a young age. Tearing young animals (who have emotions, just like us) away from their families in the wild is wrong in so many ways, and can eventually cause emotional and physical diseases. Elephants can become depressed, mentally unstable, and because of this, they could potentially die prematurely in captivity. About 90% of animals in captivity die before they would in their natural habitat.
To learn more about my topic from a local representative, I interviewed veterinarian Jennifer Bryant at the River Cove Veterinary Clinic. Although she did not have direct information about the treatment of circus animals (because let’s be honest, Vermont does not have these types of animals or circuses at all), she knew quite a bit about the psychological effects that captivity projected onto animals. Because she is a veterinarian and works with mostly dogs and cats, she could relate a lot of the same problems that dogs have with being cooped up in tight spaces to the confinement that circus animals must endure. She informed me of the warning signs that domestic animals express when they are sad/upset/uncomfortable, and claimed that these signs were similar to those of elephants and other exotic animals used in the circus.
From completing this research and being granted this opportunity to share my newfound knowledge with my classmates and now the whole world, I feel as if I have contributed at least a little bit to the benefits of animals in captivity. I hope that when people look at my research and learn about my topic that they will not spend another dime to go to the zoo, or watch the circus. I hope that I have exposed enough relevant, awful information to the public that people will finally begin to view animals in a new light, and respect their emotions and well-being, because that is what they deserve.
I chose to research police body worn cameras, I've been interested in the controversy around them and how They have been such a prevalent tool in law enforcement. Throughout my research I found out that body cameras cost $400-$1000 per camera and that if an officer is on private property with his body camera recording it could violate the property owners Privacy rights. I interviewed Officer Jacobs, during my interview I found out that a lot of officers want body cameras, they protect the officer and leave no room for interpretation of what was said or seen. I have become more knowledgeable on the topic and believe that every department should adopt body cameras. The whole point of body cameras is to protect the community and to keep officers and the public safe and accountable.
ReplyDeleteFor my Senior Seminar project, I chose to explore the benefits and deficits of later start times in high schools. As a senior here, I see myself and many other students coming into school half asleep and suffering from sleep deprivation. In the past few years, both mental and physical health have risen in importance in our society. I wanted to see just how sleep deprivation effects a student’s mental and physical health along with the impacts that it had on a student’s GPA.
ReplyDeleteThrough my research, I found out many alarming facts about just how much sleep deprivation can effect a student. The main reason why students aren’t getting enough sleep is because during puberty melatonin (the chemical released that makes a person sleepy) is released around 11 pm. With that, many researchers suggest around 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep for high schoolers, meaning that teens get their best sleep from 11 pm to 7 am or 8 am. However, most schools start around this time, meaning students need to get up even earlier. Start School Later reports that 2/3rd of high school students get less than 7 hrs of sleep (less than the recommended amount) and 1/3 have reported falling asleep in a class. Some of the physical detriments from sleep deprivation are weight gain, a decrease in insulin production, increasing the risk for type two diabetes, high blood pressure, a slower healing process, and increase risk for heart diseases. Some of the mental detriments are impulsive behavior, depression, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, trouble concentrating/focusing, and delayed reactions. Kyla Wahlstrom reported that someone who has had less than four hours of sleep has similar reaction times/focus as someone who has a BAC of .08%. With many students driving themselves to and from school while sleep deprived this is a severe safety concern.
For this project, I interviewed Ms. Amy Minor. From the interview, I learned that she has considered delaying CHS start times, yet there is a lot of work that goes into that process. Some issues that would need to be solved are bus schedules/transportation, after-school activities, and safety for younger school children. Ms. Minor says that “for extracurriculars, those who play a fall sport would miss their last mod class in order to practice in sunlight” and that “parents on the community didn’t want us to flip the bus runs because they really wanted to ensure that older kids got home before the younger kids after school and would rather have the older kids standing in the dark mornings than younger kids”.
