2016 Senior Projects Fair

For two years of high school, I had an eating disorder. Another Girl is a memoir about my personal experiences, that I’ve written to share my story and spread eating disorder awareness with the Hopkins community.

 

The senior video captures the spirit of the class of 2016 and celebrates our growth into young adulthood. The video is made up of various sections—opening, closing, teachers, athletics, arts, student activities, 7th grade congratulations, as well as three candid sections. In addition, the video features seven segments of photographs. In these photo sequences each senior shows a picture of themselves as a young child that then dissolves into one of them as a young adult. The final product will be shown at the senior picnic at Ms. Riley’s house on June 7th in front of all the seniors and their parents.

 

For my senior project, I wanted to explore the different styles of graffiti art. As a result, I decided to create a graffiti illustration that embodied Hopkins, thereby allowing me to practice various stylistic techniques while creating a memorable final piece. In addition, I enhanced my appreciation for the artform by researching its history and learning about popular artists over time.

 

Humans and social media are becoming so intertwined, it is hard to tell the difference anymore. In my project, I set out to investigate the relationship between the two. By organizing a social media cleanse, I explore what happens when these programs are cut off from our lives. Do people find benefit in the absence of distraction or do they feel out of the loop? Stop by at the fair to find out.

 

Through personal research and outreach, my project aims to give me a deeper understanding of the world of criminal profiling. By reading narratives written by former profilers, attending an all-day seminar at the Henry C. Lee Institute at the University of New Haven, and reaching out to a forensic professional, I intend to gather all the information I can about the variety of requirements someone must meet before pursuing and succeeding in a career in this field, and I will pose myself this question: is this emotionally-troubling and mentally-compromising job something I can realistically do - and enjoy?

 

For my senior project, I have climbed the vertical height of Mount Everest (29,029 feet) at various gyms and crags throughout Connecticut. Throughout this process, I have kept a blog in which I discuss the process as well as present my own research on this history, geography, and politics of Mount Everest and mountaineering in general. I have used my climbing and this blog to raise money for the charity Paradox Sports, which designs prosthetic limbs and leads trips to enable disabled individuals to rock climb, ski, and hike.

 

Adviser: Ms. Jacox Rep: Ms. Bray Course Swap: AP French
Throughout the month of April, National Poetry Month, and the beginning of May, I designed and executed a series of poetry workshops for sixth grade students in Mr. Thomas Ward’s class at St. Martin de Porres. We experimented with rearranging the writings of renowned poets from Shakespeare to Langston Hughes, tried on different forms, explored sound and sense, and delved briefly into Slam Poetry. I found the students learned best, and that I did, too, when I was able to relinquish the absolute structure of my lesson plans, instead using them as a jungle gym of sorts, climbing around and inside them, improvising based on the class’s mood.

 

Adviser: Ms. Macey Rep: Ms. Barrows Course Swap: none
This is a group of short stories that are loosely based on my years in the world of dance.
They are windows into the lives of a small group of characters, each of whom appears in several stories. The issues addressed are not only dance-related but also psychological and societal.

 

Advisers: Dr. D’Angelo, Mr. Mueller Rep: Ms. J. Gleason Course Swap: Physics
On the surface, beekeeping is just an interesting outdoor activity; however, there is so much to be learned from bees and the democracy of their colony and about the biology of the bee. For my project, I built a functioning Langstroth beehive, installed a colony of bees in it, learned the ins-and-outs of beekeeping, and worked to overcome my fear of bees.

 

Adviser: Ms. LaBelle-Young Rep: Ms. J. Gleason Course Swap: English/English
Korean pop (Kpop) music, a genre of music that is unfamiliar to many Hopkins students, is known for its upbeat vibes and high energy performances. Through this project, we challenged ourselves to learn the choreography to two Kpop songs. We wanted to show our community that even inexperienced dancers, like us, can participate in the excitement that Kpop brings to modern entertainment. In addition to learning the dances to two songs, we have uploaded vlogs of our progress and posted beginner-friendly tutorials on the choreography.

 

Adviser: Ms. Macey Rep: Ms. LaBelle-Young Course Swap: Math 60 / Physics
The idea for this project began with the age old question, what is art? Not wanting to pass judgement or waste countless hours debating labels, but still wanting to explore why some artists are praised while others are cast aside, we decided that the best course of action would be to take on a few controversial artists for in-depth case studies. Over the course of six weeks we have explored four artists (Pollock, Rothko, Duchamp, and Warhol), their views on their own art, and their artistic processes. After understanding the context of their art, we created artistic work inspired by the techniques and motives of each artist we studied.

