Math major studies the economic geography of the World Cup (only in Verrazano!)

Brianna Di Stefano, Verrazano Class of 2019, earned a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Geography.


Completing this capstone project has given me the opportunity to study and learn about a topic that I was able to choose.  Being able to choose the topic I wished to study and research is a rare occurrence throughout school.  Although in the beginning of the capstone process, the task seems daunting and requires extra work, once you find your topic and start diving into the paper, it becomes easier.  Trying to pick a topic was simple yet difficult simultaneously.  I have always loved soccer, so I knew I wanted to incorporate soccer into my paper because I was able to choose my own topic, but it took some time to figure out how to write a scholarly paper involving soccer.  Since my minor is geography, my mentor for this paper, Professor Kabachnik, who is the Associate Professor of Geography at CSI, helped me narrow down my topic and outline for the paper after discussing several potential ideas to use and paths to take for this project.  

Having Professor Kabachnik as my mentor for this project was extremely helpful because he is knowledgeable in the background for my paper, since it required geographical aspects of social and economical evaluations on a developing country.  Once he helped me select my topic and lay out the outline, I was organized and set up to complete all of the parts of my paper that were necessary for my research.  Throughout the writing of my paper, I read several articles and took note of important and interesting facts and ideas relating to my topic.  By collecting and sorting through an abundance of information, I was able to produce a scholarly paper with relevant and interesting information about the images and realities of South Africa hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


If I continued to pursue research relating to my paper, it would involve studying more mega events in addition to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  My paper focused predominately on the South African World Cup, with a few facts about other World Cups.  Because South Africa is a developing country, studying the images and realities of other developing countries will further progress and evolve the research about the impacts of mega events.  My paper involved research about the image desired by the government of South Africa, the image imagined by the local residents, and the image depicted by Western media as well as the realities of the mega event, which include the present use of the stadiums that were built or renovated, and how South Africa is perceived globally.  My paper uses festivalisation as one of the main concepts because festivalisation uses mega events of public events to develop a country’s infrastructure and economy.  Using all these ideas and applying them to other developing countries who have hosted or will host a World Cup will help understand the true impacts of hosting a mega event, and whether it is beneficial for developing nations to spend billions of dollars to host a mega event.

Engineering Internships Prove Enlightening

Michael Pataffi, Verrazano Class of 2019, earned a degree in Engineering and a mathematics minor.

Michael (right) with fellow interns

I had the opportunity to intern with R.G. Vanderweil Engineers and it was very beneficial to me. I learned a lot and experienced even more. 

My internship was helpful twofold. On one hand, the concepts I learned through school helped me at my internship, as I would understand what to do work-wise in my internship. On the other hand, working with things firsthand at the internship helped me understand concepts I would learn in upcoming semesters in school. So, not only did school help me throughout my internship, but my internship also helped me with school. 

Understanding the working environment of my future field was probably the most important thing I have learned throughout the summer. I would advise students of any other major to intern for a company or business in their selective field. Not only will you learn much more about your major, but you will also learn much about the industry as a whole, and the experience you get is more beneficial than any class you can take. 

 

History of the portrayal of women in comic book-based films

Cassandra Lofaro, Verrazano Class of 2019, earned a degree in Communications with an emphasis on media studies.


For my capstone project, I decided to focus on the gender portrayal of superheros. I became interested in superheroes when I was in high school, and noticed that within cinematic universes (Marvel and DC, specifically), that there had been a lack of female-led films. Just a few years later, it was time for me to choose a topic for my capstone, and only two movies had been released by that point that featured females in the titular role; Wonder Woman in 2017 and Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018. I was interested in both on the historic portrayal of women in comic books and the role of women in comic book-based films, so I decided to focus on gender roles and how superheroes are portrayed within those barriers. While working on my capstone, a third female-led movie was released; Captain Marvel in March 2019.

Women superheroes are few and far between

With the help and support of my faculty mentor, Professor Edward D. Miller, I was able to find a lot more information than I had originally anticipated. Overall, the research that I did for this project met my expectations; while some of the information was disappointing in terms of the portrayal of women vs men in comics, the general outlook for the future is hopeful. I was both able to learn new things, and to confirm some of my predictions upon doing research. From adapting costumes from illustrations to functional, real-life versions for film, and understanding how the hair and makeup of a particular character may be chosen, to understanding how characters have changed and developed over the past several years. Researching this topic has broadened how I view the portrayal of superheroes; while my love of superheroes started as a hobby, I was able to turn something fun into something I could study.

Cassandra investigated gender roles in comic book-based movies

I definitely think that this is a topic that could be further developed, so long as film studios continue to diversify their leading characters, and if more women become involved in the illustration and authorship of comic books. I will continue to pay close attention to how men and women are portrayed in comic book-based films, as I’m anticipating many changes and generally enjoy seeing how studios explore new characters. I’m excited and hopeful for what the future holds, and am thrilled that I was given the choice to perform this research in the first place. 

Battling the Stigma of Mental Illness

Gabriella Clemente, Verrazano class of 2018, earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

The title of my Capstone is the “Stigma of Bipolar Disorder.” When given the task of choosing what topic to write about, I immediately knew I wanted to discuss mental illness and the stigma surrounding it. Being a healthcare professional, I saw first-hand the struggles clients faced with managing different disorders and the effects it had on their overall well-being and quality of life. I felt it was my duty as a registered professional nurse to educate the public and challenge misconceptions surrounding the disorder by providing a number of interventions to decrease stigma. Furthermore, I felt this topic was necessary because there are a large number of people who suffer from mental illness and are not seeking necessary treatment for fear of judgement and labeling. 

Gabriella earned her RN

Before starting my research, I was not exactly sure what I wanted to include in my capstone or how I wanted to go about it, but after meeting with my mentor Barbara Schiano, I was put on the right track! Professor Schiano helped me in identifying the main topics of my paper and provided helpful advice when looking for topics to research. Working with a mentor was a truly great experience and is something that I will always remember. It was both encouraging and enlightening to work with someone who was passionate about my topic and helped me achieve a great outcome. 

In the future, I hope to continue my research and gain more insight and knowledge on mental health, so I can incorporate it into the care of my patients and help them in achieving their goals.