Journals-
Diary Entry #1- September 14, 2021
Dear Diary, It’s now the third week of school. So still the beginning basically, all my classes are okay and I’ve started my capstone project. I’ve made some little moves with my project. I emailed my contact at the South Park Inn homeless shelter Kandyce Aust and she replied pretty quickly which was good. She replied with the things the shelter needs so I can start my collection drive and she also asked me what volunteering activities I am interested in. I responded with what I wanted to volunteer in and my availability. I’m very scared for my project because I’m putting boxes in the advisory rooms for students to donate and the winning advisory class wins a McDonalds breakfast, but I still haven’t confirmed a Mcdonalds willing to give a non-profit donation of the breakfast sandwiches. I’m also stressed out about my college essay. I swear I try to write something every night but I can't. I don’t know what to write. I have nothing to say and my life is boring. I joined this website last year called NCSA which stands for “Next college athlete”. I have 29 schools that are interested in me for track and field. I’m also stressed about that because I joined to find schools that offer track and field scholarships and all the schools interested in me either don’t offer athletic scholarships or they're way too far away. I want to go to a HBCU for college because I feel like it will help me become more of an extrovert and help me be able to be better at the career I’m interested in. I feel like so far in my senior year I haven’t grown a lot. I haven’t really done anything with my capstone yet and I haven’t really had any new experiences with anything to be able to grow. But moving on with my capstone and senior and just life in general I’m going to try and grow in areas I feel like I need help in like speaking up when I need help or to stop procrastinating with my work because I think growing myself will help better my life and make things easier. |
Diary Entry #2- October 4, 2021
Dear Diary,
This week I have gotten 3 recommendation letters from Mrs. Weimer, Mr. McKay, and my boss Jackquelin Sierra. So I’m making good progress with that so far. I went to Mrs. Gunn and got applications for 2 different scholarships so that’s two more important essays I need to write so now I have 3 because I’m still writing my college essay. I did start it. But I’m stuck on what else to write. Also this week I have started volunteering. I go to the South Park Homeless Shelter every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:30- 5:30. When I get there I make the tables clean and the salt and pepper shakers are on the table. Then I start serving at 5 with another staff member. I would be in a little room with a counter and the people would be in a cafeteria like room, they would walk up. I would ask them what they want. They usually say thank you then move on down for drinks and go sit. It takes about 30-35 mins to serve everyone. This week I also got my mentor. I asked Kandyce and she said yes. I just need to update my proposal. I’ve scheduled 3 college visits this month for colleges I plan on applying to. The University of Hartford, Central Connecticut State University, and UCONN. I’m very stressed. I don't know anything about college applications. I feel like it's going to be hard to do. I also have SAT’s coming up on Wednesday which I’m probably going to fail because I can never finish a section within the given time limit which causes me to have to rush and guess so I don’t leave them blank.
Dear Diary,
This week I have gotten 3 recommendation letters from Mrs. Weimer, Mr. McKay, and my boss Jackquelin Sierra. So I’m making good progress with that so far. I went to Mrs. Gunn and got applications for 2 different scholarships so that’s two more important essays I need to write so now I have 3 because I’m still writing my college essay. I did start it. But I’m stuck on what else to write. Also this week I have started volunteering. I go to the South Park Homeless Shelter every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:30- 5:30. When I get there I make the tables clean and the salt and pepper shakers are on the table. Then I start serving at 5 with another staff member. I would be in a little room with a counter and the people would be in a cafeteria like room, they would walk up. I would ask them what they want. They usually say thank you then move on down for drinks and go sit. It takes about 30-35 mins to serve everyone. This week I also got my mentor. I asked Kandyce and she said yes. I just need to update my proposal. I’ve scheduled 3 college visits this month for colleges I plan on applying to. The University of Hartford, Central Connecticut State University, and UCONN. I’m very stressed. I don't know anything about college applications. I feel like it's going to be hard to do. I also have SAT’s coming up on Wednesday which I’m probably going to fail because I can never finish a section within the given time limit which causes me to have to rush and guess so I don’t leave them blank.
