Discipline.

Systems and Models is the 2nd STEAM course of my senior year. This class focuses on understanding the different ways of thinking with ourselves, within groups, and within organizations. We watched and learned about certain social experiments that would help us get a better understanding about what this class is about. The last unit is called Organization. It focused on people, groups and organizations. For the last action project, we were assigned to think like a organizational consultant and perform a SWOT on GCE. I really enjoy being a student here, so it was sort of difficult looking for flaws. Overall though, I really enjoyed completing this, and I hope you enjoy reading through it.

                                                                                                                      

 

Are You Lost?

The second STEAM course of my senior year, I'm taking a class called Systems and Models. This class teaches us how to study people from the outside, inside and between. The second unit is called Group. This unit focuses on how people's behavior changes while around other people. For the action project, we had to conduct a social experiment. I worked with a partner and wanted to see how different stores reacted when it came to us wanting help. I hope you enjoy our project!

                                                                                                                    

Out With The Old, In With The New.

The second course of my senior STEAM class is called Systems and Models. This class teaches us how to study ourselves, as well as other people and groups.The first unit of this class is called Individual. This unit focused on studying ourselves through psychology. To do this, we looked at a lot of different personality tests, which I talk about a lot in my project. For the action project, we were assigned to take all the information we learned about ourselves, and present it in a artistic way. The art could be whatever we consider art to be. I liked that a lot because many people have different views on what could be considered art, and it's good to have an open mind and see the differences. I enjoyed learning a lot about myself through these different tests, and it was fun to make that into art. I hope you enjoy reading below!

During this class, we were assigned to take a few personality tests to see if they would help us identify ourselves, as well as to see how we handle certain situations. The one that I think best connected with me was the Myers Briggs test. The point of this test was to figure out how I perceive the world and how I make decisions. At the end, my results were INFP. Those letters stand for introversion, intuition, feeling, and perception. Introversion means that I am energized by having some time to myself. Intuition means that I can recognize patterns and possibilities. Feeling means that I take other people’s feelings seriously. Perceiving means that I enjoy freedom and flexibility. All this can also be described as the “mediator”. This made sense to me because people describe me as being reserved, gentle, and understanding. Once I knew all this information, I thought my result for the TKI test, which describes how we handle a conflict, was pretty accurate. The number one word I got was avoider. This means that I shy away from a conflict or that I’d rather not face it at all.

Out with the old, in with the new. (RD). 2017.

The name of my art piece is called "Out with the old, in with the new". I traced out both of my hands with pencil and marker and added details into them with colored pencils and markers. All this was done on regular printer paper. The size is 8.5x11in. The little details included aren’t actually little in my life, but since there’s a lot going on, they had to be a certain size. One hand represents all the things in life that I want and want to pull in. On the other is stuff that I avoid or push away, and don’t want to include in my life. The hand that wants to push things away is colored in darker, while the hand that wants to bring in things is lighter. The things I want to bring in includes peace, kindness, friendships, and adventure. I represented that through hearts, flowers, peace signs, and a lot of green to represent adventure and nature. I also drew tiny stars to represent the very dreamy personality that I have. When it comes to things that I want to push away I include stress, conflict, criticism ,and decisions. I represented that with a lot of question marks because all those things leave me feeling very unsure. I also drew clouds and a thunderstorm that represent all the stress that clumps together and eventually destroys all my inspiration.

Apart from the 2 tests that I talked about earlier, I also took the Enneagram personality test. The result I got for this one was type 4. This is also known as the "Individualist". Some of the words that are used to describe this type include, expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. It's also known as the sensitive, introspective type. Most of this is pretty accurate. I've always been quiet, and I find myself sometimes stuck in my own head, and constantly daydreaming. Although this happens, I still like to branch out and connect with others. I represented that in my drawing by the leaves that are outside of the fingers. With this result in mind, I also thought that the result that I got from the DISC personality test was accurate. I got C for compliance. Again, this describes people who are a bit more reserved, people who would rather stay behind the scenes of anything, and those who hate pressure. I think it's cool how I can see a connection with all these different tests.

Throughout this class, we watched a few videos that studied certain behaviors. I thought the "Slap her" experiment was super interesting. The young boys knew it was wrong to slap a girl, so they didn't do it. I also really loved it because I also take other people's feelings seriously, and I could never imagine myself hurting someone else.

In order to fully understand the whole process of creating an artist statement, I talked to Hiu, who is an art teacher. I was curious about which elements she considered as the most important. I liked when she talked about how important it is to explain the story behind the art piece. “I also really love when an artist statement gives instructions on how the audience should interact with or view the piece of artwork. This really gives the artist the chance to immerse the audience into their work and not only view the piece, but also to experience it”. That’s what I hope for when people view my artwork.


