THE
George A. Roeper FESTIVAL OF
SENIOR PROJECTS
PRESENTED BY
The Class of 2021
THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2021 FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2021 ROEPER’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Welcome George A. Roeper Festival of Senior Projects! TO THE 15TH ANNUAL
The George A. Roeper Senior Project is designed to encourage and allow students to follow their personal passions — a capstone project, if you will, of their education here at The Roeper School. Each senior is mentored by members of our faculty, and/ or professionals in their respective areas of interest outside the Roeper community. This event is more than a display of self-directed student work, but a celebration of their lives and our time spent together in them. The members of the Class of 2021 who are part of this year’s Festival certainly have had an unexpected senior year, yet they continue the tradition of excellence, having excelled in so many areas. I’m very proud of this group of artists, athletes, actors, writers, scientists, philanthropists, and musicians. They’re a young group with an already long story to tell, full of experiences that have shaped who they are today. I hope that when they talk of their days at Roeper — and of their days growing up with the many opportunities afforded to them to explore anything and everything — they’ll fondly remember this experience, just as we will fondly remember them. Thank you for joining us to celebrate their very important work — enjoy!
Jason McIntosh Senior Projects Coordinator Interim Director, Middle School Dean of Admissions, Middle/Upper School
2021 Project Participants Ellie Barron Alexa Dinneweth Miles Durst Gina Galligan Olivia Gandee Diego Garcia Clyde Granzeier Meredith Grekin Sydney Levy Lee Must Charlotte Silverstein Hannaah Wise
Ellie Barron A VERY LONG CLIMATE PROJECT (AVLCP)
My senior project was to run A Very Long Climate Project (AVLCP), which was started last year by now alum Avery Long. AVLCP is an organization made up of Middle and Upper Schoolers working together to make our school more environmentally friendly by taking on various initiatives. The ultimate goal of the project is to create long-term, sustainable change and to provide a framework that will enable members of our community to take action for a long time to come.
Advisor: Dan Jacobs Members of AVLCP: Aiden Marande, Andrew Mojares, Anjali Sharma, Christopher Mojares, Dan Jacobs, Eddie Pasternak, Emily Wetherington, Ethan Fracasso, Finn Axelarris, Helena Williams, Hope Carmona, Lauren Mattison, Meadow Burch, Meira Gable, Minuet Petitpren, Noah Gibbs, Phillip Rabinovich, Sydney Levy, Will Hoover, Will Mattison, Zizi Newhard Special Thanks: First and foremost, thank you to everyone who is or has been a part of AVLCP. This project could not happen without your involvement, and it makes me so happy to see that there are others in the Roeper community who are passionate about the project and the work that we do. Thank you so much to Dan Jacobs, you’ve been a wonderful advisor, mentor, and friend. Finally, thank you to everyone who has worked with us on our various initiatives, put up with our relentless emails and constant questions, or helped us to gain the exposure we needed, or offered ideas, solutions, or even just support when we needed it. When I needed it. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped us get to where we are today.
Alexa Dinneweth DESIGNING AN ORIGAMI SWALLOW
During junior year, I explored various facets of origami design and its mathematical foundations in an independent study advised by Sheh Yi Chu. In addition to researching the theory behind origami, I designed two models using box-pleating techniques. This year was a continuation of that project. For my third design, I created a swallow bird whose wing structure is based on the triangular spirals of the Padovan number sequence.
Advisor: Janet Szeto Special Thanks: This project would not exist without all of the wonderful teachers at Roeper. I would especially like to thank Sheh Yi Chu, whose endless enthusiasm pushed me to explore further; and Janet Szeto, whose encouragement led me to where I am as an artist. Finally, I am grateful for my friends and family members for their support of my interests.
Miles Durst BECOMING A LICENSED REALTOR
My project follows my progress in obtaining my real estate salesperson license. I truly started my project the summer of 2018 when I reached out to Jim Shaffer about helping his brokerage. Ever since, I have been learning tricks of the trade in preparation for a career in real estate.