Diary Entry #3- November 8, 2021
Dear Diary,
Quarter one is over, school wise I think I’m pretty much on track. I completed my research paper on time the way I approached the paper was I looked at the SMSA’s best website and I got ideas from other people's papers and I tried to mirror research paper’s that worked, with gathering information I did pretty well with staying organized and on topic, I just need to learn how to interpret information more. For my field work hours I’m also on track. I have 10 hours so far from volunteering at the South Park Inn and decorating boxes for my collection drive. I also think sending emails back and forth with my mentor is also part of field work but I haven’t added that in my field worksheets because I don’t know how. My experience volunteering at the shelter is good I guess, but I don’t really experience much. I haven't seen the shelter, I've only been in the dining area so when you ask me how I feel or what I’ve seen, I can’t say much because I haven’t seen much. I’m in a little area and the people that live in the shelter come down from the living area and they line up and get served their food. From my perspective the people there don’t look any different from me and you. They all have the proper clothing for the weather inside wise. I don't really know if they all have jackets and stuff like that because I only see them inside. I don’t know how to document my field work when I’m there. I haven't been in the living area to take pictures of the way people live. I know it's probably more different then the last time a student was there because of covid. I also don’t really know if I could ask to take pictures. I also don’t know how to ask if someone could take pictures of me actually doing things because I don't want to take up people's time. I know they just want to eat and go on with their day so I don’t wanna hold them up by asking someone to take a picture of me. I don’t want to make people feel like I’m treating their living situation as a school project. Also for my collection drive I found a company to fund money for me to get donuts for the winning class. I asked my mother who works at Eversource which is an insurance company if they would be able to do anything like donate money for my capstone, my mother then talked to her boss and she said yes so I will get the funds Monday afternoon and then get the donuts Tuesday morning for the winning class. As for the college process I feel very behind. I'm still trying to finish my college essay. I don't know what to say about me, which is what I’m suck on. I’m trying to have my college essay done by Wednesday so I can start applying to colleges hopefully in time for early action. Lastly, about our first senior trip and my first high school field trip, it was a good experience. I think it was good for us to be separated from our little friend groups and be with other seniors, we got to know each other better. We also got to learn more about ourselves like our work ethic and group cooperation. I learned that I like to be more of a leader in certain situations because in my group we kinda all wanted to have our input but we didn't really listen to each other. I think if we all calmed down we would’ve listened to each other and tackled the obstacles better. But overall I think it was a good bonding experience and it was fun.
Dear Diary,
Quarter one is over, school wise I think I’m pretty much on track. I completed my research paper on time the way I approached the paper was I looked at the SMSA’s best website and I got ideas from other people's papers and I tried to mirror research paper’s that worked, with gathering information I did pretty well with staying organized and on topic, I just need to learn how to interpret information more. For my field work hours I’m also on track. I have 10 hours so far from volunteering at the South Park Inn and decorating boxes for my collection drive. I also think sending emails back and forth with my mentor is also part of field work but I haven’t added that in my field worksheets because I don’t know how. My experience volunteering at the shelter is good I guess, but I don’t really experience much. I haven't seen the shelter, I've only been in the dining area so when you ask me how I feel or what I’ve seen, I can’t say much because I haven’t seen much. I’m in a little area and the people that live in the shelter come down from the living area and they line up and get served their food. From my perspective the people there don’t look any different from me and you. They all have the proper clothing for the weather inside wise. I don't really know if they all have jackets and stuff like that because I only see them inside. I don’t know how to document my field work when I’m there. I haven't been in the living area to take pictures of the way people live. I know it's probably more different then the last time a student was there because of covid. I also don’t really know if I could ask to take pictures. I also don’t know how to ask if someone could take pictures of me actually doing things because I don't want to take up people's time. I know they just want to eat and go on with their day so I don’t wanna hold them up by asking someone to take a picture of me. I don’t want to make people feel like I’m treating their living situation as a school project. Also for my collection drive I found a company to fund money for me to get donuts for the winning class. I asked my mother who works at Eversource which is an insurance company if they would be able to do anything like donate money for my capstone, my mother then talked to her boss and she said yes so I will get the funds Monday afternoon and then get the donuts Tuesday morning for the winning class. As for the college process I feel very behind. I'm still trying to finish my college essay. I don't know what to say about me, which is what I’m suck on. I’m trying to have my college essay done by Wednesday so I can start applying to colleges hopefully in time for early action. Lastly, about our first senior trip and my first high school field trip, it was a good experience. I think it was good for us to be separated from our little friend groups and be with other seniors, we got to know each other better. We also got to learn more about ourselves like our work ethic and group cooperation. I learned that I like to be more of a leader in certain situations because in my group we kinda all wanted to have our input but we didn't really listen to each other. I think if we all calmed down we would’ve listened to each other and tackled the obstacles better. But overall I think it was a good bonding experience and it was fun.