Work cited:

"Type Four." The Enneagram Institute. The Enneagram Institute., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2017

"C for Compliance." Discus Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

"Free Personality Test." 16Personalities. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

"The Use and Misuse of an Avoiding Style in Conflict Management." Mediate.com - Find Mediators - World's Leading Mediation Information Site. Mediate.com, Sept. 2006. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

To, Hiu. Email interview. 18. Jan. 2017

Future Portfolio

In the second unit of the Econ class, which is called Wealth and Wages, the class learned about economic systems and studied how wealth is distributed through markets and governments. For the action project, we were assigned to create a personal investment portfolio. The purpose is to see how we take a certain amount of money, and invest it in stocks while seeing how that stock is doing. We were also asked to add SMART goals to layout what our incentive is to invest. It was interesting making this portfolio. I had a hard time understanding this whole stock process in the beginning, but with more research, I was starting to understand. I’m proud at how I took the time to do good and accurate research, in order to get a good portfolio. I hope you enjoy looking at my portfolio!

There was a certain scenario that we had to work with in this project. We had a college plan that was created 18 years ago by our guardian angel, with $18,000. Each month, $50 was added to the plan ($600 yearly). After 18 years at an average annual interest rate of 7%, compounded annually, the plan is now worth $49128.87. Yesterday, you cashed out your plan and deposited the money in a brokerage account to invest on your own.

In order to see if a stock is worth buying, I’ll look at the value. I want to see what’s low, and then sell it higher. I chose to have a longer time horizon because of my SMART goals. It’s going to take awhile before I can achieve them, but I’m totally up for it. I took a quiz online with the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and I scored a 25, which means I have a average/moderate tolerance risk. Below, I have my goals listed for 1 year, 5 years, and 25 years.

1-year goal: Save about $15,000 to travel for one full summer.
5-year goal: Put a down payment of $10,000 for an Audi.
25 year goal- Buy a home in Lincoln Park: $350,000

I value companies that are family owned because there is a personal touch added to that company. It’s also easier to control that company and figure out the outcomes for that business. Another reason why I value them, is because those kind of companies value and understand the lifestyle of a larger family better, so they’ll do their best to meet their needs.

Company 1- Walmart.
I decided to invest in Walmart because other companies and retailers have tried to go head to head with Walmart, but have not been able to compete with their low prices. Their buying power has made their economic moat wide and sustainable. I also appreciate their mission which is, “Saving people money so they can live better”. It’s an international business, and it’s expected that Walmart will keep on making acquisitions internationally as time goes on to boost growth in the global market. They have a healthy payout ratio of 42.89%, which means that it has the potential to keep or increase its dividends.

Company 2- Walt Disney.
I decided to invest in Disney because it has an excellent growth rate. It gets that rate from its movie studio, business segment, consumer merchandise and theme parks. It’s also a top 10 stock. While doing my research, I discovered that it has a 10 year dividend growth rate of 23%. It also has a reasonable p/e ratio of 18.

Company 3-TJX.
The company TJX owns stores like TJ MAXX, Marshalls, and Homegoods. This company takes in name brand products that didn’t sell, and put them at a lower price in their department stores. Their highest earning revenue comes from their housing products because of the housing market recovery. It’s profit growth is expected to be 10%, while other department stores have only a single digit number when it comes to their growth.

1 year portfolio
I invested $15,000 in my one year goal.
30 shares of Wal-Mart at $70.11($2,103.30)(28% profile)
60 shares of TJX at $73.66($4,419.60)(72% profile) WMT and TJX together, has an expected ROI of 24.92%

5 year portfolioI invested $10,000 in my 5 year portfolio 

50 shares of Disney at $93.71 ($4,685.50) (30%)
22 shares of Wal-Mart at $70.11 ($1,542.42)(70%) DIS and WMT together, has an expected ROI of 389.27%

25 year portfolio
I invested $350,000 for my 25 year goal.

70 shares of TJX at $73.66($5,156.20) (60%)
50 shares of Disney at $93.71($4,685.50) (40%) TJX and DS together, has an expected ROI of 11681%.

I made three different investments, and 2 of them are in the same stock sector. Wal-mart and TJX is listed under consumer goods, and Disney is put under Entertainment. While deciding, I wanted to have at least one different stock in a different sector, which is one of the reasons why I chose Disney. Based on the math I did, I'm going to be able to reach my goals.

Citations:

Weil, Dan. "Best Investments: Good Investments In 2016 And Beyond | Bankrate.com." Best Investments: Good Investments In 2016 And Beyond | Bankrate.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

BasuMallick, Chiradeep. "5 Reasons Why Disney Is a Must-Have Stock."TheStreet. N.p., 02 Sept. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Rossolillo, Nicholas. "Is Wal-Mart a Good Dividend Investment?" The Motley Fool. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Nurse or Social Worker?

