Sonas to America | Mia Costonis '21 & Alysa Akins '20

Project Description: Sonas To America is a non-profit company working with the Sonas weaving village in Cambodia. We receive their handmade goods, sell them through our retail partners, and donate all of the money back to Sonas. We have a direct relation with Paul Gill, the manager of the village, and our hard work helps send the women's children to college through Sonas's scholarship program. Our goal is to raise enough money to open more weaving villages, resulting in more jobs for Cambodian women.

How has the Coronavirus had an effect on your project and what are you doing to overcome those challenges? During Coronavirus, we have pivoted to selling face masks. For every mask sold, we donate one locally to a person in need, and we still send all of our profits to Sonas. right now, we are the village's main source of income because they usually rely on tourism. We are currently shipping our products across the US so that we are not limited by the stay at home orders in place. The money we donate back provides the women with a steady income, and our big masks orders keep the women employed.

Alysa and Mia exemplify the hustle and heart that it takes to bring a business to life. I’m especially impressed with the way that they pivoted their venture toward masks, and the establishment of their “buy one, give one” model. Over a few short weeks, they have helped countless members of their local community, while at the same time providing vital income for the women of Cambodia who are lacking the tourist support that they would normally see this time of year.

Ed Glassman, Director of CEL & Faculty Mentor

volunteam | Kylie Cantos '21

Project Description:  VolunTEAM is a gamified, fun, and convenient way for teens to volunteer which is a win-win for teens and charities. VolunTEAM matches teens that want to get more involved in philanthropy with charities that closely match their interests. Teens take a survey to determine what type of volunteer they are: Hands-On, Extroverted, etc. Based on the responses, they get placed into one of ten VolunTEAMs with other like-minded teens and volunteer at organizations that are meaningful to them.

How has the Coronavirus had an effect on your project and what are you doing to overcome those challenges? Although our in-person events had to be postponed due to COVID-19, there are still so many opportunities to volunteer! Following my passion for volunteering, I have launched the “VolunTEAM takes on-at-home volunteering” campaign. In order to execute this initiative, I reached out to many organizations that have activities you can volunteer work for while being at home! To launch my campaign, I sent out an email to over 170 teens with this information concerning volunteer at home opportunities.

I never thought that, as a teen, I’d have the opportunity to launch my own non-profit and make a real impact. I’m extremely grateful to the CEL program for helping me bring my idea to fruition.

Kylie Cantos '21

STEAM Squad | Liz Castellanos, Mikayla Brown, Jocelyn Freed - '21

Project Description: STEAM Squad is a Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics focused educational app for girls ages 5-10. The App, STEAM Squad, gives girls an early introduction to STEAM learning by doing fun hands-on activities that get girls engaged, inspired, and learning creatively with the help of character female role models.

If you are truly passionate about something, you will be surprised at what you can accomplish. My advice to other young entrepreneurs is that they should never let their age determine what they are capable of.

Liz Castellanos '21

Books 4 Me and You | Jaya Merritt & Darius Isaac - '22 

Project Description: We are creating a series of intergenerational story books. This series is designed to connect generations with colorable illustrations and fill in the blanks for personalized storytelling. Our main reason for creating these books is to improve the lack of communication between generations. As both children and grandchildren Jaya and I have experienced the divide that technology created between older and younger generations first hand.

My capstone project was special to me because it is something that is close to my heart. For as long as I can remember I have adored the older generation. They have so much wisdom to share from their life experiences. Since I am young, I know how hard it can be to find something in common because we have grown up in completely different times. That’s why I love this this book because it is a conversation starter. It will show that we have things in common that we would have never thought, and ultimately it will feel stories to be told.

Jaya Merritt '22

VR-Rec | Peregrine Jaeger & Lily Strickland - '22

Project Description:  Our project is a scale model of the SCH performing arts space. We used the SketchUp online program and pictures of the Rec's green room walls. Our goal for this project was to memorialize the performing arts center in its current state before it undergoes renovations in the coming years. The Rec holds many important memories for the Players community and we wanted to preserve the space for both players alumni and future players.

When Pere and Lily realized that the pandemic would greatly affect the feasibility of their project, they immediately reached out to explore options of how to continue to pursue their project in a different way. They set clear goals and worked with diligence and enthusiasm the entire way through. They made extraordinary efforts to learn a new software program, schedule time beyond what was expected to take photos of the Rec, and craft a project of very high quality.

Juliet Fajardo, Architect / New Media Teacher

Epi-Phone | Delaney Brody '22

Project Description: The Epi-Phone is an insulated Epinephrine holder that attaches to a phone case so that you never forget your Epi-pen again.

The Epi-Phone is a far-reaching, large-impact project that can change the lives of people around the world. It was clear that this project was important to Delaney and that her empathy towards others was an extremely motivating factor. Delaney did a great job learning the new computer-aided design software that was necessary to design her project, and worked towards creating multiple prototypes for testing. The future of this project is very promising and we look forward to continuing it with Delaney next year!

James Martin, Physics, Engineering & Robotics Teacher

Facilitate The Fostered I Maya McDermott '22

Project Description: Facilitate the Fostered (FTF) is an organization to help kids who age out of the foster care system gain a stable living style before they have an occupation they can live off of on their own. The host can sign up for FTF and offer their home for rent to kids who age out of the system, and an aged out foster kid can go onto the FTF website and find a home fit for them to stay at for any chosen amount of time. Both parties can request to have a mentor type relationship with one another as well. 

