Summative Reflection

Throughout the process of Capstone, I have learned many things about how to manage a project this large starting from having a clear plan and how to stay on track. One especially helpful tip was creating estimates for how long a task would take me to budget time and keep me on course. This project has also led me to discover new things about myself. Mainly, just how passionate I am about mental health. I have known for a while that I was interested in it, even starting my own club that teaches students how to promote wellness, but this class expanded this passion to become the possibility of a future career. Additionally, I have also grown throughout this course. I have become more confident talking, and emailing strangers, along with advocating for myself. I can more easily recognise my work habits and when my energy is flagging. Going along with that, I have also improved on getting myself back on track. 

The Capstone course was an experience that, although hard at times, taught me skills that I will carry with me into college and beyond. It is especially important because, being interested in psychology, I will be participating in research studies and likely carrying one out for a final project at the end of senior year. Although they have some differences, the skills I have learned here will still be able to carry over. Such as how to set manageable goals, public speaking techniques, and how to effectively conduct research using both academic resources and more general articles.

The most interesting experiences I had while completing this project were the conversations that occurred during the exhibition. Hearing other people’s perspectives on both the topic of mental health and my project were very insightful and made me think even more deeply about my project. For example, a person who is learning to be a librarian spoke to me about the flow of information and how resources are shared with others. It made me look at my project through another perspective and see that although it is about mental health, it is also about how information can be shared with others through the school. Talking with students during the in-house exhibition was also impactful because I enjoyed hearing their stories with mental health and the counseling center and their excitement for having more resources shared with them through the counseling center. It helped me realize that I was able to have a small impact with my project.

Even if my final product is not what I originally envisioned, my work still feels meaningful to me. I learned a lot about what organizations and other resources are out there for teenagers, and the difficulties of changing a system. What I have discovered is that learning through mistakes can be just as effective as learning from success. So even if my project ended up not going anywhere, its failure taught me about as much as its success would have because I still completed all of the steps leading up to its completion such as research, formulation of questions, and how to interview adults. Thus, I am very thankful that I had the chance to take a course like this one because it means I will be more prepared for future endeavors in college and beyond.