Diary Entry #4- November 29, 2021
Dear Diary,
So far my capstone is going pretty well. I'm still volunteering at the South park inn but they have had a recent covid case so I’m not allowed in the building for 2 weeks. I think my progress academically is going well. I try to accomplish everything on time and keep my grades up to at least no lower than a B. In capstone I think I’m doing well. I'm doing good with keeping up with finishing my e portfolio and making sure I have everything on there. The only thing I’m worried about with capstone is having an “AHA moment” and having a story to tell. I haven’t experienced or witnessed anything that changed my mindset from child to adult and I haven’t seen anything that’s really shocked me yet. I do think I’ve gained a new perspective on the community though because volunteering at a shelter it just made me think that the people that live there at one point were probably like me. They had a home and multiple change of clothes, a warm bed, parents, a family. It’s scary to think that anyone can just become homeless and being in a shelter makes you realize how lucky you are to not be in the situation of worrying where you're going to lay your head at night or where you're going to get your next meal. I think maybe my mindset has grown a little but I don’t really know. I guess if I can’t tell if I’ve grown I probably haven’t yet. I am sort of out my comfort zone with volunteering at the shelter I have to greet the people as they come up to there food well I don’t have to but I do to be respectful and I guess that out my comfort zone because I’m not a big talker when it comes to people I don’t know but other then that small thing I’m not really doing anything out my comfort zone. Well I guess holding the collection drive for the shelter was a little out of my comfort zone as well because I had to do that on my own and I had to speak up and get the word out on my own to get people to donate.
Dear Diary,
So far my capstone is going pretty well. I'm still volunteering at the South park inn but they have had a recent covid case so I’m not allowed in the building for 2 weeks. I think my progress academically is going well. I try to accomplish everything on time and keep my grades up to at least no lower than a B. In capstone I think I’m doing well. I'm doing good with keeping up with finishing my e portfolio and making sure I have everything on there. The only thing I’m worried about with capstone is having an “AHA moment” and having a story to tell. I haven’t experienced or witnessed anything that changed my mindset from child to adult and I haven’t seen anything that’s really shocked me yet. I do think I’ve gained a new perspective on the community though because volunteering at a shelter it just made me think that the people that live there at one point were probably like me. They had a home and multiple change of clothes, a warm bed, parents, a family. It’s scary to think that anyone can just become homeless and being in a shelter makes you realize how lucky you are to not be in the situation of worrying where you're going to lay your head at night or where you're going to get your next meal. I think maybe my mindset has grown a little but I don’t really know. I guess if I can’t tell if I’ve grown I probably haven’t yet. I am sort of out my comfort zone with volunteering at the shelter I have to greet the people as they come up to there food well I don’t have to but I do to be respectful and I guess that out my comfort zone because I’m not a big talker when it comes to people I don’t know but other then that small thing I’m not really doing anything out my comfort zone. Well I guess holding the collection drive for the shelter was a little out of my comfort zone as well because I had to do that on my own and I had to speak up and get the word out on my own to get people to donate.