Though this project I have been able to learn a lot about how sleep deprivation affects a person’s body, but also the difficulties that come with delaying high school start times. I have learned that there are benefits from later start times and that our district is trying to find a way to create a later start time. From my findings, I hope that the community is able to see just how dire the sleep deprivation crisis is among teenager students and that hopefully in the future a change in start times will be possible
I chose to research animal assisted therapy for my senior seminar project because I had visited with a therapy dog once before, and I wanted to learn more about the use of therapy animals. Through my research, I learned that therapy animals can reduce anxiety, stress hormone levels, as well as blood pressure. Therapy animals could also be beneficial to those with learning disorders to help build communication skills. I also found it interesting that some therapy animals can be personal emotional support animals, while others may just volunteer at different locations in the community. One of these volunteer groups is Therapy Dogs of Vermont, where dogs and their owners can train to become certified for animal therapy.
ReplyDeleteThis made me decide to interview Emily McLean, the president of Therapy Dogs of Vermont. She shared some reactions people have during time with the therapy dogs and how working with therapy animals has allowed her to become more active in the community. One of the challenges that TDV faces is not having enough volunteers and therapy dogs to fulfill all of the requests for visits in the community. This interview made me think about training my own dog to become a therapy dog. I hope that my project also inspired others to become involved in animal therapy and raise awareness of alternative treatment methods.
My topic was “Is rap for better or worse”. Rap is a growing culture and is changing every day. I chose this topic because, I love to write music and rap is what I write. I’ve written songs since 6th grade and enjoy it more and more, the more I write. It is an outlet for me and it's a way so I can express myself and get something off of my chest. When I went into this project I only saw rap and hip hop as being a positive influence on people and the society. The things I didn’t see were that they’re are negative impacts as well involved. But the thing is, it just depends on who you listen to. You can listen to rappers such as “Lil Pump” who rap about drugs, and has profanity through each of his songs, and talks about stuff that doesn’t matter. It causes a bad influence for kids since when they are listening to a rapper, its their role model and they want to follow in their footsteps, which is a worrisome topic for parents. But there are rappers that have so much meaning in their songs that people don’t look at. Rappers like NF, rap about real stuff, real things people go through each day. People can be impacted greatly, basically a therapy for them and having people from different backgrounds and cultures connecting with each other and bringing them together. With rap having both negative and positive impacts, I chose to interview Ricky Worthen, a rapper in Burlington, who posts videos of himself rapping on instagram, and has such a passion for it. I learned that people who write music get impacted greatly as well, since its something they can always turn to, and have as an outlet, it's a great way for them to get something off their chest. I’ve changed, since I now want to put more meaning in what I’m rapping about as well. And want to rap about stuff that people can relate to. With this, the community can benefit from this because it will always be there for people to get something off of their chest or listen to when they are struggling and dealing with stuff. Rap will continue to grow whether it is for positive or negative with more artists coming out expressing themselves and how they feel.
ReplyDeleteAs my topic of choice, I chose to focus on concealed handguns. For the past decade there has been an ongoing debate about guns. Some believe that guns should either be banned or more regulated, while others want easier access to guns or do not think that there should be any more regulation added to the other existing laws. Some do not have any opinion on it and that is the audience I was mainly trying to reach with my project. I think it is a very important topic right now and people should have an opinion on it. Since I could understand words, I have known that my family keeps guns in the house. Growing up this way, I can't imagine residing somewhere without firearms present. I feel that if myself or others want further protection, they should be allowed to do so by carrying a gun with them wherever they go (with exceptions of course). The main thing that I found very interesting while doing my research was that there are two types of data, small-scaled (state and city wide) and large-scaled (country wide). I chose to look at the large scaled data because there was more of it. I hope that the community can view research and form an opinion, not just on my topic, but on all debated topics.
