I did it. I made it through Capstone Night in one piece. It's over. However, this week did not go off without a hitch. I have been sick for the past week with a terrible cough. It is terrible and nothing seems to help. I've taken cough drops and devoured them as if it were medicine. I've drank water and tea as if it were my religion. I have tried everything, and yet this cough keeps on persisting. I don't believe that it is connected to my ailment from before break (where I lost my voice). In the beginning of the week, I presented my Capstone project, with the only feedback being on my presentation style and removing one slide that discussed my rationale for my methods and replace it with an in-text citation for where I got the idea for the methods. I immediately implemented the changes about my presentation into my presentation. For my presentation style, most of it was due to the fact I wasn't feeling well. I needed to speak more loudly and be more natural with my body language. I believed that if I were feeling better on Capstone Night, these issues would resolve itself.
For the actual Capstone Night presentation, I presented at 6:05. I knew one of the judges, who was a former student here last year, so I wasn't worried about his grading. I was still coughing on this day so I was worried about how I would get through an entire presentation without my voice giving up on me. I did my presentation, but by the results section, I only had five minutes left to present. I got nervous, so I began speaking more quickly. I was still understandable though, so I don't think it was that big of an issue. For the questions, one of the judges felt I was speaking too fast and asked me to repeat my result and conclusion section. Since she wasn't a native speaker, I felt like that played a role in it too. Overall, I think I did really well. Tags: Reflection, Presentation, Projects
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This week was a very short week. We didn't have school on Tuesday, but we did have school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It is finally hitting me how close Capstone Night is. It is next week. I still had to do my poster and presentation, with very little time. This week I finished my presentation. I mainly used slides from my previous presentations, including from last semester, to make my final presentation. I used the literature review summary slides from my final Capstone 1 presentation. I used the same methods and materials that I have been using all semester. I used the same question, hypothesis, and variables slide as my final Capstone 1 presentation. I used the result slides from my results presentation. I used the discussion and conclusion from my results presentation. The only thing I made new this time was a diagram to explain how to set up the cells and treat them, as well as my citation slide. I added mostly the same photos I used for previous presentations, so that wasn't new either. I finished it and checked it over a few times this week, so I think I am set. For right now, I don't have to complete my poster, but that is nearly done anyway. I used the same introduction and methodology section that I did for my Capstone 1 presentation template, but I added some more relevant information on it. I added my results and discussion. I also finished my acknowledgement and references section. The only thing left is to do the conclusion, summary, and future works section and then I am finished. Next week I have to present once in class before Capstone Night. I am excited because I know my topic inside and out. This area is so specific in such a specific field, there are very few people who could challenge my knowledge come Capstone Night. This fact has given me the confidence I need. Tags: Presentation, Project, Planning, Reflection, Results, Productivity Time is moving by quickly. We are now just 22 school days left until Capstone Night. Surprisingly, I am feeling good. I feel confident. I do not know whether it is because I am truly confident or whether I am just so numb to everything that my stress doesn't register with me. I am pretty shocked at how confident I am, because usually I am freaking out at a time like this. I guess it is a testament to how much work I have put in and how Capstone has changed my perception on time. I think Capstone has also allowed me to manage my stress and expectation levels much more accurately. I am more aware of my capabilities and I guess I believe I can pull this off. My draft of the result is coming along. I actually finished my draft. I didn't realize that we just had to include the charts and table. I thought we had to write something extra. I then realized that it was just the charts and tables, which I already had. I believe I am track to complete my project and my paper by December 21st. All I have to do is write my discussion, edit the results, edit my discussion, write my conclusion, edit my conclusion, edit my bibliography, and then I am done.