Adviser: Mr. Wich Rep: Mr. Pizarro Course Swap: English
For my project, I have been working with the Junior School Boys Lacrosse team in an effort to help better them. I work alongside the other coaches and pass along the knowledge I have acquired from playing 6 years of lacrosse, 5 of which were at Hopkins. Behind the scenes, I run a HUDL account so that the boys can see themselves play while viewing comments to help improve themselves.

Ellie Czepiel
Deconstructing Taboo: Education on LGBTQ+ Issues in the Hopkins Community
Adviser: Ms. Friedman Rep: Mr. Johnson Course Swap: English
The goal of this project was to bring to light the stories of LGBTQ+ people in the Hopkins community in order to educate the community about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. To do that, I interviewed members of the LGBTQ+ community at Hopkins, transcribed those interviews, and made a script out of lines from those transcriptions. I then filmed the script and made a 15-minute video that is essentially actors telling other peoples’ stories about being LGBTQ+. Please see an email from Ellie with a link to the trailer. Showtimes are Friday, May 20: In T119 during JSchool recess, G block, H block. And at the Senior Project Fair in Upper Heath: 3:40pm and 4:00pm 

 

Bennet Daponte-Smith
Building an Electric Guitar
Adviser: Mr. Taylor Rep: Mr. Kaplan Course Swap: Latin
For my senior project, I built the body of a solidbody electric guitar from scratch. The guitar is based off of an Epiphone Les Paul Standard with two humbucker pickups, a Les Paul shaped body, and full electronics.

Devika Das
Petite Pastries: A Pint-Sized Bakery
Adviser: Mr. Ziou Rep: Dr. Gries Course Swap: Physics AP
For my project, I’ve created a miniature world: a bakery full of my favorite desserts! Using Sculpey polymer clay, a few modeling tools, paint and glaze, I modeled various tiny treats, trying to capture all the fine details that make them so delightful.

Lisanne DeGroot
The Hopkins Machine
Adviser: Mr. Taylor Rep: Mr. Kaplan Course Swap: English
A Rube Goldberg machine is a chain of events outlining a complicated way of achieving a simple task. As an homage to Hopkins Science, I built a Rube Goldberg machine where different steps represent different Hopkins Science classes.

Emma Deshpande
Putting on the Ritz: Fashion Photography
Adviser: Ms. Klugman Rep: Ms. Barrows Course Swap: Physics
For this project, I researched four fashion photographers: David Bailey, Richard Avedon, Juergen Teller, and Steven Meisel. I wrote essays analyzing each of their techniques and the effects their photographs produce. I then planned and executed three fashion shoots in which I tried to create my interpretation of the photographers’ styles.

Fiona Drenttel
Painting from Literature
Adviser: Mr. Werrell Rep: Ms. LaBelle-Young Course Swap: AP Statistics
I made a series of paintings inspired by scenes and images described in Flannery O’Connor’s stories. I was interested in the relationship between language and image, and wanted to do something that combined literary analysis with a more strictly visual one. Each week, I read several of O’Connor’s stories and made drawings and paintings based on the language that she used, hoping to visually depict the environments and ideas
originally created by O’Connor’s words.

Oliver Eisenberg
Generative Art with Processing
Adviser: Dr. Gries Rep: Mr. Kaplan Course Swap: English
I used the Processing programming language to experiment with many different types of generative art, using randomness as a central idea in each of my projects. I explored many topics under the overall concept of generative art, including recursion, autonomous agents, noise, physical particles, and mathematical functions. Most of my programs are animations, and some of them allow the user to affect the program’s outcome by moving the mouse position.

Rory Fernandez
Where the Stars Meet the Earth: Pottery and Astrology
Adviser: Ms. LaBelle-Young Rep: Ms. Badus Course Swap: Math 65 & Spanish 4
Through this senior project, I have created 12 mugs and 12 plates based off of the zodiac signs. I used the pottery wheel to throw both forms. By researching, designing, wedging, throwing, turning, crafting, glazing, and firing, I have learned more about pottery and the astrological signs and improved by pottery skills immensely.

Maeve Flaherty
A Hero’s Mind
Adviser: Mr. Gette Rep: Ms. Barrows Course Swap: English
This project explores mental health through the lens of YA fantasy writing. Mental health struggles are consistently undiscussed and underrepresented in teen fantasy. I used my deep love of fantasy stories and my personal experiences with depression to write a YA novel in which a mentally-ill protagonist embarks on a quest.