ReplyDeleteThe topic I chose to research was the impact of electric cars on society, I chose this topic because of my passion for cars and the idea of this new technology is fascinating, I love the idea that we are seeing the beginning of this technology and seeing how the future will eventually look. Some key points I discovered in my research were that most cities in the whole world are not ready for electric cars because of the demand for electricity and how big that demand is, it would cost any city a lot of money to either buy electricity or set up new power grids and plants to accommodate these cars. The cost of electric cars is very high because of how new the technology is and how it is not perfected yet, most people do not want to make the switch to them because of the high price and how weird they might seem to someone who does not understand them. There are some negative impacts to electric cars as well, the way they are produced in factories is bad for the environment because of the CO2 produced from those said factories, and the way the electricity used to power these cars is generated is not too good for the environment either because some of the electricity might be from fossil fuels. The way I have changed from doing this research is that it has changed my whole view on the community and how we are impacting it in a negative way and how most people do not really realize it, the community could benefit from my research by learning about these cars and how they will eventually pay off in many ways in the future.
ReplyDeleteFor my senior seminar project I decided to do the Pit Bull Ban. I wanted to do this because it was a topic that I had always been interested in. It was important to me because my brother has a Pit Bull and he has always gotten negative comments because of the breed of his dog. People have told him to get rid of the dog and even put him down. With research, I discovered that more Pit Bulls are euthanized every year just because of the Pit Bull Ban and the breed being “too aggressive”. Some of the key points I discovered were the two theories on the history of Pit Bulls. Some thought of them to have been made by mistake just from them being bred with other local breeds. Others thought the dog was bred on purpose to fight with bulls and that is how they got their amount of strength and large muscles. Another big key point was that it’s not the dog, it’s the human who raises it, and that goes for any breed. I ended up interviewing a woman from the Chittenden County Humane Society and what I got from her was what I pretty much already knew and that was it’s just like a human, you give respect you get respect. I also learned from her that most of the dogs at her shelter are from the bully breed and they have a hard time finding people to adopt them because people are afraid of them. I’m hoping that the community can take away from this that not all Pit Bulls are bad and we need to help save the lives of many innocent dogs. I hope it sends out a message and gets across to people that it’s not the dogs fault for being the way they are. They didn’t choose where they came from or how they were raised.
ReplyDeleteI chose Art Therapy as the topic for my presentation. I chose this topic because art has always been an outlet for me, and Art Therapy is a creative alternative to other forms of therapy. Art Therapy combines the artistic process with psychology techniques in order to help patients relieve past trauma, whether it be physical or mental. What a lot of people don’t know is that Art Therapy is a psychology-based degree, just like other forms of therapy. In order to become an Art Therapist, you need a Master’s Degree, as well as post-graduate credentials in order to get your license. The reason Art Therapy isn’t very well known, especially in Vermont, is because the Art Therapy community is very small. Betsy Graziadei, the Art Therapist I interviewed, got her Bachelor’s in Vermont but had to finish her training out of the state. She told about the licensing issue in Vermont, in which Art Therapists are trying to get a license to protect consumers from inaccurate uses of the term “Art Therapy.” They have been trying for five years at the Vermont State Legislature, with no luck. Not only is this affecting consumers, but it makes it harder for people to become Art Therapists in Vermont.
ReplyDeleteArt Therapy can be a good alternative to other traditional forms of therapy because it is non-verbal and very versatile; it bypasses those barriers that we put up when we talk to people. Not only does it engage the frontal lobe, but it also engages the motor and sensory nerves in the back of the brain. This makes it a suitable choice for improving recovery time of physical illnesses.It can be great for children who have a difficult time expressing themselves or feel uncomfortable talking about their feelings. It can also be beneficial for patients in hospitals because of its less direct and confrontational nature. It can also be a great way to get out feelings that you simply can’t put into words. I think it would be great in a school environment, because case studies have shown that Art Therapy can help victims of bullying feel more confident and validated. Combined with its stress-relieving properties, Art Therapy can be a unique way for students to unload school-related stress. I think it would be beneficial for schools to invest in Art Therapy programs because it gives students other options instead of having to talk to a Therapist.