This week, I took it pretty easy. I finished my results, but other than that, I haven't really done anything. I did start working on a presentation for my results which I have to present next week. I haven't started working on my discussion, but I believe that I can get it done very quickly. Next week, I would like to finish my first draft of my discussion. For my discussion, I need to include other sources, since most of my results will just be hypothetical. I will use this to answer my hypothesis in a theoretical sense. I also have to present my results next week. I have a lot of work to do, but I believe I will get it done. Tags: Discussion, Forward, Presentation, Projects, Results, Time Management Happy Thanksgiving guys! This blog will be pretty short since this week was a short week. I'm sitting at home and enjoying some down time and watching Friends Thanksgiving reruns on t.v. . Unfortunately, I don't think that will last long. This week was a short week. We had class Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday was a half-day because of Thanksgiving and the long weekend. On Monday, I was able to finish most of my discussion. I also edited the website and redid the Gantt chart to accurately reflect the timeline it should have taken to do the experiment. On Tuesday, I took my senior portrait, so I was late to class. Once I got there, I was feeling unsure about how to proceed. I got Ms. Crudale to sign my task sheet so I didn't have to worry about it being incomplete. I finished the discussion yesterday. The hardest part was incorporating the hypothesis and finding research to support the hypothesis one way or the other. With the help of Ms. Crudale, I was able to find some research and was able to use that in my discussion. I found that theoretically, my hypothesis should be true. I also decided to add a section about ways to troubleshoot the issues I was having doing the experiment and a section on what the theoretical results would mean going forward. Next week, I will begin the editing process. I think that I need to do a lot of editing because I don't think the draft was my best work. I will also begin working on the conclusion.
Other than that, I will try to go shopping this weekend for all the sales. I have a lot of homework to do, mainly for English and Calculus, so I will try to find some time to do that. I will also try to finish some college essays for a few applications that I want to submit before December 1. On the note of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for all the experiences Capstone gave me because those experiences gave me the chance to grow and reflect on myself. I am thankful for my family and friends. Mostly, I am thankful for myself, for being there for me, and for just being amazing. Happy Thanksgiving! Tags: Discussion, Planning, Projects, Forward This week was hard, but I made it to the end of the week. It was the last week of the quarter, but luckily I had stayed on top of my work throughout the semester, so I didn't have any late work to complete and hand in, on top of the other work we are given in class. That was really helpful, and I have only past Shubhangy to thank. So thanks past me. But I did procrastinate in studying for my SAT Subject Tests, so that wasn't good. But the good news is that I didn't have a lot of work to do in capstone this week, so I spent a lot of time studying for the exams. I also didn't have as much homework as I did in the past few weeks, so I spent a lot more time studying for the exams than I was able to last time. This week I also finished two of my college applications and submitted them. One was Johns Hopkins University, which was my first choice school. I am really hoping all the research I have done over the past few years with scientists from the School of Medicine will give me an edge over the competition. My statistics are pretty average for their standards, which is good in my case because I am applying early decision, so the acceptance rate is higher. I also have a lot of extra-curriculars, so I am hoping all of this gives me an edge over the competition. I also applied to University of Chicago. I hope my essays and extra-curriculars will give me an edge there as well. Overall, I am glad I got two of my applications done, as it was a huge relief to finally be done with those. I am also glad this is my last standardized exam tomorrow. After this I will be done with standardized testing and SATs and will be fully committed to myself, my health, and my schoolwork.
In regards to the capstone project, I did receive some preliminary data from my mentors, as I think I mentioned last week. I spoke with my mentor and discussed the data. The data showed that the transfection didn't work and the cells did not express the gene the way we wanted it to. We will have to go back and redo the transfection in order to get the proper gene expression. This is the only data I will be receiving, so for now, I will have to write my results on this. It sucks that I wasn't able to complete my capstone experiment properly, because at first, I was truly excited to be doing this project and was fully invested in it. But sometimes life doesn't go the way you expect it to. You can do everything right, but sometime the unexpected happens. When that happens you have to make the best of it. This week I was much better at being flexible, since so many things were going on, but I managed them well and didn't have a mental breakdown. Next week I want to work on my productivity, since my results section is due next week. This week, Ms. Crudale challenged me to be more positive in my blogs, which I said I was going to do at the beginning of the year, so that's why this blog sounds more positive than usual. I am hoping next week will be even better so my blog is even more positive. Tags: Productivity, Reflection, Project, Results, Planning, Time Management This week was productive for Capstone, surprisingly. We started presenting our presentations on Monday. For every presentation, we had to provide feedback on their delivery, presentation, and organization. I thought everybody did really well. Our classroom is in the hallway though, and at times students were making quite the ruckus, making it harder for the class to hear the presenter. If these background noises were not present, most of the presenters would have been quite loud. My presentation went really well. I presented on Wednesday. I made a lot of people laugh with the jokes and puns I put in my presentation. People seemed to be giving me their undivided attention. I spoke really loudly, almost close to a scream for most of the presentation so that way people in the back could hear me, even if the lunch crowd was creating a disturbance. I tried to use my hands and relax my body so that way I looked relaxed and ready. I also smiled throughout the whole presentation because I thought people would be more likely to pay attention if I looked happy.