Advisors: Good Company Realty, Brian Durst
Special Thanks: to Jim Shaffer and the rest of the team at Jim Shaffer and Associates.
Gina Galligan HAMLET AS FILM NOIR
Throughout the year I focused on taking the original story of Hamlet and making it into an over-the-top noir film. The project culminated in having written three scenes, one of which I filmed as a read through. I spent a large part of the year focusing on the story and characters as a whole before I chose which three scenes I wanted to write.
Advisor: Kelly McDowell
Cast:
Hamlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lee Must Horatio . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte Silverstein Laertes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diego Garcia Gertrude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Griffin Galligan Claudius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Bensman
Special Thanks: I would like to thank Kelly McDowell for going on this wild ride with me this year, especially when she had to give me many pep talks. I struggled with my confidence in my work a lot this year, and Kelly was always there to virtually hug me and believe in me. A big thank you to Diego Garcia and Susannah Nichols for reviewing my writing throughout the year and giving me valuable input as I wrote the story. Of course, I have to thank Lee, Charlotte, Diego, Griffin, and Ryan for participating in the read through. This project would have been lacking without your involvement. I also need to thank Ttari Helmer because she helped me develop the very beginnings of this project long before it was my senior project. And because she helped me put the finishing touches on the read through.
Olivia Gandee KHARTARUM ZOGRETES ROSA: RESETTING A MANGA IN ANCIENT ROME
I translated selections of a manga graphic novel series from its original Japanese directly into Classical Latin and adapted it to make sense to a theoretical Ancient Roman audience. In addition to this, I completed an analysis in English through Cultural Theory of the original series as a cultural product of modern Japan as compared to my translation as a cultural product of Ancient Rome.
Advisor: Kelly McDowell Special Thanks: I would like to thank Kelly McDowell for all of her support and advice, in both the making of this project as well as throughout my high school career as a whole. I would like to thank Karen Johnson and Natalie Abbott for having been my Latin teachers, allowing me to discover and cultivate my passion for the language. I would also like to thank my friend Gina Galligan for her support and for having first introduced me to the manga that I went on to use in teaching myself the Japanese language. A special thanks as well to my parents for their words of encouragement and assistance in compiling the final product.
Diego Garcia WRITING A TELEVISION SERIES PILOT
For this project I have written an eight season story treatment along with a screenplay for the pilot episode for a sequel series to Birds of Prey: and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. The show follows the Birds of Prey as they deal with the ever-chaotic underworld of Gotham City, facing new villains and gaining new allies.
Advisor: Kelly McDowell Special Thanks: I would like to thank Jennifer Moore, Kelly McDowell, and Alex Calderwood for helping me make this project a reality. I would also like to give a special thanks to my wonderful friends for participating in the table read.
Clyde Granzeier FANTASY NOVEL
The goal of this project was to create a fantasy novel. The book is written as a collection of letters, journal entries, songs, poems, and folklore used both to convey the plot and flesh out the world. With my advisor, I explored concepts in worldbuilding and story conventions. Additionally, I also took notes both on tips for writing stories as well as writing as a therapeutic way of contextualizing and understanding my own thoughts. I’ve currently written about 100 single-spaced Microsoft Word pages of the book.
Advisor: Dan Jacobs Special Thanks: to Dan Jacobs for being an advisor, editor, and beta reader. He has spent an incredible amount of time reading the book and meeting with me. I really appreciate all of the advice and encouragement he’s provided. Also, special thanks to my parents for acting as beta readers and for telling me to keep on writing.
Meredith Grekin DETROITerm
After spending a semester in New York at CITYterm, which was a city emersion experience into the history, culture, and science behind New York City, I decided to create a Detroit version for Roeper students. Over the last few months I have been writing a curriculum for a class called DETROITerm, a hands-on, experiential learning experience where students will not only learn about Detroit from a classroom, but also being in the city itself.
