Capstone Blog

Blog #1 summer vacation

This summer I went to Boston to attended The Berklee school of music. I stayed in Boston for the entire 5 week program at the school, while I was there I visited many museums and attractions around Boston.

I am exited to continue the pltw program for my fifth year in a row. I will enjoy working on a big engineering based project all year .

I am also exited to continue music in general both through classes and studying in my own time.

Blog #2 Class Progress

Recently In class we have been discussing and debating ethics in business and engineering.

Ethics are much more involved than I would have ever guessed. We learned that every decision, even the seemingly good ones, have consequences.

Engineers are always trying to improve the world but sometimes your actions have different results. My reaction to this new perspective on engineering has made me more cautious about what i will choose to create for the capstone project.

Recently I have been writing variation on my music. I will write a piece and then attempt to maintain similar ideas but communicate different emotions.

Blog #3
Halloween Project

Looking back on the project my biggest regret was not adding a vex motor to the neck. This idea was something that I constantly pitched to my group members, witch they consistently rejected. As we reached the deadline with 2 days left we had very little to do and I felt that was our opportunity to replace the motor. This was a pivotal moment in our group and something I hope will not be repeated in my project.

The Problem -

We had plenty of time to maximize the project and my group peers considered it too risky to attempt.

To their credit, it would have been slightly risky, but to look back on the project and say that we achieved everything and more than what we wanted would have been worth it.

To begin with the things that went well I would start by discussing the cosmetic and overall scare factor of the project. Originally we choose a design that was simple, at least compared to the other groups, and I really think that this was the only reason we were able to create something that we were happy with and proud of. So we started with a simple idea of a head that falls back after sensing motion. As we continued through the weeks of development we faced many problems like the other groups, we didn't even have a bear for the first two weeks, but because we kept the idea small we were able to make something presentable with about two weeks left. Once we had something that felt presentable, not only was there less stress but each new day we could spend individually improving different sections. One day we add a stable base and hide the electronics, the next day we add paint and make the bears look scary, and finally we were able to add moving vex parts that fully interacted with a hidden light sensor.

Blog 4

College applications are very stressful. I am still finishing My last couple applications this week. I think that I have learned that I do not do well in stressful situations and when I do not properly address them they will affect all other parts of my life. I have a couple of schools that I applied to but there isn't a school that I feel like I need to go to. I feel bad because I don't know what I want to do in the future and I hope that I can figure that out soon.

I am exited to leave my family. I think I really need some space from them. I haven't had space since the summer and I miss being in my own space.

I am currently planning on attending Cal poly Slo for the continuation of my education for the next 4 years. I am unsure what I want to study but I hope I will be able to figure it out eventually. My initial instinct was to major in business due to how safe of a degree choice that seems, however it isn't something that I am interested in so I might struggle to succeed. I have always enjoyed English class and debate teams as well as my most recent government class so maybe I can find something that combines those nicely. I hope to find a job that can interest me as well as challenge me and does not get to repetitive, although beyond that small criteria I am still unsure where to focus my curiosity.

Blog 5

Blog 6

My pltw career was pretty disrupted by the Covid isolation in 10th and 11th grade. I would have loved to have gotten more in-person guidance from my teachers as well as an in-person physical demonstration. My proudest achievement, throughout the four years in the program would be staying in the program, I have never been adept at engineering and mathematical subjects which have always been integral parts, this often lead to very challenging moments where i would consider dropping the class and even though I felt that way somtimes I never dropped the class and everytime I eventually gotht through the problems and challenges I was much happier.