I chose to do my project on Music Psychology, which is the study of how music affects the brain. I chose this topic because I have been playing guitar as a hobby for a long time and enjoy music, and wanted to learn more about it. Some key things I learned about in this project was how music can be used in therapy for pain management, treating depression, and treating Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I also found that listening to music can improve athletic performance because the dopamine release associated with listening to music lowers your perception of exertion. I also found that listening to music engages a lot of areas in your brain, and that some scientists believe that listening to music while studying can help you remember information better later.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed Jennifer DeBedout, a music therapist. One thing she told me about was how when she was treating a child with a severe learning disability who had difficulty communicating verbally at all, she was able to help the child count out loud to the beat of a 60 beat per minute metronome. She also told me about how she treats a lot of elderly people with Alzheimer’s and Dementia in order to improve quality of life and social skills. She told me that music therapy is very individualized, and that there’s not one blanket procedure for everybody. I thought that was interesting because it showed that music can have important real life applications.
Going into this project, I didn’t realize how many real-life applications music could have. I enjoyed music casually but this showed me that it can be used in more than just casual situations. I think this is important and the community can benefit because essentially everybody has at least some experience with music, and it is very accessible. The benefits of music, whether therapeutic or casual, are something that anyone can take advantage of.
I did my senior sem project on the snowboard industry and the history of snowboards. I chose this because I'm very passionate about snowboarding and I thought it would be a logical next step from my extended learning project on snowboard production and the snowboard building process. I learned A lot about the transition from Olympic style "spinning competitions" where athletes are tying to do as many flips and spins as they can into more stylish competitions like the knuckle Huck which is a newly released competition from the x-games which focuses on style rather than magnitude. I also learned about the people who made snowboarding what it is and what their current presence is within the sport. I did my interview with Dan Sullivan who is one of the founders of Rome snowboards. He talked about how in the beginning of snowboarding there were a lot of companies that were trying to innovate by making very experimental designs, but now that the industry understands what works and what people want they are starting to set in to more practical board designs. he also mentioned the new trend of back country riding and split boards which he believes will continue to become popular in the future.
ReplyDeleteI chose to do mental illnesses and how they affect the human brain. I chose this topic because I have seen mild mental illnesses like mild anxiety, but I have also seen the extreme part of it as an EMT. I’m also more of a science oriented person, so I thought the brain was fascinating. I learned how anxiety and depression have common symptoms, but individuals experience it differently. I also learned that depression is more of the whole body with thoughts and emotions while anxiety is just emotional based. I interviewed a therapist named Kasia Brown. She informed me that she usually only sees general anxiety disorder, but she does have patients that have other disorders. She told me that a person with anxiety can experience more physical symptoms while a person suffering from depression may just feel worthless and/or hopeless. I have changed because I have discovered that some treatments do not work for everyone. I have learned the symptoms and what to look out for, so I can reach out to help if needed. I changed by learning more about the brain and how it works with mental illnesses. If someone wanted to know why they were suffering from a mental illness or what it’s doing to their brain, I would have the information. The community can benefit from my findings by learning how to deal with individuals. By informing people about mental illnesses, more people will know how it affects someone and what they can do to help and/or prevent it. Anxiety and depression was never “socially acceptable,” but now more people have been suffer from in, a cause is social media, but now people are more aware of the situation and how an individual may be impacted.
ReplyDeleteMy topic was about cell phone radiation. I chose to do this project because many people are addicted to their cell phone, and don't know the negative effects it can have on them. I felt like by doing this project I made people aware that cell phone radiation is dangerous, and people should use their phones cautiously. I learned some ways you can reduce your exposure to cell phone radiation such as; not keeping your phone in your pant pockets, or in your coat pockets when not using it, use speaker phone when talking on the phone, and avoid using your cell phone during weak signals. For my interview I chose to talk with this woman Cece from a website called Wireless Technology. Cece gave me a lot of information on how cell phone radiation is dangerous, and how to protect yourself from this radiation. I have changed my actions with my cell phone a little bit after doing this research. I have started to use speaker phone when talking to someone, and I keep my phone away from my body when i'm not using it.