Maya, your attention to detail was strong in this project and served you so well during your many expert interviews. You conducted more expert interviews than required and showed college level discussion with experts in many different fields. Your background research was impressive and you really dug into the problem that your audience was facing. Nicely done! Our CEL team is excited to see where you take your project!

Paris Gramann, CEL Faculty

LifeSTYLE Fashion | Stephanie Scheuermann & Chloe Brundin - '22

Project Description: lifeSTYLE fashion has a mission of creating fashionable and unique clothes for teenagers and young adults. We will use old, reworked clothing in order to help limit the pollution caused by things like fast fashion. While creating trendy clothing, we are working to make sure all our garments are sustainable in an effort to reduce the negative impact the fashion industry has on the environment. Additionally, all of our pieces are one of a kind to promote individuality among our customers.

Stephanie and Chloe, you both had lovely designs that incorporated sustainability beautifully. Your final clothing piece was fashion shoot ready and you continued to bring creativity in how you were going to reach your audience and continue your production. Nicely done! Our CEL team hopes to be seeing your clothes on the market soon!

Paris Gramann, CEL Faculty

eARTh Mural | Amanda Cooney, Iris Wilde, Whitney Taylor - '22

Project Description: Our project's mission is to create environmentally focused murals that call attention to current environmental issues, while raising awareness and promoting change. Through art, we hope to reach a universal audience, beginning in individual communities, and then expanding to encourage wide-spread change.

The sign of a team that is communicating effectively is whether anyone in the group can summarize the progress of the team. This team did this often and well and each person had a commitment to completing their part of the project for the greater good of the group. When we went online, they discussed their options and pivoted well and did not lose a beat in terms of the group progress.

Dr. Ellen Fishman, Director of The Arts and New Media

Race Safe | Jack Stephenson & Nicolas Blagojevic - '22

Project Description: For our project, we made a roll cage for a go-kart in the science department of our school. We will be making the roll cage in order to find a safer way for somebody to casually race. A go-kart is perfect for this since it is very accessible. With the roll cage, the driver will not have to worry about getting injured if they happen to get into an accident at any point during the race. We made it out of different materials such as aluminum and steel.

The pandemic pivot was clearly difficult for team-based projects. This team exemplified the best way to tackle these difficulties and challenges by teaching each other the intricacies of the computer-aided design software that they used to produce their prototype. It was clear that they were both passionate about this project and this helped to motivate them when working on their own. The persistence and curiosity shown by Nick and Jack only encourages us for the future of this project.

James Martin, Physics, Engineering & Robotics Teacher

Swoke | Jazze Wingard '22

Project Description: A mobile app where users anonymously share their experiences and opinions while discussing current social issues free from fear of judgment or ostracism.

In an industry where folks often rely on a team effort to complete a project, Jazze individually took on a challenge to design an app that tackles social issues that many people want to discuss but often lack a forum to do so. During this project, Jazze learned how to take an idea through a design phase with little to no experience using the necessary technological tools to do so. Jazze is a perfect example of how following one's passion can lead to amazing results.

Dr. Vincent Day, Program Director for Computer Science and Interactive Technologies, New Media Teacher

MoonBass | Will Stutman '22

Project Description: An electric bass that weights significantly less than a standard electric bass while still retaining the classic playability and comfortability of a standard electric bass.

Bass guitars are heavy, cause back issues, and can break your toe if you drop them on your foot, and Will Stutman has a plan to change that! Will joined the Capstone program with a clear vision for his project, he researched the problem and produced strong design drawings. He worked diligently to learn the computer-aided design software and produce a design ready-for-manufacture. We look forward to completing this project and taking a trip to the Moon bass, next year!

James Martin, Physics, Engineering & Robotics Teacher

Honest Account Magazine | Sam Halfpenny '22

Project Description: An online news aggregation magazine that brings together and analyzes perspectives on a news story from multiple sources in order to gather the full image of a story, and recognize the bias that news sources have when presenting these stories.

Working alone, Sam quickly developed an idea for how to identify biased news reports and then how to report in a way that was not biased. He produced the stories for his magazine very quickly and then worked on how to present the ideas to a broader audience. He wrestled with the many ways to consume news and how to build an audience. His work was exceptional and we look forward to how he might build on this idea in the future.

Dr. Ellen Fishman, Director of The Arts and New Media

H.E.L.P.I.N.G. The Homeless Backpack | Alexa Rhodes '22

Project Description: I created a backpack kit to solve the problems homeless people face on a daily basis. Inside the bag, it includes necessities and other valuable items that the homeless are lacking. It is a non-profit company aiming to make the lives of homeless people more comfortable and secure.

Alexa, you went SO far during this class! You really exceeded expectations by raising funds and making useable prototypes of your bags for the homeless. All of us in the CEL team are looking forward to your continued work on this Social Impact project. Good job!

Paris Gramann, CEL Faculty

Infinity Flies | Lucas Poltorak '22

Project Description: I make hand-tied flies for all species and all sizes. Price ranges from item to item and I do custom orders. I pride myself on quality so you can be guaranteed that the fly will hold up and have a beautiful presentation in the water.

Lucas has been making fishing fly lures by hand and selling them to fishermen-in-the-know for years. He made the most of this opportunity to better develop his brand, especially his online presence, during this semester of Capstone. We are especially proud of how he has leveraged his personal connections with fishing tour guides and pros across the country to cultivate a loyal following for Infinity Flies. Check out his work on instagram (@infinity_flies) and keep up with the brand as it continues to grow.

Ian Kreher, Mathematics Teacher