Preparing for My Senior Capstone Project
Every senior must prepare
a senior capstone project at my university. In the English Department, seniors
spend an entire year working on their project – one semester working on the
project and second semester revising and preparing for the presentation in
front of every English professor in the department. Pretty nerve-wracking,
right?
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| (photo/davidduke.com) |
I decided to be ambitious
and begin my project my junior year. Why am I doing this to myself? Some would
say I am crazy or brave. The truth? I had no choice. The class I wish to
complete my project in is Nonfiction Writing, offered every other year. While I
love the English Department, because I go to a small school, classes are only
offered at a specific time.
So, here I am – a junior
in college working on my senior capstone project.
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| English majors. (photo/theodysseyonline.com) |
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| Abe Silverstein (photo/www.nasa.gov) |
Normally when people hear
the word “nonfiction,” they often imagine boring encyclopedias. However, creative nonfiction is an exciting
writing genre combining my ideas with reality.
For my project, I imagine
to focus on NASA mechanical engineer, Abe Silverstein. His work contributed and
inspired the Apollo 11 moon landing. No one recognizes this man’s work. He was
the reason Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, yet the fame went to Armstrong,
not Silverstein.
My project plans to
investigate why Silverstein did not gain fame for his work. The engineer is
from my hometown – Terre Haute, Indiana. He was born and raised in this city,
yet I did not know this fact until I was 19. I was shocked when I learned this
news. So that’s why I’m determined to write Silverstein’s story.
This involves performing
research. I have to collect facts, read journals, gain multiple information
about Silverstein’s life and work, interview his family and form a clear
argument for my essay.
While this will be a
difficult capstone project, I look forward to writing my essay. I look forward
to developing my own written work. I look forward to putting everything I have
learned from my years of creative writing studying into one project. Sure, it
will be a challenge and I will be completely stressed in the process, but it
wouldn’t be the senior capstone project without the difficult work and stress.
Senior capstone project,
I’m ready to bring you on.
-KJL-
Abe Silverstein was an inspirational leader of America's space program who is often forgotten. So glad you're going to help educate people about this amazing man. He's now starting to get his due. Besides his role as an engineer and researcher, Silverstein was a leader of the Jewish commmunity in the Cleveland area (playing a key role in bringing Jews from Russia to America) and brought fitness programs to corporate environment -- long before the current health awareness craze. Can't wait to read your work!
ReplyDeleteI think it is absolutely awesome that you are getting a head start on your capstone! Even as a sophomore I am a little bit terrified of what it is that I am going to have to do and how much work it is going to take. Hopefully I find something that sparks my interest as much as Silverstein has for you. I think he sounds incredibly interesting and I am sure you will do a terrific job. After all, the more interested you are by something, the less it feels like work and the better the quality is likely to be.
ReplyDeleteYour capstone project sounds very interesting. The passion you have for wanting to tell Silverstein's story is inspiring. I am sure you will do an excellent job on your capstone.
ReplyDelete