ReplyDeleteThe topic I chose was Alzheimer’s disease. My grandfather developed Alzheimer’s disease and had recently passed away a couple of months ago due to it. After my grandfather got the disease, I became concerned and wanted to understand more about the disease. Before the project, I had already had personal experience caring for my grandfather and seeing how the disease had developed from him. I also believe that he would be proud that I looked into this disease and gained a deeper understanding on what he went through and how to help the community with handling the disease.
ReplyDeleteSome of the key points I discovered was what happens in the brain with Alzheimer’s. Proteins called amyloid plaques build up between neurons in the brain and causes the neurons to lose connection with each other and die. There are different stages to Alzheimer’s (as it is a progressive disorder). Some behavioral symptoms are depression, anxiety, suspicion, and aggression; my grandfather experienced all of those. In the last stages, the brain shrinks significantly and the person with Alzheimer’s may not be able to function by themselves, would forget close family members, and not be able to perform simple tasks such as walking and swallowing. There are complications that can occur because of this such as malnutrition or pneumonia. It was surprising to learn that Vermont is the state with the highest percentage of death rates because of Alzheimer’s in the U.S.
I interviewed Linda Seaver, who works with Home Instead, an organization that cares for Alzheimer’s patients at home rather than at a care facility (because they are much happier and familiar at home). The main thing I learned from her was that all individuals with Alzheimer’s reacts to the symptoms differently. People with Alzheimer’s can have delusions and understand the world in a different perspective than us. For example, if a woman is wandering in the middle of the night, distressed, she might be looking for her children to get off the bus; because that’s what she used to do in her past. It’s important to understand who the individual person is with Alzheimer’s to understand why they’re behaving the way they are. If we take the time to understand the person, instead of just labeling them as “confused” or “a wanderer”, we can fully understand where they’re coming from and how to help them.
I developed as a person after this project; I now understand more about what my grandfather and so many people go through. The community can benefit by understanding how to help people and to become more educated. I informed them about the Walk to End Alzheimer’s set up by the Alzheimer’s Association in which the community comes together to walk and raise awareness and money for Alzheimer’s. Education is key as well; so more people can be educated and inspired from my project.
Owen Chamberlain,
ReplyDeleteI decided to do my project on the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. I chose this topic because every year people talk more and more about environmental preservation and trying to reduce climate change emissions, but too often do people ignore the effects of animal agriculture. Through my research I learned that animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gasses than all of transportation as well as being the leading cause of deforestation and ocean dead zones. In my interview I talked to Luke Sullivan a civil engineer from EIV, and he spoke about current policy on farms and how sanitation could be improved to reduce environmental effects. This opened my mind to an aspect of the industry I hadn't thought about before, how the government in some way aids animal agriculture with subsidies. Myself and my family has always been conscience about what they eat so cutting down on meat has always been something we thought about and it's been reinforced by this research. I felt that talking about the health benefits or the moral reasons for eating less meat have already been talked about enough, so much so that at this point it's just noise. I think the whole community can benefit from this research because if everyone tries to cut down on the amount of meat (primarily beef) they eat it can be a step in the right direction for protecting the environment
I studied the history of colchester from its founding to present day. Mostly focusing on the economic changes in Colchester and the economies impact on our town. I chose this topic because my family has lived in colchester for many generations and I wanted to know more about my town. Colchester has multiple history books and I am in one of them as the 15th generation to live in Colchester. Some of the key points were the abandonment of colchester, Winooski leaving colchester, and how colchester rebounded when Winooski left. These three major things in colchester’s history are really easy to understand why they happened economically and the impact on the populations. I learned a lot on how colchester grew a lot as a community economically in the first 200 years. I learned that cows were the main source of income in our town for the first 200 years. I have changed the way I thought our town was created it is a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. By looking at how colchester grew economically and then feel during the depression it shows the problems with relying on one industry to support a town.