Diary Entry #5- December 20, 2021
Dear Diary,
I’m confused and lost. I don’t know if I’m ready for the adult world. I don’t know how financial aid works so that is stressing me out. I have asked someone but I still don’t understand. I have 12 hours of field work but I haven’t been back at the shelter for a while because they had a covid case so I wasn’t allowed into the building. I try to call and see when I’m allowed back in but they don’t answer the phone, I don’t want to just go and then I’m not allowed in. I have handled problems and setbacks by trying to focus on other things that I can move forward in like not volunteering. So I work on my e-portfolio and other class work. For my career field research I asked Mrs. Weimer about her brother who was an FBI agent for 8 years which is what I want to be. His name is E.J. Hilbert and I have an interview with him over the phone on January 5 at 3 EST time. It was over the phone because he lives in California. When it comes to school work I try an live up to my word like when I say I’m going to complete something I try but I don’t always follow through especially if it's something I don’t know how to do or something that needs to come from like my own ideas and I can’t think of anything I just put it off til last minute or try and do it later. I want to become more adult-like and approach both life and school like an adult by getting all my work done which I usually do so in some ways I think I do approach things as an adult I just need to learn to be more consistent. Some things I’m working on are to not be lazy because I sometimes put off work to the last minute and I shouldn’t do that because giving yourself time to do something will give a better outcome because you didn’t rush. As for my capstone project I need to get back on it because I haven’t volunteered since last month because they had a covid case and I wasn’t allowed in the building. So I do need to call again and see if I can start back volunteering.
Dear Diary,
I’m confused and lost. I don’t know if I’m ready for the adult world. I don’t know how financial aid works so that is stressing me out. I have asked someone but I still don’t understand. I have 12 hours of field work but I haven’t been back at the shelter for a while because they had a covid case so I wasn’t allowed into the building. I try to call and see when I’m allowed back in but they don’t answer the phone, I don’t want to just go and then I’m not allowed in. I have handled problems and setbacks by trying to focus on other things that I can move forward in like not volunteering. So I work on my e-portfolio and other class work. For my career field research I asked Mrs. Weimer about her brother who was an FBI agent for 8 years which is what I want to be. His name is E.J. Hilbert and I have an interview with him over the phone on January 5 at 3 EST time. It was over the phone because he lives in California. When it comes to school work I try an live up to my word like when I say I’m going to complete something I try but I don’t always follow through especially if it's something I don’t know how to do or something that needs to come from like my own ideas and I can’t think of anything I just put it off til last minute or try and do it later. I want to become more adult-like and approach both life and school like an adult by getting all my work done which I usually do so in some ways I think I do approach things as an adult I just need to learn to be more consistent. Some things I’m working on are to not be lazy because I sometimes put off work to the last minute and I shouldn’t do that because giving yourself time to do something will give a better outcome because you didn’t rush. As for my capstone project I need to get back on it because I haven’t volunteered since last month because they had a covid case and I wasn’t allowed in the building. So I do need to call again and see if I can start back volunteering.
