Twenty-three seniors in the Class of 2022 recently shared their research and findings on a variety of pertinent topics in Capstone presentations in the Oakwood Room. This project, a requirement to graduate with the Global Scholars Program diploma, involves many components including a written paper, action research and a presentation in front of students and a panel of teachers.
The Capstone Research Seminar supported 23 young scholars through their first original research projects. That journey takes students through many sophisticated research techniques: they form research questions on issues of their choosing, they form their own definitions of key concepts based on the current knowledge in their fields, and they answer their questions with original data collected through interviews, observations, and primary source analyses. It’s real, high-quality scholarship akin to what their future professors do day-in and day-out.
“Our Class of 2022 cohort dug into all sorts of pressing issues with their research, from the politics of designing regulations, to the many dimensions of mental and public health, to how systems of difference shape the identities people craft for themselves,” said Mr. Jason Murphy, Upper School history teacher and supervisor of the Capstone program. “Together, our Capstone scholars generated over 20 semi-structured interviews, four focus groups, and collected over 50 primary source documents from governmental records and non-governmental organizations.”
Student presentations were organized thematically in the daily sessions. This year's themes included The Politics of Regulation, Systems of Difference, Doing the Work of Identity, Public Health & Safety, Multiple Dimensions of Mental Health, and Policy and People.
“Students are often floored by just how much they are able to accomplish in our Capstone course — and rightly so! I’m so proud of the work this year’s group produced. I’m looking forward to seeing their work when it is published in our Capstone Research Journal,” Mr. Murphy said.
Below is a listing of this year’s Capstone scholars, with their topics:
Session One: The Politics of Regulation
Andrew Bao ’22 – “Is it a Ponzi Scheme?”: The influence of cryptocurrency and blockchain on developing economies and the experiences of individuals in these fields
Carter Huang ’22 – “You are not making things, better you are just doing bad things faster”: Regulatory standards for AI’s future
Feisal Kiiru ’22 – A new First-World: The economic vulnerability of authoritarian political systems
Session Two: Systems of Difference
Jiarui (Garry) Zhu ’22 – Population aging: Impacts on labor-intensive industries in China and the comparative trends of markets
Shiv Tickoo ’22 – The effect of diversity and its integration on the productivity of an organization
Jay DaSilva ’22 – What are they supposed to know? How high-schoolers handle academic motivation and achievement
Aarush Dharayan ’22 – The internet’s effect on polarization
Chioma Okezie ’22 – “Is she pretty or is she just white?”: How the Eurocentric beauty standard fails to be inclusive
Session Three: Doing the Work of Identity
Die (Laura) Chen ’22 – The ways Chinese high school students change their identities when transferring to U.S. schools
Gurinder Singh ’22 – “What is that thing on your head?” The Sikh experience in the American education system, post 9/11
Kehan (Fidel) Zhan ’22 – The attractive fantasy: The history of sexuality in anime & its double-sided effect on teenagers in American society
Kaibo (Jim) Lu ’22 – A whole different story? Intersecting attitudes towards the Winter Olympics in China and COVID-19 on Twitter
Ananya Murlidharan ’22 – Not that kind of Asian: Contextualizing Pan-Asian diaspora struggles in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada
Session Four: Public Health & Safety
Shankari Theivanayagam ’22 – “More than JUST health?”: Healthcare disparities among African and Caucasian Americans
Amiteij Sappal ’22 – Pandemics and biopolitics: How vaccines and mandates influence the way high risk areas in the United States function during the COVID-19 pandemic
Armaan Singh ’22 – An omnipresent misfortune: The effects of global warming on the everyday life of the average person
Shreya Dharayan ’22 – A blanket serving to protect our atmosphere is causing destruction: The impact of climate change on human health
Session Five: Multiple Dimensions of Mental Health
Jenelle Valera ’22 – Knock on wood: Examining the impact of superstitions on varsity athletes' performance in sports
Rose Kassam ’22 – Raised in racism: Racial stereotypes in marketing and their effect on young People of Color
Masoma Zaidi ’22 – “All eyes on you”: The effects of the male gaze and reducing bodies to instruments on mental health, and generational differences
Session Six: Policy and People
Emily Brogan ’22 – “Tough it out”: Universities' negligent response to the growing issue of mental health within collegiate athletes
Nicole Sandrik-Arzadi ’22 – An apocalypse of injustice: False imprisonment of mentally impaired individuals in the United States
Grace Lu ’22 – Lie after lie: How abortion restrictions affect the experiences of low-income women with their abortions