 

Alexander Florian
Half-Turn: An investigation into the history of the horse
Adviser: Ms. Macey Rep: Mr. Johnson Course Swap: Pottery
Using my skills in writing and researching that I have cultivated throughout my Hopkins career,
I have written a book that investigates the development of the role of horses in society.
I look at this development specifically in the Americas, while focusing on the themes of war and trade. I convey this topic through a blend of episodes of historical fiction and analytical prose.

Philip Geanakoplos
Remember This: Great Speeches about War from across the Ages
Adviser: Mr. Pizarro Rep: Mr. Levy Course Swap: English
For thousands of years, memorization of the great classics was at the heart of Western education; my project has tried to recapture a part of this process. Since I love military history, I wanted to learn as many speeches about war as possible during the 8 week senior project period. From the Iliad and Aeneid, to Shakespeare and Churchill, I have tried to memorize the speeches that capture the full range of war’s emotions.

Rica Generoso
Music and Woodworking: Becoming a Uke Box Hero
Adviser: Mr. Mueller Rep: Mr. Melchinger Course Swap: English
We know the soprano ukulele for the lighthearted sounds we so commonly associate it with. Inspired by its upbeat tone, I took to the woodshop to build one of my own while simultaneously learning to play the instrument. This project is an exploration of two art forms that have gone rather unexplored for me, testing both my finger dexterity and woodshop abilities.

Annalise Hilts & Christiana Lano
Food Americana: The Mysteries of American Cuisine
Adviser: Ms. E. Gleason Rep: Mr. Levy Course Swap: Math 65/Physics
Have you been wondering why we ambushed you asking you for your thoughts on American cuisine? We’re here to answer! We spent eight weeks using data from our Hopkins community surveys and our anthropological investigations to determine if our glorious nation really does have its own cuisine.
In the mean time, check out our blog: foodamericana.wordpress.com/

JD Kennedy & Daniel Rock
The Joy of Joy of Painting
Adviser: Ms. LaBelle-Young Rep: Mr. Melchinger Course Swap: Math 62/English
We studied the cultural phenomenon that is Bob Ross’s show, “The Joy of Painting,” by subscribing to his program of learning to oil paint. We kept a record of how our painting skills improved by following his advice on technique and style. Our goal was not to make a judgement of the value or effectiveness of his program, but to see how far it could take us in terms of understanding wet-on-wet oil painting, as well as Bob Ross’s techniques and philosophy.

Serena Kleeman
An Immersion Into the Life and Music of Frédéric Chopin
Adviser: Mr. Smith Rep: Ms. Bray Course Swap: Span 4 Language
I have played piano since I was young, and Chopin has always been my favorite composer.
My goal of my senior project was to learn as much about the composer as I could,
both through reading about him and playing his music.

Isabel Kristan
Project EP
Adviser: Mr. Guthrie Rep: Dr. Gries Course Swap: English
With the help of my brother, I wrote, recorded, and produced an “EP” of four original songs. One of these songs includes vocals by another artist, but the music is our own style, characterized by how we hear and make sense of harmony and rhythm, developed and solidified through jamming in our basement since we were young. Our piano, guitar, drum, and vocal tracks were recorded via MIDI directly into Logic Pro X, a vast and complex recording software program with which neither of us was familiar. Over time, it became an incredibly useful and enjoyable resource that allowed us to create, edit, and mix the album in our home “studios.”

Miles Lourenco
Learning Japanese
Adviser: Mr. Johnson Rep: Mr. Pizarro Course Swap: English
I have spent time studying the Japanese language this spring through the textbook Minna no Nihongo. I also have a Japanese great-aunt who I met with and Skyped with regularly to help, and a penpal in Japan named Shoji Taku. I spent the first two weeks learning the two alphabets and since then I have been working through the textbook doing at least a chapter a week!

Avery MacMullen
Learning from Coaching
Adviser: Ms. Leite Rep: Ms. Badus Course Swap: Jazz/Rock
In this exploration of coaching, I headed out to the lacrosse field every day for junior school athletics. I helped lead warm-ups, suggested drills for practice, and offered tips to the players. Included in my project is a daily journal, logging the happenings of each practice, and a compilation of thoughts and reflections from various coaches on their experiences with coaching.

