Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
I am proud of successfully completing my block presentation as well as everything that I have learned. I do not know of any other schools that have projects and presentations as rigorous as the ones at iPoly, so completing them and getting a good grade is something I feel everyone should be proud of.
(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE-, I used some mini labs in order to better teach my answers to the audience. These mini labs were unique to my own since I had not seen any other presentations have them.  

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

P, I missed a few things but from the things that I did complete, they were AE work and well completed. 

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

The thing that worked for my senior project was the simplicity yet the complexity of my topic and the answers. I could give a brief description of what they were about or as I did, talk about them for 30 minutes which would seem impossible at a "normal" high school.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I would not start the night before because I had to stay up late working on my presentation. This also affected the amount of mini labs I was allowed to have in my presentation because of the such short notice and all the materials that I would need. I believe that even with the minimal time, I was able to achieve in my presentation.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

After completing my senior project I am now able to break down research into a more of a useful aspect. (By looking at my research notebook, this can be observed.) At first my research was very basic with minimal complexity or information but as the year progressed my notes became more detailed and were better in almost every aspect. Also the senior project helped me with networking as well as communication and its importance. My mentor constantly had to meet with other specialists such as civil engineers or structural engineers in order to secure that a building was safe. Several meetings that to be arranged with an entire team of specialists to ensure progress in the plans as well as its security. A lack of communication and networking could lead to a long process for the meeting to occur as well as mixed information on the time and day of the meeting.

Mentorship

L:

Erik Peterson, architect at Claremont Environmental Design Group. 

I:

An important thing that I learned was networking with a team of individuals that must be collaborated with in order to have a successful product. I had seen numerous attempts by Erik Peterson and his fellow colleagues. It was important to speak with every member of the team in order to get the best results. 

A:

From doing my mentorship I have been able to answer my EQ with real world solutions. Such as my first and second answer which were obtained by observing a super adobe building located in Claremont and designed by CEDG. By obtaining a mentor like mr. Peterson he was able to explain to me first hand what he did and how he got the ideas for the window placement and style as well as building structures with materials found on-site.