The first STEAM course in my senior year is called Economics. In this class we discussed opportunity cost, learned how to calculate interest, and learned how to work with matrices. We also looked at supply and demand, and saw how that works on a graph. The FE for this unit was really interesting. We went to the Federal Reserve Bank to talk about what they do there, and what they do for the economy. For the first action project, the class was assigned to choose a career we could see ourselves getting into, and figure out the cost of our college tuition, salary, and how long it would take us to pay off students loans. For my project, I did research on two careers that I have though about going into. As you read my essay and look at my graphs, you'll figure out which occupation I end up choosing. I hope you enjoy reading!

To continue my education next year, I can go either go to Illinois State University for nursing, or I can attend University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for social work. Nurses have the duty of taking and planning medical care for mentally or physically ill patients. Social workers have the role of helping people get through and cope with problems they go through everyday. Nurses can work in hospitals, clinics, and even homes. Social workers can also be found in hospitals, as well as in schools, mental health clinics, and child welfare and human services agencies.

Something that these two career paths have in common is that they involve helping other people, and making sure others are feeling their best,which is why I chose them. My aunt is a nurse, and I love hearing her heart warming stories, as well as her scary ones. Social work interests me because I think something needs to be done about how mentally ill patients are treated, and it would be cool to be apart of that change. To be a nurse, I must go to college for 4 years to get my bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree. In order to become a social worker, I have to go to college for 4 years and get a bachelors degree in social work (BSW).

Pursuing my education also means spending some more money. In 2015-2016 the cost of tuition at Illinois State was $13,664. The cost for 2016-2017 comes out to be $14,062. That means the tuition percent increase comes out to 3%. At the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, tuition for 2015-2016 was $12,036. For 2016-2017, it comes out to be $15,698. The tuition percent increase comes to 30%. If I were to go to ISU for 4 years, my cost would be $60,464.98. For the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, the total for 4 years would come out to be $127,430.67.

(Nursing)

(Social Work)

If I choose to go to nursing school, it would take me 9 years to pay my student loans, and the true cost of college would be $75,574,11. The amount of interest I would pay would be $15,109.13. The true cost of college for social work comes out to be $188,561.58. The interest I would pay is $61,130.91. If I choose to go to school for social work, it would take me 17 years to pay off student loans.

The minimum salary for nursing is $44,70, the median is $83,291, and the maximum is $104,276. For a social worker, the minimum is $46,836, the median is $52,945, and the max comes out to $59,340. For nursing I would make $3,888,269 by the time I retire. If I were to become a social worker, I would make $2,458,152. Going to school to become a social worker cost more, yet I would be making less. In the United States there are 3,129,452 registered nurses (RN). The total amount of social workers in the U.S comes out to be 650,000. Nursing and social work both are expected to grow 19%, and are considered to be one of the most fastest growing careers.

(Salary for Nursing)

(Salary for Social Work)

People will always be getting sick, and there will always be problems that are taking over people’s lives, so the demand for both occupations would be set high. Below I have a supply and demand chart for both occupations.

Supply and demand chart (Nursing)

Supply and Demand chart (Social Work)

At the end, I realized that it would be best for me to go to school for nursing. Like I stated before, tuition would cost me less, and I would be making more money at the end, whereas going to school for social work, would cost me more, and I’d be making less. It would also take me more time to pay off my student loans if I were to choose social work. So my incentive would be the amount of money I would be making for nursing. I talked to my mom about all this because I wanted to hear about her college experience, as well as some advice. She talked about how it was hard, and how she did pull many all nighters, but at the end it’s totally worth it, because now she actually enjoys going to work because she loves what she’s doing. I really liked what she said, because although I know it’s going to be hard, I know it’ll be worth it when I’m at work and I’m actually enjoying what I’m doing.

I made 3 assumptions about my decision to go to nursing school:

• I’ll be a productive member of my community
• It’ll be easy to find a job, because I’ll have a BSN.
• I’ll find a job in the hospital that I want to work in.

Citations:
"Total Number of Professionally Active Nurses." The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. N.p., Apr. 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

"Social Work Profession." Social Work Profession. National Association of Social Workers, n.d. Web. Sept. 2016.

"Tuition." , Illinois Admissions. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016

"Tuition Rates." Home. Illinois State University, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

Our truss bridge!

In the first unit of Urban Planning, we learned about weight, load, and all the different forces that act on us. We looked into Newton’s fundamental laws to see how those work. We studied falling objects by learning how to use equations and vectors. Finally, we started studying bridges. We looked at the very different types, how they were built, why they were built, and how they worked with geometric modeling. For the action project, we were assigned to build a bridge with using only glue and 50 popsicle sticks. This bridge is also supposed to be able to handle at least 10 pounds. I felt the anxiety kick in right away because popsicle sticks seem weak, but in my slideshow, you'll see how it turned out. Communication was key when working with my partner, which made everything go smoohly. I hope you enjoy going through my slideshow!