Diary Entry #6- January 17, 2022
Dear Diary,
I haven’t done any volunteering for my capstone since November. I’m going to get back to it though this week I’m going to start going back to the South Park Inn. Hopefully I can get another “AHA moment” and hopefully volunteering is making a little difference in the lives of the adults that live there. I have 12 hours of field so far, so I only need 3 more hours but I definitely want to go beyond that. I don't want to do the minimum because I don’t want volunteering to just seem like a project. I have been working on my e-portfolio though, January 5th I had my career field research interview with E.J. Hilbert. He lives in California and he was an FBI agent for 8 years which is the career I hope to go into after college. He specialized in cyber crime, white collar fraud, counter intelligence, counter terrorism, and crime against children/ kidnapping. We talked for about an hour. I asked him 10 questions about how to get the job and what are some things you need to have to succeed, some frustrations and some best parts about the job. He also talked to me about the type of FBI agent I wanted to be , which is a criminal profiler. He told the types of cases they work on and how it would be being on a team of profilers. As for classes the grades are closing soon but have been pushed back because of the accident that happened on Thursday in the middle school. I turned in all of my late assignments so I’m all caught up. I’m working on getting scholarships done for college. So far I’ve gotten accepted into 7 colleges so I have no idea where I want to go. I submitted my Ron brown scholarship application and I have a few more I want to apply for. I genuinely don’t like writing these journals because I always feel like I have nothing to write about but I think they're also helpful because they make you think about your progress as a senior and with your progress with your capstone project.
Dear Diary,
I haven’t done any volunteering for my capstone since November. I’m going to get back to it though this week I’m going to start going back to the South Park Inn. Hopefully I can get another “AHA moment” and hopefully volunteering is making a little difference in the lives of the adults that live there. I have 12 hours of field so far, so I only need 3 more hours but I definitely want to go beyond that. I don't want to do the minimum because I don’t want volunteering to just seem like a project. I have been working on my e-portfolio though, January 5th I had my career field research interview with E.J. Hilbert. He lives in California and he was an FBI agent for 8 years which is the career I hope to go into after college. He specialized in cyber crime, white collar fraud, counter intelligence, counter terrorism, and crime against children/ kidnapping. We talked for about an hour. I asked him 10 questions about how to get the job and what are some things you need to have to succeed, some frustrations and some best parts about the job. He also talked to me about the type of FBI agent I wanted to be , which is a criminal profiler. He told the types of cases they work on and how it would be being on a team of profilers. As for classes the grades are closing soon but have been pushed back because of the accident that happened on Thursday in the middle school. I turned in all of my late assignments so I’m all caught up. I’m working on getting scholarships done for college. So far I’ve gotten accepted into 7 colleges so I have no idea where I want to go. I submitted my Ron brown scholarship application and I have a few more I want to apply for. I genuinely don’t like writing these journals because I always feel like I have nothing to write about but I think they're also helpful because they make you think about your progress as a senior and with your progress with your capstone project.
Diary Entry #7- April 6, 2022
Dear Diary,
As capstone is coming to an end, I am proud of myself for getting back on track with my project. I volunteered at a place called FoodShare. They receive food, drinks, hygiene products, and many other things from stores like stop and shops and whole foods. I sorted through many boxes and made sure the products weren’t old, ripped, or dented. If they were, I had to throw it away. I went through big stacks of boxes for 3 hours. I also have gotten back to the South Park Inn. I had stopped going for a little while because they were experiencing lots of covid cases, but now I can continue to volunteer. As capstone is ending, my project won’t be ending. I plan on continuing to volunteer at the shelter. I also want to plan activities and events at the shelter so I can personally meet all the residents and have a greater impact on their lives.
Sincerely,
Tylis Broaden
(My Last Entry)
Dear Diary,
As capstone is coming to an end, I am proud of myself for getting back on track with my project. I volunteered at a place called FoodShare. They receive food, drinks, hygiene products, and many other things from stores like stop and shops and whole foods. I sorted through many boxes and made sure the products weren’t old, ripped, or dented. If they were, I had to throw it away. I went through big stacks of boxes for 3 hours. I also have gotten back to the South Park Inn. I had stopped going for a little while because they were experiencing lots of covid cases, but now I can continue to volunteer. As capstone is ending, my project won’t be ending. I plan on continuing to volunteer at the shelter. I also want to plan activities and events at the shelter so I can personally meet all the residents and have a greater impact on their lives.
Sincerely,
Tylis Broaden
(My Last Entry)