Animated Farewells: How Children's Cartoons Help Young Audiences Understand Death and Grief

Dalia Omar, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed major in Psychology and minors in Arabic and Biology

My research examined how children's cartoons portray death and grief, and how these portrayals help young viewers understand emotional experiences they may not have language for yet. I focused on four well-known animated movies and shows like The Lion King, Bluey, Up, and Coco, and analyzed how each one introduces loss in a way children can grasp. Using concepts from developmental psychology, I focused on how children at different ages understand death, and how visual storytelling, character reactions, and symbolic moments in animation can teach them some emotional learning. My main conclusion is that children's cartoons do far more emotional work than people realize. When watched thoughtfully, they give children safe ways to experience sadness, ask questions, and understand that grief is a natural part of life.

I chose this topic because I took the Death and Dying course with Professor Weiser over the spring semester, and the class completely opened my eyes to how rarely we talk about death, even though it affects everyone. I was initially very nervous to take this class but I thought I'd take the challenge. We discussed how difficult it is for adults to have conversations about loss, especially with children. The class made me think about how kids learn about death at all, and whether the media they watch might be doing some of the teaching. From there, I noticed more children's shows were including emotional episodes, and I wanted to understand the psychology behind it. I wanted to combine what I learned in Professor Weiser's class with my interest in psychology and storytelling.

I expected the capstone to be a long research paper, but I didn't expect how much time I would spend rewatching scenes, analyzing emotional cues, and connecting them with theory. I do love watching movies and shows but having to rewatch them over and over just to look back to see anything I missed was a bit tedious. I thought it would be more straightforward, but I found myself going even deeper into the films than I expected. The work was definitely challenging because I needed to also balance academic research with emotional content. Writing about grief requires a lot of sensitivity and I found it emotionally draining at times. The main goal I had was to make sure I represented both the psychology and the storytelling accurately. The easiest part was writing about the films themselves. Animation especially is something I've always enjoyed, so analyzing those scenes led me to catch something new whenever I replayed them. What surprised me most was how intentional children's media really is. I noticed these emotional moments were not just written for only the plot but with the true purpose of teaching about grief.

If I had more time to expand this project, I would explore how different cultures teach children about death through media. My favorite movie to write about on this list was Coco. Coco showed me how powerful cultural traditions can be when explaining loss, and I would be interested in comparing international films or shows to see how different societies support children emotionally. Another direction would be studying how parents use these films in real-life conversations, whether watching them leads to discussions at home, and how children respond afterward.

The biggest thing I'm taking away from this experience is confidence in my ability to handle a sensitive topic academically. I learned how to build a research question, gather sources, and create a structured argument, but I also learned how important emotional education is. Children's cartoons may seem simple, but they teach lessons that stay with us for life. I feel that till this day we still reference most of these movies which reflects the impact they have on us watching them. This project reminded me that the media we show children matters, and that emotional development should be taken seriously. Completing this capstone also made me appreciate the value of the Death and Dying class even more and it shaped my thinking, pushed me out of my comfort zone, and ultimately inspired a topic that helped me grow both academically and personally.

The Dolphin Finder

Ahmad Alrafati, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed major in Computer Science 

During my time at the College of Staten Island, I noticed that because CSI is largely a commuter campus, students often have limited opportunities to connect beyond their classes. Everyone has different schedules, responsibilities, and travel times, which can make it harder to meet new people or form project groups outside the classroom. This makes it difficult to find others with similar academic interests, especially when it comes to group projects and long-term ideas. That is what motivated me to create Dolphin Finder, a platform designed to help CSI students meet, collaborate, and build project teams more easily. The app can help students across many majors: a business major could find a computer science student to help build an app idea, an art major could find a marketing major to promote a creative project, or a biology student could find a software developer to build a visualization tool. Dolphin Finder gives students one place to share ideas, discuss interests, and connect with people they might never meet in person.

