I'm sitting here writing this after completing 3 of the 4 classes. I cannot express how grateful I am for this project and the opportunity I have been presented with to help those in need. I have had so much fun every Saturday morning helping the senior citizens with their questions. Their desire to learn is so rewarding and truly humbling. I have received so many "thank yous" from my students and even some offers to be paid for my work. Each week I get new students and returning students that have come in with new questions from the weeks prior. They come in with worried faces and leave with smiles. Getting the chance to talk to them for only an hour every week is honestly something I look forward to. They are so adorable and thank me for my patience, and the only thing that comes to mind is why would anyone not have the patience to sit down and work with these kind people? I tell them that I'm here for them and that I will gladly stay afterwards to answer any personal questions they may have. I would volunteer all of my time to help these people if I could. I cannot say it anymore than I already have - I have loved the journey I have traveled with the Genius Project, and to the Senior English teachers at Sage Creek High School, thank you for your tenacity and encouragement throughout this process. Every second of the preparation as well as the outcome has been nothing but joy. Thank you for the lessons I have learned that will prepare me for the future, thank you for being there for all my questions, and thank you for the push to do something I never thought I would be able to do.
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So I'm super happy to say that I have actually gotten a lot of stuff completed for my Genius Project. First off, since the last time I wrote a blog, I've spoken to 2 directors: one of the Parks and Rec department and one of the directors of the community senior center. I spoke to both of them over the phone through a conference call that also included my current English teacher, and we discussed what I wanted to, who to include, when I wanted to do it, and how to publicize about it. I solidified a name for my project: Tech Talks with Teens. Along with a name, I have scheduled the dates and times for each class. If the classes are popular, the coordinator I'm working with said I can expand and add more classes. I honestly cannot put into words how excited I am to start this project and to see how far it goes. The only thing I'm on the hunt for is volunteers now. I'm guessing I would need 4-5 each class and if people want to volunteer for multiple classes, then my group of volunteers doesn't have to be too big overall. We'll see though. Hopefully, I get enough people to sign up that I can take everyone and have extras. I would also love for some juniors to consider taking on my project for next year. That way, senior citizens can be helped next year while I'm off doing whatever I may be doing. Woah. Can I just say that this project would not have gone anywhere had it not been for my mom and my teacher pushing me to do it? Like geez!! Thank you so much. I haven't started on the actual classes themselves quite yet, but I have a conference call tomorrow with a director of the Parks and Rec Department of my city to discuss the basics of my project and what I would want to do. I am beyond excited to start this project and see how much of an impact I can create. I've mentioned this before, but as Seniors, we've gotten the opportunity to speak to parents, business owners, and even other teachers about our projects. These "Professionals in the Room" have me and many others great ideas and approaches as to how to go about completing our ideas. Whoever came up with this idea, kudos to you. Bravo. I salute you. I have heard so many others around me say they've gotten so far in their projects just from connections given to them by these "Professionals in the Room". For me, personally, I haven't gotten connections from those professionals, but professionals such as the one I like to call my mother connected me to her friend associated with the city, who then led me to the gentleman I'm speaking with tomorrow. A simple breakfast conversation about my overall plan helped guide me in the direction that I needed. Thanks, mom! (read in sports announcer voice) Welcome back, folks, to the blog that is my Genius Project Process. So far, we've discussed the project itself, the 2018 Genius Project Symposium, and tips on how to stay motivated (okay you can stop the sports announcer voice now). In my time, it's been about 3 months but for you, it's a quick swipe up. What a uneventful couple months it has been for my project. I planned that I was going to meet with some people over the summer and start planning on when and where I can hold my classes, but like any other Junior going into the summer before their senior year, I was busy working and hanging out with friends that it didn't even cross my mind. I know, I know. I should've done something and now it set me back a little bit, but I think with the right mindset and time management skills, I can pull this off. The first thing that I need to focus on with this project is contact, which shouldn't be too hard. Calling someone in charge just to hear their thoughts on my project sets me up for working out the kinks that I haven't thought about. One thing I'm super looking forward to is something that the Genius Project team calls "Professional in the Room", which is basically what it sounds like. Parents, teachers, and volunteers, come into English classes during "Genius Project Days" and walk around asking about projects and suggesting advice. I can think of everything by myself, but until I get another person's opinion, I'm thinking in circles. I may think I'm on the right track, but someone who's been apart of the real world and has worked several jobs definitely has more experience giving presentations or talking to other professionals. Link to Genius Project Pitch in April Today marks another day I woke up with a desire to sit on the couch all day long. I guess it didn't really help that I went to bed at 1 AM, but regardless I'm a high school student and motivation is something I lack on the daily. However, when it comes to the Genius Project, I have had my highly motivational days. On Friday in class, we did a group activity where we stood in corners depending on whether or not we know where to start with our project and if we want to stick with the idea we've pitched. I, myself, was in the corner of "yes I know what I'm doing and I know how to do it" and I helped those in the corner of "good idea? nah I'm gonna switch it". I suggested taking it back to the roots of this project which is what do you like to do with your free time? I brought up that this project tends to push people to have the "wow factor", and not every Genius Project necessarily needs the wow factor. I also mentioned that if your project requires expensive equipment, don't let that stop you - find a way around using expensive equipment. A lot of what people were describing as road blocks can be solved with simple conversations to the right people. I know I faced some days where I just had no idea what to do, but after I discussed my issues with my mom, I knew exactly where to go and how to get there. As to how to stay motivated, I can't really help you with that. I told my peers that everyday is not going to be you going full speed ahead on your project knowing exactly who to talk to and where to go next. If it is, cool. If it's the complete opposite - 3 months of forgetfulness and a room full of crushed up paper balls with ideas written on them - then maybe you need to choose a different passion, one maybe that sticks with you better. Choose something like a hobby that you do every week or month. Choose something you prefer doing over homework. Choose something you could spend months on without getting bored. Well, in terms of Porky Pig, "That's all, folks!"