ReplyDeleteFor my topic, I chose to research dreams and what they mean. At first, I really wanted to do something different regarding mental health. After my friends and I were talking about our strange dreams, I realized this was something I was really interested in and wanted to explore further. In my research, I learned so much new information that was fascinating. I learned that there were many different theories and opinions about dreams themselves, how they are interpreted, and the science behind them. I always had assumed that dreams predicted the future and are metaphors for your real life, however after being presented with differing research, I changed my mind. I also learned some super interesting facts, like that your brain only dreams faces that are recognizable or that dreams can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed a woman named Betsy Grund, who works for the Institute for Dream Studies in South Carolina. She has been studying dreams as a profession since the late 80’s. From this interview, I gained yet another perspective on what purpose dreams serve. Grund believes that dreams are a part of human evolution, that we as humans dreams things that could be used beneficially later in life. The sewing machine and the melody to Yesterday by the Beatles were both examples of ideas that were dreamed and later impacted the world.
After researching this topic, I realized that there was a lot you could learn from dreams. Knowing more about this topic can help people gain more knowledge about dreams and what they really mean, which has always had so many different theories and opinions. Dreams, if someone interprets them a certain way, can help a person learn more and gain insights about themselves through the events/symbols/metaphors that occur each night and can apply them to their real life.
For my topic, I chose to research dreams and what they mean. At first, I really wanted to do something different regarding mental health. After my friends and I were talking about our strange dreams, I realized this was something I was really interested in and wanted to explore further. In my research, I learned so much new information that was fascinating. I learned that there were many different theories and opinions about dreams themselves, how they are interpreted, and the science behind them. I always had assumed that dreams predicted the future and are metaphors for your real life, however after being presented with differing research, I changed my mind. I also learned some super interesting facts, like that your brain only dreams faces that are recognizable or that dreams can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed a woman named Betsy Grund, who works for the Institute for Dream Studies in South Carolina. She has been studying dreams as a profession since the late 80’s. From this interview, I gained yet another perspective on what purpose dreams serve. Grund believes that dreams are a part of human evolution, that we as humans dreams things that could be used beneficially later in life. The sewing machine and the melody to Yesterday by the Beatles were both examples of ideas that were dreamed and later impacted the world.
After researching this topic, I realized that there was a lot you could learn from dreams. Knowing more about this topic can help people gain more knowledge about dreams and what they really mean, which has always had so many different theories and opinions. Dreams, if someone interprets them a certain way, can help a person learn more and gain insights about themselves through the events/symbols/metaphors that occur each night and can apply them to their real life.
The topic I chose for my action research project was music therapy. As a singer and an empathetic person, I wanted to research something that combined the two. One time scrolling through Facebook, I came across a video of an 8-year old girl who was born without eyes, singing her way through a surgery with Alessia Cara’s “Scars to Your Beautiful.” I was brought to tears, and it was so moving, I immediately wanted to learn more. Music therapy, to put it simply, is a series of therapeutic practices to address goals. I wanted to learn more about this, as many of my friends suffer from anxiety and depression, and often tell me they use music as an escape.
ReplyDeleteSome key points I found out while researching was music therapy stems back to the 1940’s after World War II. Soldiers with PTSD were institutionalized in hospitals, and musicians visited to help aid veterans physical and emotional trauma. Another key point is that patients do not need to possess musical abilities or prior knowledge to participate in a session. They only need to listen, as sessions revolve around the teaching of technique.
I interviewed Maggie Connors, a certified music therapist who works with Music Blooms Music Therapy. Talking with Connors has opened my eyes to the world of music therapy, and using music to help someone feel safe, and listened to. The biggest thing I took away from talking to her was that music therapist candidates need to have 100 education hours every 5 years from a branch of the American Music Therapy Association called CBMT. CBMT is the branch in charge of making sure candidates are certified. Connors explained to me how she went to school and took 4 years of classes. I learned that candidates have to participate in an internship, that is both exciting and nerve-wracking. During these, candidates work in front of clients while being observed by certified music therapists. As someone thinking about going into this field, this is very interesting and helpful information to know.
