Applying Lessons Learned and Achieving Financial Success

 Aqsa Naz, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed majors in Accounting and Business Management 

 

I have been fortunate enough to apply the lessons taught by my professors and develop habits that will last a lifetime. My mentorship with Professor Petrucelli began with my FNC 111 class. At the time I had a goal of helping my family with the American dream of homeownership, but my efforts lacked key characteristics of a solid plan. Over the next year and half, I practiced and implemented as many financial planning habits as I could into my goal of buying a property with the intent to take the first step towards financial freedom and generational wealth, and before senior year the goal had become a reality.

As a banker I became more curious about the effects of implementing financial planning. I started analyzing common characteristics between clients who portrayed healthy financial planning habits and those who did not. What I learned was too important not to share.

Through my research and observations, I found that high debt levels, low savings, and high-cost money management behaviors are linked to financial fragility among the millennial generation. Financial constraints have even put people’s health at risk by skipped doctors' visits, medical tests and prescriptions.

The ability to make informed financial decisions and successfully manage one’s personal finances has become an essential process in today’s complex environment. If a generation is personally financially aware, the population can be better rounded to combat the unexpected variables that every one of us face each day. Those who are not proactive in their financial planning approach are struggling to pay off debt and buy assets later in life. My paper discusses how the upcoming generation can accelerate themselves to financial security and freedom by incorporating a financial plan in their routine geared towards their desired life.

Skills Learned from Researching and Developing a Capstone on Diabetic Patient and Blood Sugar Monitoring

Vincent DePinto, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Nursing 

I conducted my capstone project with the department’s chairperson, Dr. DiCicco-Bloom. We brainstormed on what form my capstone would take and decided a literature review would be the most appropriate as it would allow me to explore the current state of my topic according to nursing research, and was well suited to my major.

The first steps in beginning my capstone was to gather preliminary research about my topic, research how to conduct a literature review, and how the paper would be formatted. As a nurse researcher herself, my mentor was instrumental in helping me understand what a literature review consists of, and what was expected. Something I always struggled with was if I had to write a paper and I wasn't given a template or structure as a guide. I had to construct the layout of this review while keeping in mind the format and the research topic.

I feel this experience has helped me in both academic and personal areas. Most notably, it has given me a significant amount of confidence in my skills as a writer, researcher, and as a nurse when appraising literature. I was able to understand the main themes of the literature I reviewed, and construct a well thought out paper.

I also learned how to work with a mentor in my profession. This was initially difficult for me as I was not sure how often to reach out and update my mentor on my progress. This lack of communication led to my mentor reaching out to me, and telling me that it was my responsibility to keep in touch and share my progress. I felt a bit embarrassed to be told this by my mentor and the head of my department, but it allowed me to learn that my communication and time management skills needed to be improved.

Another important thing I learned from my capstone was public speaking and presenting my research. I had to virtually present my capstone at the Undergraduate Research conference. Even though there were only eight people watching my presentation, I was incredibly nervous to be presenting my research to a highly knowledgeable and academic group of people. For the first 3 minutes, I was internally freaking out. After the initial shock of beginning my presentation, I was able to calm down and become more comfortable. I think I will still be a bit nervous presenting in the future, but I do recognize the confidence this experience has given me for future public speaking endeavors.

I was very interested to read about my topic in the literature, especially the sections that detailed study limitations, and recommendations for future research. In this regard, I had several ideas about where future research could lead my topic. There were some gaps in the literature in regard to testing certain alternate sites (such as the earlobe) during unsteady glycemic states. I think future research could compare venous and fingerstick blood sugar measurements to alternate site measurements, and create a specific blood sugar range for alternate sites.

Another area of interest was the effect of alternate site testing (AST) on glycemic control. In my review, I found one study that concluded the use of AST did not improve glycemic control. I would like to see this study repeated so that the results are replicable, and the conclusion can be further supported. The studies I looked at were either experimental, or quasi-experimental. I would be fascinated to see what findings qualitative studies produce. I wonder if patient interviews could produce interesting research questions regarding AST, and guide future research.

One thing I am particularly interested in is the possibility of AST being implemented into practice. When I am administering insulin, I often ask or am told by my patients the site they prefer. I would be interested to see patients having a preferred testing site, just as they might have a preferred insulin administration site.