The feedback from people was mostly positive, with two people saying that I was reading off the slide. Some more people said that at times I should have spoken louder, but I think that it was just because of the room we were in. Most people gave me a perfect score, with only the same two people taking off some points in delivery. Other than that, my presentation was really good. I forgot to include a rationale for my experiment, so I got some points deducted off for that. I didn't really practice for this presentation because I was pretty busy, so next time I would like to practice a little bit more before the presentation, that way I don't have to look at the slides that much. This week, I obviously worked on my communication skills. I had to communicate my project description, my methods, the science behind it, the materials, and the problems I was facing. I thought I did that pretty well, as evident by my presentation and my rubric and feedback from my peers. Next week, I would like to gather some data from other sources on the effect of estrogen and GDPD6 expression on GPC levels in breast cancer cells. In other news, I am supposed to get my data within the next few weeks. The head of the lab said that she would ensure I at least get some preliminary data for my project, so that's good. Hopefully next week is easy on me. Tags: Forward, Planning, Presentation, Reflection, Projects This week was pretty productive, but not for capstone. You see, tomorrow I have the SAT subject tests in math and biology, which I have admittedly left to the last minute to study for. Next week, I have a calculus quiz, which I really want to get a good score for. I also have to take the SAT next Wednesday, which I need to study for. I finished my methods on Monday. Since I didn't have much else to do for the rest of the week, I was spending most of the class time studying for the subject test. I can't go further in my project because I need the data to come through from Johns Hopkins. I don't think that studying was a waste of time per say, it was just off-topic work. I wouldn't have had enough time to study had I not studied during class. I knew it would be difficult for my to study, so I just substituted work for capstone with work for the SAT. I could have also worked on college admissions, but this is a much more immediate matter.
While I am waiting for that though, Ms. Crudale suggested that I look into some other research as a back-up plan in case the data from Johns Hopkins doesn't come through. I would then take that data and present it as my research. It would be difficult to meet the capstone requirements, but I think I can do it. I plan on looking more into estrogen and its links with GPC levels and GDPD6 and its links with GPC levels. I will probably connect the two after that. When I was writing my literature review, I didn't find many sources on these, so I will probably have to dig deeper. I plan on doing it next week. In between, I will probably work on my college application. Honestly, most of my stress is not even due to capstone. It's just college application and the fear of the unknown. I have been trying to work through it because I just feel bad for not doing any work. Through Ms. Crudale, I have been able to get into contact with an admissions officer in Johns Hopkins and will be ale to ask him questions. I think this will take away some of the unknown for me and I am hoping that this will help my mental health. Until next week! Tags: Forward, Problem Solving, Reflection, Projects, Planning This is the last week before finals and the inevitable end of school. To say that I am stressed is an understatement: I am stressed, tired, cranky, worried, anxious, and overworked. I have so much to do over the next few days. But I just have to take it day by day and try to finish everything on time. In order to make sure everything gets finished on time without delay, I've been trying to prioritize my tasks and multitask. For instance, during some free moments during class, I've been working on editing my lit review. I finished editing everything up to the conclusion. I felt it took a higher precedent than some of my other classes because I have a higher grade in those classes so getting a lower final exam grade wouldn't hurt my grade as much. However, based on an online final grade calculator, I need at least a 78% on my final exam to pass Capstone 1 with an A. So with that in mind, I am putting all my effort and thought into my schoolwork. The first thing that pops in my mind when I wake up is what I need to complete that day and the last thought of the day is what I haven't finished and need to do tomorrow. In Capstone, I need to finish editing my conclusion (including my potential impacts), then add the revised problem statement and methods section. After, I might need to include an intended results and conclusion section as well as an abstract, though that is pending based on the answer Ms. Veillette gives me when I ask her about it. I am hoping to finish it by tomorrow afternoon or early evening. Then I want to actually fix my website and add everything I need. It will probably take me a couple of hours, but seeing as I have a final on Monday, I will either finish it tomorrow night, Sunday night, or split the work and finish it Sunday afternoon. However, since it is due on the night of the final exam (which is Thursday for me), I do have some leeway when it comes to completing this aspect. I also need to finish the introduction and methodology for my poster for next year. I don't think it will take me that long since I know what I want to write in the introduction. I could probably finish it in about 2 hours max, even if I have some unforeseen trouble. This will probably take me to the end of the weekend, since I also need to study for my Monday final. On Monday, I would like to finish my final capstone presentation. On my methods presentation, I did really well. I got 100/102, with the two point deduction coming because I forgot to add something that was on the rubric. On the verbal aspect I was graded highly. I would like to do just as well, if not better, on this final presentation. It is just a combination of the first presentation and the methods presentation. We are on a strict 12 minute schedule so I am hoping for no more that 14 slides with content. I need to practice it obviously and get the timing down, but I think I can do it. I found the perfect theme for my presentation. Now I just have to make it through finals week. Since this week is the last proper week of school, this is my last blog for the school year. But fear not, because when I go to Baltimore to do this experiment, I will be blogging weekly again. There won't be a blog next week, but look for a blog in 2 weeks time. Tags: Presentation, Lit Review, Time Management, Project, Forward. Reflection, Problem Solving, Independent, Blogs.