During the gallery, I got a little emotional explaining my project. I believe the community can benefit from getting the word out, and helping others understand that this can really help. Mental health is often overlooked, and Connors told me she hopes the music therapy practice can expand in the coming years, as it is already becoming increasingly more popular.
The topic I chose was the importance of warming up before exercise and cooling down after exercise and how these actions relate to injury prevention. I chose this area of interest due to my experience of being an athlete: I’ve had injuries of my own and have also witnessed injuries of fellow teammates. The key points of my research included the physiological processes and benefits of warming up and cooling down. The purpose of warming up is to prepare the body for the stress of the exercise. Thus, it is through dynamic warm ups in which the body can gradually increase its pace, increase oxygen supply to muscles, and increase hormone levels. The purpose of cooling down is to gradually return the body to homeostasis. Therefore, static stretching prevents blood pooling and slowly returns the heart to its normal rhythm without abruptly stopping. Both warming up and cooling down aid in preventing injury. Preparing the body for stress helps decrease the risk of injuries such as tears and strains. Cooling down increases flexibility which helps prevent overuse injuries and aids in faster recovery. My research also included interviewing Mike Landsberg, an athletic trainer at the RehabGYM. Through our conversation I gained insight on training with high school athletes. Through Mike’s experience, he observed that many high school athletes have a poor mentality towards properly warming up and cooling down. Therefore, the actions are not completed properly and many athletes suffer from the consequences, which mainly includes injury. Through the interview Mike also provided insight to off-season training. While many athletes believe that this only includes skill work, it also includes training the body for the actions characterised by the sport. This training, along with properly warming up and cooling down, will aid in injury prevention. Reflecting on this project, the information I have obtained has changed my view and importance on preparing for exercise. Knowing both the benefits of warming up and cooling down, as well as the risks of not completing these actions, I will always include a warm up and cool down into my exercise routines. While the amount of time dedicated to these actions many vary, I know that even five minutes of completing these actions will benefit my health. My research not only influenced myself, but it has the ability to impact the community. By spreading the benefits of warming up and cooling down, athletes within the community should strive to create habits of completing these actions. If this habit and message can be spread, then the health of current and future athletes will be positively impacted and preserved. Spreading the importance of preparing for exercise will help lower the injury rate of athletes and improve their health.
ReplyDeleteAbby Palaza
ReplyDeleteMy research topic focused on the effects of toxic stress on brain development. Through my research I gained a scientific understanding of brain development from childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood in which the first three years of life are most important to development. In addition, synapses develop to form neuron connections in the brain and can ultimately be strengthened and discarded based on experiences. However, it is also the brain's plasticity that causes it's structure and chemical makeup to be negatively impacted by stress. Toxic stress, which is the prolonged activation of the stress response, leads to decreased brain activity and decreased size of specific portions of the brain controlling high functions. As a result, toxic stress leads to social and behavioral difficulties, especially in children, and can lead to health risk factors for adults. I choose this topic because of my interest in how science relates to real-world experiences. My interest in neuroscience was expanded through my research while I was simultaneously able to explore childhood behavior. Especially in a society where the effects of stress are more prevalent, I wanted to research not only the impact of stress and adversity, but how the effects can be reversed with the help of a community. I interviewed Tisa Begnoche, a behavioral specialist at Union Memorial. She expanded upon the effects of early childhood stress and adversity on behavior she observes in the classroom setting as well as how school system put in place are used to support students undergoing stress at such a young age. She ultimately stressed the importance of relationships in having a positive effect on a child's development process and overall health. Through my research I learned how important my actions are in impacting those around me. Our experiences directly influence who we are, even determines the shape of our brain. As a community we can control are part in influencing the development of others and their experiences. Acting as a role model and forming caring relationships in a community are not only powerful actions that promote a caring environment, but powerful actions that can reverse the effects of toxic stress and positively alter one's brain.