Advisor: Carolyn Lett Special Thanks: I would like to thank Carolyn Lett for her years of mentorship and guidance, standing by me, the long Zoom calls, and helping me reach the finishing line on my project. I also would like to thank Cori Hatcher for helping me find the direction of my senior project and inspiring me through her Detroit class.
Sydney Levy TRASHION — an exploration of fashion design through the use of unwanted sustainable materials For my senior project, I chose to design clothing pieces and construct them out of sustainable materials like scrap fabric and plastic bags. Initially, I had planned on creating a collection, but unfortunately I didn’t get as far as I had hoped and was only able to put together a few pieces. Nevertheless, I am proud of how my project turned out. The goal was to show that even unwanted things that are considered trash can be reworked and something seen as desirable and beautiful. I also wanted to show ways that change can be made within the fashion industry. Currently the fashion industry is the second top polluter in the world, where almost 85% of garments are thrown away. The amount of excess material produced by large fast fashion brands like Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters is extremely harmful to the environment. I wanted to show that that doesn’t need to be the case. I have committed to a Parsons School of Design for fall 2021, and I’m excited to continue exploring the use of sustainable materials within my works. This is just the beginning!
Advisor: Sara Mendez Special Thanks: Thank you, Sara, for helping me with the initial stages in the development of my project, and thank you to everyone who donated their plastic bags! Without you, I literally wouldn’t have been able to make this happen.
Lee Must BUIDING A BAKING BUSINESS
With this project, I took my passion for baking to the next level by creating a home business and selling products to the Roeper community. Creating a baking business is something I had wanted to do for years, however, these unusual circumstances forced me to reinvent my plans and access my inner creativity. In addition to learning how to create a website and market a business, I baked and sold more than 300 baked goods. Twilight Baking was a success beyond anything I had imagined.
Advisor: Kelly McDowell Special Thanks: To Kelly, thank you for your unwavering support during every second of this year-long endeavor. It is beyond meaningful. To everyone who has ever eaten something I’ve baked, thank you for being a part of this project’s roots. To everyone who purchased from Twilight Baking (and everyone who was unable to purchase before we sold out), thank you for trusting me and supporting my project.
Charlotte Silverstein OCEAN ART CLASS
This year I decided to combine my passions for art, teaching and ocean art into one senior project. I spent the first semester developing the curriculum for my class and shadowing Lower School art classes to find out what it’s like to be an art teacher, especially in this new setting. I then spent second semester teaching my group of fourth and fifth graders (Stage IV) about the ocean through art.
Advisor: Sara Mendez Special Thanks: My advisor Sara Mendez for helping me create and inspiring the activities for my class. Shoshanna Utchenik for allowing me to shadow her class and giving me advice on how to run an art class virtually. Finally, my Forensic team for helping me create the deep sea informative that inspired this whole project.
Hannah Wise PHASED MENTAL HEALTH PLAN
Before creating the plan, I sent out a survey to Middle and Upper School students as well as staff to gauge interest in various mental health resources as well as get overall comments. After combing through the responses, I created a phased mental health plan, starting with phase one, the easiest to implement, to phase five, being the hardest. The phases are also based on research from various different organizations as well as my experience as a Roeper student.
Advisor: Reanne Young Special Thanks: I would like to start by thanking Reanne for always supporting me not only in my senior project, but also UMatter week, and being someone, I can confide in. I would also like to thank the Roeper community for participating in the surveys as well as their constant support and communication about their mental health needs.
Please join us for
COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES for the
CLASS OF 2021 Sunday, June 6 at 1:00pm Wildwood Amphitheater Lake Orion, Michigan ~ or ~
LIVE STREAMED on Roeper’s YouTube Channel
THE ROEPER SCHOOL educating and inspiring gifted students to think as individuals and to engage as a community with compassion for each other and this world
Middle/Upper School 1051 OAKLAND AVENUE BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN 248.203.7405 www.roeper.org david h. feldman, head of school karen johnson, upper school director