I originally expected the capstone to be mostly about programming, but I quickly learned there was a lot more involved. I had to plan features, consider user experience, build the structure of the system, document my work, and test every piece carefully. At times, even small errors took hours to fix, and I often had to pause, rethink, and try multiple solutions. These challenges taught me patience and forced me to improve my problem-solving skills. Even though the process was demanding, seeing the app finally work the way I imagined was extremely rewarding, and it showed me how technology can solve real issues in a community when built with purpose and intention.

This capstone helped me grow both technically and personally. I learned how to take an idea from concept all the way to a full working system, and I became more confident in building full-stack software independently. More importantly, this experience reminded me why I majored in computer science, to build tools that can make people’s lives easier and more connected. In the future, I hope to expand Dolphin Finder by eventually making it available to all CSI students and even outside CSI. This project represents my journey at CSI, and it showed me that with commitment, planning, and creativity, a simple idea can become something meaningful, impactful, and useful for the community.

Behind the Magic: Disney's Leadership Strategy for Success

Lisa Trupiano,Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed major in Business Management and minor in Business Marketing

For my capstone, I chose to research how The Walt Disney Company’s leadership strategies affect their organization’s success. I chose to focus on Disney because not only are they one of the world’s largest entertainment organizations, but I’m passionately inspired by their legacy of creative storytelling, and I aspire to work within the company.

For my research, I focused on three areas of management in the company: three pivotal leadership figures in Disney’s history, managing the company’s diverse portfolio by keeping both the brand’s unique identity and the core values of Disney’s brand, and how each pivotal leader’s management strategies influenced Disney’s employees’, also known as cast members’, behavior, creativity, and job satisfaction.

The three pivotal figures I chose were the company founder Walt Disney, the transformative CEO Michael Eisner, and the company’s current CEO Robert (Bob) Iger. Through my research, I found that Walt Disney was a creative risk-taker who prioritized storytelling and innovation. While Michael Eisner continued the creative leadership approach for the company’s films, he was also a strategist who expanded the company to foreign markets. Then, Bob Iger took over as CEO after Eisner, and he demonstrated both innovation and strategic approaches by incorporating technology into new products and acquiring major brands to add to their ever-growing portfolio. In Disney’s huge portfolio, I explored how they combine storytelling with innovation to create their films and theme parks, as well as expand their brand into new markets and introduce new products and services for a wide range of audiences. In addition, I explained how Disney acquired major entertainment brands that align with Disney’s beliefs but also maintained their individual identities. Lastly, each leader’s strategies affected cast members’ behavior, creativity, and job satisfaction. Walt Disney was a charismatic leader who cared about the animators’ well-being. Michael Eisner was a controlling leader who supervised every cast member's tasks. Lastly, Bob Iger ensured a collaborative work environment and used the trust approach when he returned as CEO. Overall, my research showed that Disney’s leaders contribute to their success by balancing creativity and innovation, strategic management, and cast member well-being. 

The outcome was what I expected with the capstone. I initially thought it was going to be like any other academic essay, but deeper into my study of management. The challenges that I faced while I was writing my capstone were when I had writer’s block. There were many times when I planned a general outline of how I wanted to write my sections, but I didn’t know how to start my paragraphs, or I would become stuck at points on what to write. The easier part for me was writing the history of the company and demonstrating how Disney manages their company through the examples that I provided. However, I was surprised when I was researching how Walt’s leadership style changed after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and how it led to the animator’s strike in 1941.

If I were to expand on my research, I think it would be interesting to compare Disney’s leadership styles to other entertainment brands' leadership styles, like Universal or DreamWorks Animation. This experience has taught me two things about how an organization can be successful long-term: how leadership, communication, and creativity are connected with one another and that a variety of different leadership styles affects an organization’s culture and performance.

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Focused Attention in Infants from Tajikistan and the United States

Abrar Alzandani, Verrazzano Class of 2026, completed major in Psychology and minor in Biology 

For my capstone project, I explored the development of Tajik infants in comparison to Western infants under the mentorship of Drs. Berger and Karasik. I was interested in understanding how culturally specific childrearing practices impact the information processing capabilities of infants.

