Organizational Behavior

Emily Albano, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Business Management, and minors in Finance and Marketing

In my spring semester I had the opportunity to take MGT 320 as an honors course, led by Dr. Holly Bonner. When I proposed my capstone idea to her at the beginning of the semester, she welcomed me with open arms and was ecstatic to allow me to join her in all parts of her work. Dr. Bonner is a well-known figure in the community, both academically and culturally. The number of accolades she has is far too many to list; I knew I had chosen a professor who would be able to add to my college experience far beyond any I had before.

In the Organizational Behavior honors course, I able to gain new experiences in all sectors of the world, each tying back into the curriculum. Dr. Bonner had me shadow her in her preparation for the Social Work Conference that took place on March 24^th, 2024. Dr. Bonner allowed me to help her prepare her speech, and do interactive preparation for public speaking, along with reviewing her research to make sure it would appeal and be understandable to the public.

A core ideal in Organizational Behavior is addressing the work place, and how to get higher ups to properly communicate with their employees while avoiding noise. Dr. Bonner allowed me to have firsthand experiences in the method, something the textbook could never give me.

Along with the numerous informative lectures on the topic, Dr. Bonner allowed a group of students and me to help in this year’s Beeping Egg Hunt held at the Lavelle School for the Blind. This event is for people of all abilities; however, it specifically caters to the visually impaired, the blind and disabled. The eggs beep, allowing everyone to participate and be engaged in a tradition that children with disabilities may miss out on. My classmates and I made candy filled eggs to circle the beeping eggs for the children to find. This was just another hands-on experience that Dr. Bonner provided to help amplify the classroom.

My experience in MGT 320 with Dr. Holly Bonner was enriching and impactful. Through her guidance, I gained valuable insights into Organizational Behavior and learned about the importance of DEIA principles in fostering inclusive and accessible environments. Dr. Bonner's teaching style, coupled with hands-on experiences like the beeping egg hunt, provided a practical understanding of these concepts and their real-world applications. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn from such a respected figure in academia and the community, and I'm confident that the lessons I've gained will continue to influence my personal and professional growth in the future.

Redefined View of Harp and Self

Angel Munoz-Avila, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Music 

When I began my capstone, I was excited to play my harp in a way that I haven’t played before. I wanted to explore something unconventional in my field: how to blend my classical harp background with my passion for music production and electronic music in general. I wasn’t just experimenting with sound, but I was rethinking what the harp could be for me and my future, and in many ways, who I could be as a musician.

 

This project pushed me to imagine new possibilities beyond the traditional expectations held on me by professors, and even people in my life. The harp is seen as a classical instrument, and being a classical music performance major, my path was geared towards learning how to play one way and fit into one box. This experience as a whole challenged me to take creative risks I hadn't considered before.

As I dove into research and experimentation, I discovered both technical challenges and creative opportunities. I studied the history of the electric harp, explored different microphones and software, and learned how tools like Ableton Live and MIDI controllers could interact with my acoustic harp. Even without owning an electric harp, I developed ways to blend live harp with digital effects, using extended techniques that are unique to the harp. These include harmonics, pitch bends, and soundboard knocks to create a fuller, more experimental sound palette. The process was full of so much trial and error, but every misstep led to a breakthrough. I took failure as a step closer to a final product.

One of the most powerful lessons I learned was to trust my artistic voice. I stopped trying to fit into the predefined box of an “orchestral harpist” or “classical harpist” and created my own path that was entirely my own. An electronic harpist! My piece Strung Away became a turning point. It begins with traditional harp and gradually breaks away, layering effects, drums, and textures that reflect my personal journey. It’s more than just a performance; it’s a story of my transformation throughout college. From someone who just played classical songs already written, to now composing my own pieces and innovating what’s possible!

This project redefined the harp for me. I started playing when I was 9 years old and all I knew was classical music. If you told me at 9 I would be playing harp in a completely different way, writing my own music, or even pursuing this as a career with the success I’ve had, I would be shocked. Not only did my harp experience change, but more importantly, it redefined me. I walk away from this experience more confident in my playing, more curious on how I can innovate, and more committed to shaping my own path. I feel like my own person and I’m proud of what I’ve created. I’m excited to keep pushing boundaries in the future and see where this journey will continue to take me!

Play Based Learning in Early Childhood Education

Erin Westgate, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in SLS

Completing my capstone project on play-based learning in Early Childhood Education has been deeply informative and rewarding. I was able to dive deeper into these benefits for young children and grow a deeper understanding of how children grow, learn, and think. I also have a deeper appreciation for educators who already prioritize play in learning after seeing how impactful it is on young children. Play creates a safe and engaging environment for children to succeed and learn, as well as fosters cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.

 I chose to write about this topic as I thought it would be beneficial for me to learn more   information about the impact that it has on young children. I am going to be an early   childhood education teacher, and I wanted to learn how I could incorporate this learning   method into my future classroom. I had learned a little about play-based learning in a few of   college classes and the benefits of it intrigued me.

 Being a paraprofessional for the NYCDOE, I often did not see a lot of play-based learning in   classrooms other than pre-k and sometimes kindergarten. I believe that with all the   requirements and the curriculum that our city is choosing to implement in schools, it is hard   for teachers to find the time or space to incorporate play-based learning. However, after   completing this capstone, I think more educators and school leaders need to prioritize play   in school, especially when we are able to see the benefits of this approach in other   countries  who use it.

 Play serves as a natural way for children to explore and better understand the world around   them. When children engage in meaningful, self-directed play, they are having fun but also   developing critical thinking and language skills, collaboration, and problem solving.

 As I move further into my career as a teacher, I am excited to apply what I learned through   this capstone into my future classroom and create an environment that fosters creativity,   curiosity, and exploration for young children.

