Writing Skills in Motion in the Classroom

Kai White, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in English Writing and minor in Studio Art

It is the dream of every author to write a book they can proudly stand behind. I got to engage with the writing of unfamiliar authors and my talented peers and was inspired by the craft and creativity of both.

This project covered styles of writing, tones, and perspectives that were completely out of my comfort zone. While writing this story and going to school, I was constantly gaining new ideas and my own writing style kept shifting with every new literary influence.

There were many times, even towards the end of the project, where the stories became creatures I didn’t know how to interact with anymore. I’d become a different writer, and what I’d written only months before became wholly unrecognizable, the work of a stranger. This was especially the case with “The Lockbox,” being the bigger monster of the two pieces. From its inception, “The Lockbox” was already unlike anything I’d ever written before. In the class where the idea sprung, we were reading authors that I was exploring for the first time.

There was this constant fear that I was too inexperienced as a writer, with too limited a world view, to be attempting to tackle the serious themes I was handling. But throughout my final semester, I got to listen to lectures from professional writers, and their words greatly encouraged me. One writer in particular, Robert Jones Jr., mentioned that part of being a writer is accepting that you’re a better writer today than you were yesterday, and you’ll be an even better writer tomorrow than you are today.

Suffice it to say, I’m a completely different writer now than I was when I wrote these stories a year ago. So long as I’m alive, learning and writing, the stories I create will never truly end within the pages they’re contained. But that collection of pages represents the place I was in at that time, the concepts I wanted to explore, and how I may have interpreted and challenged various facets of the world around me.

Audio Signal Generator to Alter Tomato Plant Behavior

Bryan Rudshteyn, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Electrical Engineering

I found this capstone project to be a very interesting experience. When I started the beginning phases of it, I never imagined that I would be doing something like this, especially since going into it I had no idea of what I was getting into or even how I would be able to contribute anything to it. Because I am an electrical engineering major, my capstone was based on my senior design project which was about audio signal generator to alter plant behavior.

Due to the nature of my project relying on proving and recreating the scenario in which a published experiment claimed that sound helps tomatoes grow better, I needed to create a sound generator and grow tomatoes with it and then compare it to the results of tomatoes growing without it. This experimental research, while not initially seeming as something difficult or interesting, required very accurate measurements and data capturing techniques to be used, that were not used or taken in previous engineering courses.

There was a lot that I took away from this experience, which yielded interesting results. It was in doing this experiment and research that I was able to truly understand that a real experiment is when you genuinely don’t know what results to expect. With the aid and support of my professor who mentored my team and I through this research, we were able to understand the unique approaches that engineers have and the effectiveness of working as a group instead of just individualized assignments. Additionally, it was with his expertise that I learned how to conduct a proper experiment and how engineers should collaborate effectively to be as efficient as possible.

Furthermore, the completion of this research taught me to believe half of what you measure and a tenth of what you read. Overall, this project provided a unique experience as I was not expecting to grow plants and do a lot of biology research as an electrical engineering student. This, however, would open my eyes as to how diversified an engineer’s skills can be used in various areas of study, regardless of their knowledgeability on the subject matter.

Researching Therapeutic Interventions in Alzheimer's Care

Mennah Hegazi, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Psychology

In my undergraduate research study, Unlocking Hope: The Efficacy of Therapeutic Interventions in Alzheimer's Care, I had the opportunity to delve into the intricacies of Alzheimer's disease and explore potential non-pharmacological therapies. The study provided a unique lens through which I could understand the limitations of traditional pharmacological approaches and the emerging need for alternative therapies to address the multifaceted challenges posed by this complex condition.

The research process began with an in-depth systematic review of peer-reviewed articles, allowing me to examine various non-pharmacological therapies such as art therapy, reminiscence therapy, physical exercises, cognitive stimulation, and music therapy. This comprehensive analysis highlighted how these interventions can significantly enhance the quality of life for Alzheimer's patients, promoting better daily living activities, cognitive functions, and emotional well-being.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this study was discovering the positive impact of non-pharmacological therapies on both patients and their caregivers. These therapies offer a holistic approach that goes beyond merely managing symptoms; they focus on enhancing the overall well-being of individuals and supporting their emotional and psychological needs. Observing the growing acceptance and implementation of these alternative therapies within the healthcare community was both inspiring and encouraging.

As I progressed through the research, I became more aware of the gaps in existing literature and the need for further evaluations to fully comprehend the complexity of therapeutic options for Alzheimer's disease. This experience underscored the importance of continued research and innovation in this field to develop comprehensive care strategies.

Ultimately, this study reinforced my belief in the potential of non-pharmacological therapies as an effective and affordable approach to optimizing Alzheimer's treatment. It also instilled in me a sense of responsibility to contribute to the ongoing exploration and development of alternative therapies. The experience was not only intellectually stimulating but also deeply meaningful, as it shed light on the potential to unlock hope for Alzheimer's patients and their loved ones.

Capstone: The Art of Creating a Film

Robert Lenza, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed majors in Cinema Studies Production and Psychology 

When I was accepted into Verrazzano Honors at the College of Staten Island, I had no clue what I was going to do for my senior capstone project and what I was going to present at the Undergraduate Research conference (URC). I knew I had interests in film, psychology, and history, but couldn’t put together the picture of what I’d be presenting yet. Throughout my college years taking film classes, I was inspired to create many stories that I wanted to tell through the big screen.

One of those stories was Will, which tells the story of young man suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) coming face-to-face with his disorder. What I love so much about Will is that it takes a commonly referred to and discussed psychological disorder and tells the story of the inner struggle of the sufferer in a unique way. The OCD is represented as a character within the film through an exact lookalike of the main character.

Being a cinema production major, I chose to have Will be the film for my senior thesis project. It was an ambitious, complex project, so I thought it was the right move in making it my thesis. I had the opportunity to work on new filmmaking techniques and methods, such as the dolly zoom, Dutch angles, voice-over, musical score, as well as lighting and editing experimentation that helped bring my story to life.

Once I decided on Will being the film for my film production thesis, it wasn’t long before I realized using it for my capstone project would be a great idea as well. Not only would it be a good experience for me to present at the URC, but it would also allow a wider population of people to experience a new take on expressing mental health through film.

What separates this project from the other projects I have worked on is just how many people were involved. Prior to this project, I had mainly worked on my films alone or with one or two people. With this project, the list goes on with the number of people that helped out, even if it was just for a limited time.

With that, however, came some struggles. Having many people involved in a celebrative project such as this, it can often be a challenge to stay organized, make schedules, and have a clear, full-focused mind on the goals in the distance. The reality of it all is that filmmaking is not easy, but it’s the experience you get from it that makes it worth it. Yes, there were some low-points, but I learned as much if not more from the low-points as I did the many high-points during the production. This project served as an eye-opener to what it may be like to do this kind of thing as a job one day.

Overall, I can confidently say that this project has better prepared me for the next project that I work on, and I think that is incredibly important because filmmaking is a craft, and there’s always room for improvement. I am grateful that I got to work with so many people, some of whom I had never met before until working on this project. I am really glad I got to make a film that means a lot to me, while also learning new methods and techniques of filmmaking through my technical film production goals.