This week was pretty mellow. All we did was work on our methods presentation and present them. We had Monday and Tuesday to complete the presentation and started presentations on Wednesday. The presentation was only 10 slides plus citations and you only had 6-8 minutes to present. I had trouble keeping my slides condensed because there was so much I needed to add to my presentation. I had three separate slides for the methods and materials needed for each phase of my experiment (cell preparation, immunoblotting, and NMR- spectroscopy). There were so many materials I needed for the western blot that I had an entire slide dedicated for just the materials. I then had another slide just for the procedure of my western blot. Writing about the cell preparation and the NMR-Spectroscopy were easier because there were fewer steps and fewer materials, so I was able to fit everything onto one slide each. I also provided an introduction to my topic because I didn't define certain terms in my last presentation, and I was docked points for that. In order to make sure that everyone is understanding what I'm saying I summarized the background information one would need to understand my project. I spoke briefly on anabolic metabolism and biosynthesis, choline metabolism and GDPD-6, as well as glycerophosphocholine. I then launched into my questions and variables. In the variables section, I realized I wrote "control" where "constant" should be, but I covered it while presenting by saying "My controls and constants are...". I don't think anybody realized it though. I then spoke about the materials and methods used in each phase of my experiment. Finally, I presented my rationale. My presentation went well overall. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't terrible. I was nervous at first but as soon as I started speaking, I knew what I was talking about. I was able to list the materials section for the western blot from pretty much memory. There were times that I stuttered or paused because I forgot the word I wanted to used, but I did better than before. I also became nervous again close to the end, but I managed to push through. I went over time however. I was only supposed to speak for 6-8 minutes, but spoke for 9 minutes 44 seconds. I believe it was just because I had a lot of materials I needed. In the final presentation, which can only be about 8 minutes I believe, I can shorten the time I spent on the methods section. I plan to generalize the materials list some more just to shorten it. I have to start working on everything, since we only have one more week before finals. Tags: Presentation, Reflection, Forward, Projects, Independent
This week was all about my methods. I finished up writing my experimental design with the help of my uncle. After I handed it in, I started writing my written methods section. I had to write up the rationale for using the procedure, the methods, materials - which includes why we need them, how much, and from where - safety precautions, hypothesis, variables, biases or constraints and limitations. We also had to create a timeline of our project, called a Gantt chart. A Gantt chart is where you name your tasks, assign start dates and duration, as well as how much you have completed. This will form a timeline. Making the Gantt chart was easy enough after finding the template on Excel. It took me a while to find, but it was easy to use and change. My only issue was that my procedure was close to 60 days, so when I tried to take a photo and paste it in my write-up, it appeared very tiny. It was still completed properly, it was just small. Other than that, my only issue was with writing my materials section. We had to be as specific as possible, so it took me a while to find all the materials I needed, especially for the western blot. If you wrote it out in list form, there were over 40 items required for the Western blot. Add into account that I had to provide a need or use for the material, it took a while to finish. In addition, I began to try to finish it up only at 8 PM the night it was due because I procrastinated. I came home and went to volunteer. By the time I got back, it was 5 and I spent 3 hours on YouTube. I realized I shouldn't have done that, especially since I didn't sleep until midnight that night, but hindsight is 20-20. Luckily, I finished just in time. The rest of the week was pretty mellow. I missed Thursday's class because I was signing up for my courses next fall. On Friday I was just working on some future work that will be due by the end of the semester, mainly the time management plan. It will be due on the 11th of June. I honestly can't believe that it is nearly the end of the school year. There is only three more weeks of school left. Even though the weather is nice, I have to stay focused and finish my work on time, then I can have all summer to spend outside. Tags: Projects, Reflection, Forward
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AuthorShubhangy Raghavan Archives
January 2019
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