Then & Now Project
Then Then & Now Project was an extensive, five-month long assignment surrounding a change that needed to be made in society. This change had to be inspired by a local issue in the San Diego or Southern California area. After brainstorming potential topics for each class to research over the course of the semester, the final three topics chosen were mental health, healthy living, and the effects of e-cigarettes. My class chose to take on mental health and teen suicide.
Once we had chosen a particular topic, we elected class leaders to help guide the project. The plan was to create change in our local community depending on our issue, and these leaders were to be in charge of a specific aspect. I was elected by my class as the Chief Executive Officer of the project, so I oversaw the direction of the project, as well as the other class leaders, who reported to me. These roles included the CBO, the CDO, and the CFO. Each one of these officers led a group of individuals in whichever area they were a part of, whether that be advertising, data collection, or fundraising. |
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From here, our class had to write a collective action plan consisting of historical, scientific, and helpful information regarding mental health and teen suicide. (This can be found below.) Following a strenuous editing process on my part, our class could finally move on to the implementation of the project.
We held a 2-week waffle sales fundraiser to raise money for our project, ordered glow-in-the-dark wristbands sporting our group's message (Together We Have Hope), and organized activities that we could bring to other schools. Along the way, we were also able to garner a partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI San Diego), and heard their "Ending the Silence" presentation from some young adults who had dealt with/were dealing will mental health issues. In addition, representatives from the Helen Woodward Animal Rehabilitation Center in San Diego came in to talk to us about the positive impact that animals can make on humans.
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Now that the project was starting to kick into gear, we reached out to local schools in the San Diego County area including Poway High, San Marcos High, and High Tech High Point Loma among others. HTHPL responded to our request to present with a "yes", so I travelled down there with three other students and a teacher to bring our project to them. We also had NAMI come along to give their presentation to the students. The specific group that we were presenting to was the Student Senate at HTHPL, which consisted of highly motivated students from all grade levels.
Our presentation was fairly successful, and the students were inquisitive about our project along with NAMI's message during the Q&A session. We hoped to forge a relationship with the group so that we could bring our school's Day of P.E.A.C.E. to their campus. Day of P.E.A.C.E. at HTHNC is a time when students in grades 9-12 come together in small groups, and have a safe space to discuss personal issues and/or situations. Two weeks later, High Tech High surprisingly denied our request to return, so we were forced to move in a new direction. Fortunately, we fortunate enough to present to organizations such as NAMI North Coastal and the Suicide Prevention Council. In fact, after bringing our message to the SPC, we garnered multiple supporters from around the county, and even met with San Diego's Regional Director for Community Health about how the city could fund our project.
On top of the actual project itself, each person was assigned to create an individual project relating to the class's topic. A partner and I decided to create a "Choose Your Own Adventure" website, which would allow users to make decisions in various scenarios. Depending on their choices, the user's relationship with either his or her sibling or friend would fluctuate, and was essential that the user connected with the other character's emotions. You can visit this website at: http://twhhadventure.weebly.com/
To cap off the project, our entire team (including the other two classes), held a gala at a local event space in San Marcos on June 2nd. We showcased our work, welcomed families, friends, and partners of our projects, and offered refreshments and treats, too. It was a great way to finish the tiresome yet rewarding process, and I was happy with how far the "Together We Have Hope" message was spread. As the CEO of the project, I couldn't have been more proud of the students' contributions, and I was relieved that it was all said and done.
Below, you can find some of the work involved with this project. Thanks!
We held a 2-week waffle sales fundraiser to raise money for our project, ordered glow-in-the-dark wristbands sporting our group's message (Together We Have Hope), and organized activities that we could bring to other schools. Along the way, we were also able to garner a partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI San Diego), and heard their "Ending the Silence" presentation from some young adults who had dealt with/were dealing will mental health issues. In addition, representatives from the Helen Woodward Animal Rehabilitation Center in San Diego came in to talk to us about the positive impact that animals can make on humans.
.
Now that the project was starting to kick into gear, we reached out to local schools in the San Diego County area including Poway High, San Marcos High, and High Tech High Point Loma among others. HTHPL responded to our request to present with a "yes", so I travelled down there with three other students and a teacher to bring our project to them. We also had NAMI come along to give their presentation to the students. The specific group that we were presenting to was the Student Senate at HTHPL, which consisted of highly motivated students from all grade levels.
Our presentation was fairly successful, and the students were inquisitive about our project along with NAMI's message during the Q&A session. We hoped to forge a relationship with the group so that we could bring our school's Day of P.E.A.C.E. to their campus. Day of P.E.A.C.E. at HTHNC is a time when students in grades 9-12 come together in small groups, and have a safe space to discuss personal issues and/or situations. Two weeks later, High Tech High surprisingly denied our request to return, so we were forced to move in a new direction. Fortunately, we fortunate enough to present to organizations such as NAMI North Coastal and the Suicide Prevention Council. In fact, after bringing our message to the SPC, we garnered multiple supporters from around the county, and even met with San Diego's Regional Director for Community Health about how the city could fund our project.
On top of the actual project itself, each person was assigned to create an individual project relating to the class's topic. A partner and I decided to create a "Choose Your Own Adventure" website, which would allow users to make decisions in various scenarios. Depending on their choices, the user's relationship with either his or her sibling or friend would fluctuate, and was essential that the user connected with the other character's emotions. You can visit this website at: http://twhhadventure.weebly.com/
To cap off the project, our entire team (including the other two classes), held a gala at a local event space in San Marcos on June 2nd. We showcased our work, welcomed families, friends, and partners of our projects, and offered refreshments and treats, too. It was a great way to finish the tiresome yet rewarding process, and I was happy with how far the "Together We Have Hope" message was spread. As the CEO of the project, I couldn't have been more proud of the students' contributions, and I was relieved that it was all said and done.
Below, you can find some of the work involved with this project. Thanks!
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