Billy McGrath, James Speer, Jono Zarrilli
Video for Admission: Intro to Hopkins
Advisers: Ms. McKenna & Ms. Wardlaw Rep: Mr. Levy Course Swap: AP Euro / English / French 4
Our Senior Project was to create an video of the school for use by Hopkins’ Admission Office. We wanted to differentiate Hopkins from other schools by giving the video a distinct student feel to it. Prospective students will hopefully get a real idea of what life and the students are like
on the Hill.

Jared Rosamilia
Exploring Microtonality Through Composition
Adviser: Ms. Schroth Rep: Dr. Gries Course Swap: AP Physics
After listening to more and more music that incorporated microtonality over the past year, I became interested in using alternate tunings in my own music. For my project, I composed two pieces using two different tuning systems and explored the concept of Just Intonation in music.

Andy Sedlack
Starting a Novel
Adviser: Mr. Melchinger Rep: Mr. Lytle Course Swap: Islam
I wove several characters and narratives I’ve had in mind for a while into a cohesive story,
set after a supernatural disaster in New York happens to ensnare both a runaway girl and a 911 operator whose sister is also trapped in the city.

Mollie Seidner
No Trouble With the Curve: A Recurve Longbow
Adviser: Mr. Byron Rep: Ms. Badus Course Swap: English
I spent my senior project learning about the different tools in the woodshop and mastering how to use them. I then took these skills and built an oven (for heating the bow while the epoxy set), a form to shape the bow, and a longbow.

Will Simon and Michael Bass
Cross Court: Writing for Television
Adviser: Mr. Levy Rep: Mr. Werrell Course Swap: Calculus AB / Physics
Cross Court is a TV script that takes readers behind the scenes of the Supreme Court, across party lines, and past the boundary of secrecy that surrounds the Highest Court in the Land. The show highlights the clerks of fictional Justice Louis Watkins.

Neha Srivastava
Modeling Thompson
Adviser: Dr. Gries Rep: Ms. Bray Course Swap: French 4 Language
I used a computer software, SketchUp, to create a 3D model of the exterior of Thompson.
I then 3D-printed this model. It was a project in computer modeling, architecture, and 3D printing- three things I had never done before.

Shannon Traynor & Emma Weiss
A CaProject
Adviser: Ms. Schroth Rep: Mr. Melchinger Course Swap: Env. Sci / Physics
As members of Hopkins’ all female a cappella groups, Spirens and Triple Trio, we wanted to learn how to arrange songs a cappella, and discover what it meant for an arrangement to be a “good” one. We began by arranging two songs, with no prior knowledge of how to properly arrange.
We then spent the next few weeks learning about a cappella arranging through research and arrangement analysis. We then arranged the songs again, and found that our skills had increased with our newfound knowledge, (unsurprisingly considering our skill levels began at zero.)

Juliette Verlaque
Conversations at IRIS: Exploring the Refugee Crisis
Adviser: Ms. E. Gleason Rep: Ms. J. Gleason Course Swap: Calc AB
For my Senior Project, I created a long-form journalism piece about IRIS, the refugee resettlement organization based in New Haven. I spent the first three weeks shadowing and volunteering at the IRIS offices, interacting with refugees from Iraq to Guinea, sitting in on English classes, and helping people fill out job and housing applications. I then conducted about fifteen interviews with IRIS staff from across the board, as well as a few refugees. The result is a web-based long-form article which combines text, pictures, and audio clips to provide a comprehensive overview of IRIS and the refugee resettlement process.

Allison Weiss
DRAW! -- A Cowboy Card Game
Adviser: Mr. Young Rep: Mr. Melchinger Course Swap: none
Over the course of six weeks, I designed, tested, and developed custom art for a game. And throughout this time, my concept has changed and developed into something almost entirely different from what I originally envisioned, thanks to feedback from test groups. I have had to alter my rules, add to them, and take unnecessary aspects out of the game repeatedly to come to the game that I now have. DRAW! as it is now accomplishes the goal I originally intended: to be an entertaining game that brings joy to its players while maintaining a western theme.

David Wisdom
A Bluer Side of Rap
Adviser: n/a Rep: Mr. Melchinger Course Swap: none
Rap, like any art form, is largely about self-expression. I chose to focus on the theme of sadness, and how different artists use music as an outlet for some of the darkest parts of their minds. I drew on my knowledge of rap and my own experience with depression to essentially write an analytical paper using a music playlist (plus some interviews) and my experience as the source material. In addition to the paper, I wrote two songs that I can perform from memory.