I chose to research Planned Parenthood. It is an incredibly important resource and organization for millions of people and many depend on it as their main source of healthcare. Sadly, it is demonized by many people who think it's only purpose is to terminate pregnancies. Abortion actually makes up less than 6% of their services though. Many low income families use Planned Parenthood because they don't need insurance for it due to Title X or Medicaid. Planned Parenthood provides important services such as STD tests, pap smears, cancer screenings, birth control information and options, and family planning counseling.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed Jennifer Long from PPNE and I learned that abortion is only one of the very many services Planned Parenthood provides and that there could be serious negative impacts if politicians continue to try and block necessary healthcare from people.
I wanted to do this project to help people in my community see the importance of Planned Parenthood and that it isn't replaceable. Many people are ignorant to the true facts and only listen to propaganda which can be dangerous for Planned Parenthood because it is 100% false.
I chose to do my project on vaccinations, specifically the controversy surrounding them. I chose this topic because I am interested in having a healthcare career in the future, and I thought it would be interesting to gain some insight into this modern dilemma. In my research, I focused on the history of vaccines, their benefits, and why people are sometimes hesitant to be vaccinated. I also looked at the guidelines for vaccines, and how some people are able to get exemptions in different states.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed Caroline Lyon, who is an internal medicine physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center.Lyon’s replies to my questions were helpful in detailing the benefits of vaccines, the testing they go through, and advances that have been made and should be made in the future. Lyon opened my eyes to how we stand in the United States as compared to the rest of the world. She was able to disprove controversies based on her experience, and effectively put into perspective where we would be today without vaccines. Her knowledge will be a strong addition to my project.
With the completion of this research project, I have become even more convinced than I already was before that vaccines play a vital role in protecting public health.The information I presented on Senior Seminar Night was supported by my audience. Everyone was pro-vaccines, and my project served to reinforce this side. I think that my project encouraged people to feel even stronger about the importance of promoting vaccines, as it did for me.
I chose to research Bilingualism and the effects that it has on the brain. Moreso, the benefits. I chose this topic because I grew up in a bilingual household, with both of my parents having emigrated from Russia before I was born. I also chose this because I think that by encouraging others to learn a second (or third) language, the United States can become a lot more inclusive, and immigrants could have a better transition into the United States.
ReplyDeleteI interviewed professor Guillermo Rodriguez, who is a Linguistics professor at the University of Vermont. Throughout the interview, I learned that there are actually two terms for learning a second language. There are bilinguals, who learn a second language from birth, and have been surrounded by the language from a very early age. And, there are people who are referred to as "Second Language Acquirers," who learn a second language post-puberty as an adult. Most High School students are second language acquirers.
I also learned, through personal research, that bilinguals are shown to have a better concentration, focus and denser grey matter. Grey matter controls one's memory recollection and storage, and bilinguals, who have a denser grey matter, tend to have a better memory and control over event recollection. They also tend to do better in school, as they can tune out classroom noise better.
With my completion of this project, I hope to encourage people to learn a second language and to expand their linguistic ability, aiding them in connecting with other people. I think that learning a new language can really bring a community together, and throughout my project I did not encounter a single person that was against learning another language, or wasn't open to it.
I chose to do my project on capital punishment in the United States because it is an issue that I have always been very strongly against and I wanted to learn more about both sides of the debate on it. I focused on researching the economic and moral aspects of the debate. I looked at the cost of capital punishment when compared to life imprisonment. I found that the trials, appeals, imprisonment on death row, and process of execution through lethal injection are far greater than keeping some in prison for life and that the US spends ten times as much on capital punishment then they do on life incarceration, even though there are far less cases in which the death penalty is involved.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at the morality of capital punishment I found that it is immoral and inhumane because there is a fairly high risked of botched executions. For these reasons I argued that capital punishment should no longer be practiced in the United States. I researched a New York State justice and he basically told me that he is against capital punishment and thinks that the trend of states abolishing it will continue in the foreseeable future. I think my research and project can benefit the community by informing people about capital punishment and helping them to form their own educated opinions on the argument using the information I provided.