GS Portfolio

Welcome back to my blog! This post is for the second Action Project of the STEAM class, Frontiers. This class has been about the frontiers of science and discovery in space and the oceans. We studied marine ecology, biology, geology, and physiology in the first unit. We also looked at technological frontiers in the maritime sector, such as ways to clean up ocean pollution, capture carbon dioxide, and rebuild coral reefs. In this unit, we have looked at the stars, planets, and galaxies around us. We have learned about how the universe came to exist and how humans began to study it. For this Action Project, we have been tasked with writing a research paper about a frontier of our choosing in the field of space exploration. For my paper, I decided to look into propulsion systems or the types of rockets that can bring humans or crewless spacecraft from the Earth's surface into orbit. Propulsion systems have been researched and built for many years, so in a general sense, they aren'...

Welcome back to my blog! This post is for the second Action Project of the STEAM class, Social Entrepreneurship. In this second unit, Develop, we have been learning about what makes a business, especially social ones. A social enterprise is a business aimed at addressing a social cause where investors make investments with a vision of contributing to social welfare and not profit entirely. We focused heavily on analyzing the bits and pieces of businesses, such as their mission/vision statements, legal structures, marketing strategies, and more. For Field Experiences, we spoke with Eric Davis, the founder of Global Citizenship Experience Lab School (GCE). Having the chance to meet Eric was incredible because he was the founder of the school I have attended for 3 years, going on 4. It was interesting to hear his vision for the school and the importance creating GCE has had on his life. Leading up to the Action Project, we were asked to create as many business ideas as possible and eventu...

Welcome back to my blog! This post is for the first Action Project of the STEAM class, Social Entrepreneurship. Throughout this unit, we have been learning about human behaviors. Understanding the behaviors of ourselves and other people can be crucial in seeing how businesses run with the guidance of several different kinds of people or how people react in certain situations. To learn more about our behaviors, we took a few personality tests, such as the Meyers-Briggs, DiSC, Big Five, and the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Management test. These revealed several pieces of my identity that surprised me or affirmed what I already knew. Next, we spoke with researchers from the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation. This research organization specializes in an aptitude test that can help test takers derive more satisfaction from their lives by discovering their natural potential. For this AP, we have been asked to identify an idea for improvement, either within ourselves or GCE Lab School. I have ...

Welcome back to my blog! This post is for the second Action Project of the STEAM class, Econ: Risking Value. In this second unit, Sustainability, we discussed thinking like a 21st-century economist. To help us with this investigation, we read Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth. Raworth's book explains a new economic model, the Doughnut, focused on providing for every person's needs while safeguarding the living world on which we all depend. Using Doughnut Economics , we dove into each of the chapters and explored different ways of moving past the 20th-century economic model toward the 21st century. To gather different economic ideas throughout history, we created a timeline of influential economists starting with Hammurabi in the 1700s BCE to modern economists like Milton Friedman in the 20th century. For Field Experiences, we spoke with Pete Kadens, a philanthropist focused on providing education for underserved Chicagoans and looking toward a more sustainable future. This Ac...

Welcome back to my blog! This post is for the first Action Project of the STEAM class, Economics: Risking Value. As a class with only two Action Projects, this post and another in the future will show off a lot of work completed over a few weeks. In this first unit, Growth, we have investigated the economic and math concepts that would be useful in modeling choices. Throughout the class, we read Freakonomics  by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, which presented economic utilities through real-life examples. We have also explored how incentives can persuade others and affect decisions. Other essential vocabulary words such as opportunity cost, supply, and demand became useful leading up to the AP. For Field Experiences, we met with a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago representative, who talked with us about what the FED does nationally and locally. In this Action Project, we have been tasked with thinking about plans after graduating high school. We would have to consider c...

Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the third Action Project of the STEAM class Urban Planning. In this third and final unit, Flow, we focused on how cities and urban areas have developed over the years. We first learned about how cities have always been centered around trade which has always relied on transportation and studied different modes of travel over the years that all contribute to urban planning. We took some time to learn about eminent domain which is something the state can use to claim private land from a private citizen for its own use if it has a strong case such as public use. We then looked at INVEST South/West, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's community development initiative to reverse disinvestment on Chicago's South and West Sides. This initiative is trying to bring together multiple city departments, community organizations, and corporate partners and so far the city has aligned more than $1.4 billion in public and private investment. We then moved on...

Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the second Action Project of the STEAM class, Urban Planning. In this second unit, Power, we have been studying all things electricity. We started by looking at how batteries work in our phones and then onto Nikola Tesla with his Alternating Current and Thomas Edison and his Direct Current. These two current systems have played an important role in how energy is transferred through electronic devices and across large distances. Using this research, we investigated static electricity, current electricity, and magnetism to understand how electricity works. We also worked with circuits to see how electricity would flow and provide light. For math, we studied Coulomb's Law compared to Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation, Ohm's Law, and equations using the Power formula. We finished up the unit by looking at light pollution which is a problem in Chicago and then smart grids like the one in Denmark. For this AP, we have been asked to ch...

 Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the first Action Project of the STEAM class Urban Planning. In this first unit, Load, we have been studying bridges and how they can support different loads. We looked at the four main bridge types: beam, truss, arch, and suspension. Each of these bridge types has its own means of supporting loads. Truss bridges for example can be helpful to support a distributed load. It does this by distributing the forces of tension and compression into its trusses. Suspension bridges distribute the forces into tension in the cables that transfer into compression at the piers. For math in this unit, we learned about vectors, forces, force body diagrams, and Newton's Laws of Motion. For Field Experiences, our class walked down to the Chicago Riverwalk and looked at the bridges that connect the city's North and South sides. Chicago's bridges use the truss design and act as drawbridges. Another FE was a visit by Drew Valentine from GMB Architecture...