Advanced Fitness Metrics: Smart Barbell Attachment

Kevin Zabrowski, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Electrical Engineering and minor in Mathematics

My senior design project focused on creating a device that measures advanced exercise metrics such as barbell velocity, acceleration, and tilt. These are important for optimizing strength training and rehabilitation but are not captured by traditional methods. To solve this, I developed a smart barbell attachment: a lightweight, wireless sensor system that uses an accelerometer and gyroscope connected to a microcontroller. This system records real-time motion data, which is then processed using algorithms to provide detailed feedback on lifting performance. Through testing, the device successfully distinguished between light and heavy lifts, detected points where lifters tend to struggle, and identified barbell tilts that may indicate muscle imbalances or technique flaws. These results validated that the system could provide athletes, coaches, and physical therapists with useful, actionable data that normally goes unseen during workouts.

I became interested in this research area because of my background in powerlifting and my desire to explore ways to measure lifting performance more precisely. I was motivated by the idea that deeper, more accurate measurements could not only improve athletic outcomes but also prevent injury by identifying poor form early. During my initial research, I reviewed several commercial products and found that while some measured bar velocity, none offered comprehensive tilt angle tracking or gave users access to raw sensor data for deeper analysis. That realization made me confident there was a meaningful opportunity for innovation.

Going into the project, I expected the capstone to be centered on building hardware and running some tests to demonstrate it worked. In reality, the experience was much richer and more complex. It required me to study and apply advanced techniques like sensor fusion through Kalman filtering, coordinate transformations using rotation matrices, and digital signal processing in MATLAB to clean up noisy data. The project became an interdisciplinary challenge, bringing together hardware design, embedded programming, algorithm development, and biomechanical analysis.

One of the hardest challenges I encountered was dealing with sensor imperfections. Accelerometers tend to suffer from noise, while gyroscopes are prone to drift, making raw measurements unreliable. Combining these two sources through sensor fusion to get stable, accurate readings turned out to be a detailed and technical process. Another major challenge was designing an algorithm to detect exercise repetitions based on velocity data. Lifting movements in real life are inconsistent. Pauses, varying tempos, and small deviations made simple threshold detection unreliable. I had to build a finite state machine (FSM) that could adapt to these irregularities without miscounting repetitions. On the other hand, some aspects went more smoothly. Designing and assembling the physical prototype, including the 3D-printed case, was relatively straightforward and satisfying. I was also surprised by how much trial and error went into tuning filters. Extracting clean velocity signals required carefully balancing filter settings to reduce noise without removing valid movement data.

If I were to continue this work, I would first add Bluetooth capability to the device.
Currently, the prototype logs data onto a micro-SD card, which means users have to manually transfer the data for analysis. Wireless streaming to a mobile app would make the system much more convenient and practical. This would also open the door to real-time feedback, such as audio or visual cues when a user’s form begins to break down during a set. Another area for expansion would be adapting the data analysis algorithms to run directly on the device or in the app, so that lifters receive instant feedback rather than having to review reports afterward.

Finally, I would test the device with a broader group of users with different body types and lifting styles to make the repetition detection algorithm more robust and adaptable to diverse patterns. The most important takeaway from this project is a deeper appreciation for the challenge of capturing and analyzing human movement in a reliable way. I developed confidence in building systems from start to finish, from the idea stage through hardware assembly and software programming to producing useful feedback for users. This process also taught me how to comprehensively document my designs and create professional-quality figures and schematics that clearly communicate technical ideas.

Understanding Children's Mental Health

Mahjazee Ruiz, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Psychology and minor in Dance

For my capstone, I wanted to focus on an area that really aligned with my passions and interests, something I felt very strongly about. I've always been motivated to work with children and adolescents in my future career, and I have also always been a big advocate for mental health awareness in our society and communities. Focusing on the minimal attention that children's mental health receives would be very suited and important research for me.

My expectations for this capstone experience were pretty high, as I had never written or done this much research on my own, and that reality was a little daunting and overwhelming when I realized how big the project actually was. I think the hardest part for me was structuring all my information in the most relevant order and in a way that cohesively flowed, because there was so much information I had gathered.

At times, when working with my mentor, I found it hard to take out things I had written or edit and change them, because I believed every piece of information was important. Some things made more sense than others when developing the idea and structure for my research, so I had to make sure I was purposeful with the information I included to keep the goal of my research clear.

Finding the specific sub-topics I would include about children's mental health research was also quite challenging since many areas of children’s mental health didn't necessarily have that much research done on them, especially in terms of early diagnosis and interventions.

Not having a sufficient amount of research made the process take longer than I wanted and was a little frustrating. But the easiest thing for me about this entire project was writing it. It came so naturally to me to talk about something I would genuinely advocate for. When you speak from your heart, the words flow effortlessly, and that was one of the things that I most enjoyed from this research.

As someone who has struggled with mental health since a young age, this capstone hit close to home. I could relate to the need for identifying mental health needs in children, because when I was a kid having someone there and different outlets of expression helped me through a lot of difficult times.

As a child, it’s challenging to understand your emotions, especially if they are due to some sort of mental challenge. The environment that you come from can be evident in the way a child copes with their emotions and feelings. It was important for me to highlight the basis that there is not being enough care for specific groups, with emphasis on underdeveloped and marginalized communities.

One thing we fight for in this world is equality on all fronts. But how often is the need for children’s mental health advertised? Upon the completion of my capstone, I’ve noticed I have become much more aware of what society should do to navigate a healthier and more emotionally stable world for our children. Awareness and knowledge are where the growth begins, to help and nurture the minds of children for happier and more stable lives.