Wow. Just wow. I'm absolutely speechless. Last night was the 2nd annual Genius Project Symposium, and I attended with nothing but high hopes for the night and let me tell you, those hopes were escalated and taken to top floor of the tallest skyscraper. I attended because I was very curious as to what I could be striving for throughout this entire project, but also because my older brother, Carter Peterson, was one of the speakers at the Symposium. My last blog post was a couple days before the Forum and during the Forum, after all the Seniors presented their final projects, we voted for who we thought was the best and whoever got the most votes, was chosen to speak at the Genius Project Symposium. I am very privileged to have seen my brother experience this prestigious opportunity, and can only hope I have that same opportunity. All of the speakers last night were incredible. We had projects ranging from writing books all the way to teaching the elderly with Parkinson's Disease how to dance. If I wish to get up on that stage, I've got to start now. The next step I have to take, which may sound like the easiest step but is possibly one of the hardest, is reaching out. I need to email or call the people at the Senior Center or even the City Council, depending on if I hear from the Senior Center staff or not. I'm hoping to communicate with them over the next month and start planning from there. This project is just in its initial steps, but I have a feeling it will be big.
Woah haven't been here in awhile. So... quick update: I have changed my project entirely. I know, I know. I had a good concept, but I felt like my project was too similar to other activities being put on by the PTSA at my school, so I feel like I wouldn't get a good turn out. Anyways, I have changed my idea to holding classes for senior citizens to teach them how to use their cell phones. I call it - Tech Talks: Teaching the Future to the Past. We are doing our pitches starting tomorrow and going into next week and I'm not too nervous. I absolutely LOVE public speaking and love writing speeches, but I think I didn't give myself enough time to write, edit, and memorize so it's kind of crunch time right now to memorize and be ready to sell my idea like I'm on "Shark Tank". The Genius Project Forum is April 26th and during the Forum, every Junior pitches their idea and every Senior presents their progress and/or finished product. With my pitch, I hope to hear some feedback as to different ways I can achieve this and possibly some people that have connections to seniors centers or retirement homes. I really want to ground myself in the community, and I want to be clear how I plan to go about my project. I can't wait to give peer advice because I think peer advice is some of the best. I have learned so much from students around me through the process of sharing ideas and getting feedback. I'll be sure to let you know how the experience goes :). This is the first blog post of many to come that follows me and my journey throughout the completion of my Genius Project. So far, I have come up with an idea, and I can't wait to start organizing the plans. My Genius Project is a conference organized for Juniors and Seniors in high school that teaches them basic tasks that need to be completed as an adult. I actually thought of this idea while completing an English assignment known as an "Article of the Week". This assignment had 2 articles discussing whether or not high schools should make "Personal Finance" a required course to graduate. While I was reading the pros and cons of having this class be a requirement, I was thinking to myself how much I actually know about living by myself. Now I'm one of 4 kids in my family, so I've grown up being taught how to fold my laundry and make my own dinner. However, not everyone else has. I took into consideration how my high school, specifically, doesn't offer any sort of Home Economics class that teaches someone to cook a basic meal or sew up a hole in your pants, and I realized that after Seniors graduate, there's a handful that move away to college, live in a dorm, and start living life for themselves. I took a second to account for the fact that in about a year and a few months, I'll be there: living on my own, paying bills, making car payments, applying for jobs, and I was like "woah. I don't actually know how to do any of that." It hit me. I need to educate myself on this kind of stuff, and not only me but others. I didn't just want to focus on money and saving it, so I expanded it to basic techniques that help out anyone. Fixing a flat tire, having a job interview, opening up a checking account, and cooking dinner for yourself and a friend. These file into 4 basic sub-categories as to what you would need in your life as an adult: repairment tasks (car, house, plumbing, etc.), job tasks (writing resumes, dealing with problems in the workplace, asking for a raise, etc.), financial tasks (balancing a checkbook, taking out a loan, budgeting, etc.), and what I like to call mom/home tasks (folding laundry, cooking, knowing signs of sickness, etc.). I know there's a lot of planning to come, but I'm ready for anything this project has to throw at me. |