Old Slice

In the first STEAM class of my junior year, Design and Engineering, we are going over what really makes a tool a tool, and all the steps designers have to take when making one. In the first unit of this course, which is called Stronger, the class went over the history of some tools, and we were also introduced to some math concepts that include angles, pressure, force and leverage. For the action project, the class was assigned to work with a partner and brainstorm ideas of how to improve and redesign an existing tool. My partner and I decided to look into the machete. We looked into all the different designs that were available and came up with a better one that would also be safe for an elderly person. At first, my partner and I had a hard time thinking about why an elderly person would even have a machete, but then we also thought about the possibility that they would, and how we could make it easier for them. I'm proud of how my partner and I communicated during this project, and I learned about new steps that could help me in the future when it comes to redesigning something.

JB. Machete. (2015) 

As my partner and I were talking about the machete, we were also discussing the consumers, because we wanted to make sure that we added an element of empathy, which is being able to understand and share the feelings of others. We realized that machetes are pretty dangerous, especially for an older person. As I did research and looked at the ones at the store I noticed that the machetes are just out in a long box and it was pretty easy to just simply take the machete out and use it. Just looking at one scared me, which is why my partner and I decided to give our machete a rubber blade cover. It protects the user from the blade, along with stopping the look of the blade from scaring people away. As I was interviewing my grandpa, I asked him why he doesn't really use tools and he responded by saying that "sometimes they take up too much space and are too heavy." This got me thinking about a way to make the machete lighter. We decided that the handles would have a gel grip handle that would make it more comfortable for the user, and it would also be lighter. We also have a notch for cutting wire and other strings or cords. Other machetes have that feature, but they don't have a button that controls the retractable blade. I did more research and I noticed the curve feature usually makes the price of the machete go up, but that would not happen with ours. We also made sure to add a lock to that button to let the user know the blade won't just come out. Along with the retractable button, we added a hinge so that the user can fold up the machete and put it into the rubber blade cover. It would look better but it would also take up less space. The Old Slice is also a few inches longer in the handle, which means that the consumer would not have to do as much bending or going on their tippy toes while chopping something down. Our machete would be considered a wedge because the blade is used to cut and separate objects. Even though we made the machete more safe, the Old Slice is still able to do all the monster chopping that you need it to do. Below there is a storyboard of the Old Slice.

JB Storyboard  (2015)

JB. Old Slice storyboard. (2015)

RD, Old Slice. (2015)

ATTENTION!

In the second unit of the Disease class, which is called Mind, the class went over mental illnesses, and see and try to understand the effects that they have on people. We went over the DSMV and looked at how psychiatrists use this book to diagnosed someone. It was also interesting to just look at the symptoms that make up a mental illness. For the action project the class was assigned to do some research on a certain mental illness that affect children, and also do a stimulation and flier that would help our classmates understand this mental illness a bit better. I decided to research Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While doing some research I learned a lot of interesting facts about it, and I defiantly have a different view on this topic. It was challenging though on figuring out ways to create a lesson plan that would let my classmates understand and sort of feel what a person with ADHD goes through. Although challenging, I did have a fun time putting my flier together and creating my lesson plan. I hope through my flier below, you have a better understanding of ADHD. I also hope my lesson plan gives more knowlegde of what a person with ADHD has to go through.


Attention Deficit/hyperactive disorder, also known as ADHD is a mental disorder that makes having to focus, following directions or completing a task difficult, because of how easily distracted you get, and because your brain is entering too much info at the same time. The official definition for ADHD is a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. It is very common in the United States, with more than 3 million cases per year. The symptoms include zoning out regularly, difficulty following simple directions, makes careless mistakes, not being able to listen at all, easily distracted, avoids any activity that involves a lot thinking, loses items, forgetful, There are also other symptoms that include hyperactivity. Those include talking a lot, unable to sit still, quick temper, fidgeting/squirming, climbing in children, for adults extreme relentless, hard time completing activities quietly, feelings of driven by motor, blurts things out, out of no where or when its not their turn, and having a hard time waiting. In order to be diagnosed children must have at least 6 or more symptoms, and for people 17 and up at least 5 required. Being unable to focus though, seems like a huge problem, and often leads to hard situations, like doing poorly in school , or you seem to look when talking to other people. “When I am talking with someone, I miss a lot of what they say. I want to listen but I have 20 other things going on in my brain. I am listening but the words are added to the items and juggled around. It is easy to see how this leads to a speaking and communicating problem. The other person would have to continually repeat themselves. How frustrating.” This is a quote I found while researching and landed on a man named TJ’s blog.