Tajikistan, located in Central Asia, is an underrepresented area in child development research. This motivated my exploration into the developmental pattern of Tajik infants. I was also interested in the cultural significance of gahvora cradling, a practice I later discovered was common in several other countries as well. Through a review of articles and studies, I found out that Tajik infants have later motor onsets compared to Western infants, further piquing my interest in the topic.

Initially, I expected that doing an honors thesis would feel like a rigid academic task. However, it became a more personal and creative process. This project began in the fall of 2023, when I first joined the Child Development Lab at CSI. I was assigned to develop a research question and study design. After doing literature reviews and compiling a bibliography, I started to feel as though I was contributing a significant discourse to this area of research.

One of my biggest challenges was narrowing down my focus for the study. There were many directions this study could have gone with the amount of information from the compiled bibliography. Many times, the aims and hypotheses of the study were revised, making it difficult to know what information needed to be kept and what had to be eliminated. There were also times when my findings felt contradictory, making it difficult to remain confident in my ability to finish this study. Support from my advisors helped me most during these times, with discussions that helped clarify my thoughts and the process.

What surprised me most was how quick the writing phase for the thesis was. Before completing my thesis, I believed that the writing process would be the most time-consuming part. However, since I had completed each section of the study throughout my time in the lab, when it came to writing, I compiled all my notes and explained them more thoroughly. Although the writing process still involved a lot of feedback and revision, it unfolded more swiftly than I had anticipated.

To further expand on this research, I would address some limitations, specifically the use of samples derived from an archival data set. The original procedural design of the study was not structured as a formal focused attention task, which caused variability between the Tajik and Western samples. In future research, I would use a Tajik sample that has undergone the original focused attention task to increase the validity of the findings.

From this experience, I am not only taking away a deeper knowledge of my topic, but also stronger research and communication skills. During my time at the lab, I learned how to code using applications such as Datavyu and became experienced with using other applications like Databrary and Visme. Weekly lab meetings created a collaborative environment, allowing for discussions to take place, and taught me how to provide useful feedback to others. I’ve learned how to ask better questions, evaluate sources critically, and explain complex ideas in a clear way. Overall, this research experience has helped me grow as a thinker, writer, and problem-solver, which are important skills I will use beyond my academic journey.

Exploring the Role of Collagen Genes in Head/Neck Cancer Tumor Micro-environment

Haneen Makki, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Biology

The capstone process was a rewarding and challenging experience. At first, I was somewhat anxious and overwhelmed about taking on such a complex subject, but I also had tremendous hopes.
My project examined the function of collagen genes (COL4A1, COL5A1, and COL6A1) in the tumor microenvironment of head and neck cancer. I was initially concerned about understanding the methods used in computational biology and the extent of the required research. However, as I delved deeper, I became fascinated by collagen's intricate role in cancer development. Each new piece of information reinforced my determination to tackle the challenges and expand my field knowledge.
During the study, I learned a lot about head and neck cancer, particularly about the role that tumor form plays in medication resistance. Desmoplasia, the tumor's protective environment, is produced by collagen fibers and reduces the efficacy of treatments. Understanding how different collagen genes impact this structure could result in more effective treatments.
My team and I utilized computational biology techniques to analyze gene expression data and assess the influence of collagen genes on patient outcomes and overall survival rates. Witnessing how biological data could be converted into valuable insights regarding cancer treatment was remarkable.
The discovery of the connections between various kinds of cancer was one of the biggest surprises of this procedure. Our research was a component of a broader investigation that looked into collagen expression in skin, lung, breast, brain, and head and neck malignancies. This helped me understand the wider ramifications of our findings and how studies conducted in one medical sector might influence others. I was also taken aback by the degree of cooperation required for study. I felt a sense of purpose and saw the importance of teamwork in the research field while working with other teams and contributing to a more significant scientific endeavor.
My capstone project aided in my personal development in unexpected ways. I became more confident in my ability to address challenging scientific problems and realized that it is more effective to rise to the challenge than to retreat. As I witnessed the results of my efforts, my initial anxiety and self-doubt slowly transformed into enthusiasm. Due to this experience, my interest in cancer research has grown, reaffirming the value of tenacity, teamwork, and critical thinking in scientific research.