I feel continuing this research, and potentially implementing AST into clinical practice could provide healthcare workers with additional methods to measure blood sugar, and give patients a greater sense of control over their disease process.

 

Conquering the Dilemma of Explaining Surface Drifters and Clustering Algorithms in Less Than 4 Minutes!

 Sheryar Choudhry, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed majors in Mathematics and Physics 

My capstone project is on clustering algorithms and their applications on surface drifters in the ocean. The data used in my research was collected in 2016 by CARTHE in their LASER experiment in the Gulf of Mexico. The goal was to release hundreds of surface drifters and track their positions over time.

In my research, we consider 185 of these drifters over the time span of 10 days. Out of the 185 drifters considered, which are on average 6km away from each other, 106 of these drifters end up in a clump that averages 70m across. A natural approach to studying this event is to cluster the drifters over the time period and study the clusters as they evolve into that clump.

When I started my project, I was already in the middle of doing this as my research, so turning it into my capstone project was a no-brainer. I had spent a lot of time with the data and I had plenty to talk about — but this soon became a problem. I wasn’t sure what to focus on and present. It seemed like all of it was important. It didn’t help that I wasn’t able to use any of the nice animations I had spent so much time on. Also, it didn’t help that I had 4 slides and a handful of minutes to explain what I did. It all seemed overwhelming. In the end, I decided to remove the portion of my research where I use the clustering algorithms to perform some analysis of the data. Therefore, adding that back would be a natural extension to my capstone project. Also, if I had more time, I would have also explored other clustering algorithms, such as k-means, and how they differ from my approach.

The hardest part of the whole capstone project was trying to present all the information in a way that someone with no prior knowledge could understand. Unlike a paper, I can’t assume people have some knowledge of the subject or use citations to avoid explaining everything. Throughout the process, I ended up changing the order of my slides many times as I realized the best way to present the research. However, I didn’t waste all of my precious slide space on definitions. Since there would be time for questions, I had some room to make assumptions.

Overall, it was a fun experience for me and I learned a lot from my mistakes. Perhaps in another timeline, we would have done the conference in person and I could have had my laptop on loop playing my fancy animations while I use all the time I’d like to explain my work. However, the constraints that were put in place make sense with all the people presenting and it does trim off any unnecessary fluff. Even with the freedom of the poster, I needed to choose my words carefully and be concise with my presentation.

I think this skill is invaluable. Especially today, where most people have become masters of talking, but not saying anything of substance. Hopefully, I am able to challenge myself and continue to grow on my journey to become a great scientist.

Research in the Child Development Lab and a Newfound Appreciation for Coding

 Ricaute Rogers, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Psychology BS

With the completion of my capstone project, there is much to take away and be grateful for. My project focused on infant sleep and how it was affected by the motor acquisition. In other words, I examined how sleep changed in infants when they were learning how to sit.

This research opportunity took place virtually in the Child Development Lab due to COVID restrictions, and I was able to get a first-hand view of the lab’s ability to function during a pandemic.

During my time in the lab, which was headed by Dr. Sarah Berger, I learned that the workflow of the lab did not slow down, nor did the lab's significance decline because of the situation it was placed in. We simply learned how to adapt and overcome, and being part of the process was a blessing.

Going into college freshman year, I honestly never saw myself working in the Child Development Lab. If you told me I was going to work in the Child Development Lab during a pandemic, I would tell you you’re lying. The uniqueness of the situation granted all the memories that I have, and hopefully it’s something that I can look back at and laugh at, as an age where we were all staring at our laptops and working collectively.

The last thing I’ll share about the lab is just being thankful for getting the opportunity to code for infant research. In my senior year of high school, I took an introduction to computer science class, and I absolutely hated it. I told myself that I would never code again. The Child Development Lab gave me a new perspective on coding and honestly opened a door that I thought I had closed. Without completing this capstone and joining the Child Development Lab, getting that second opportunity would be have never happened.

How Strategies Used by Revolutionary Groups Could be Applied for Change in America

Tyler Pierce, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Economics and minor in History

My capstone was centered around analyzing the historical context and strategies used by successful revolutionary groups, and how learning about these revolutionary groups could provide lessons and knowledge that is applicable to movements for change in America.
Before I began my research, my hypothesis was that the revolutions would all provide different lessons to take away and apply to today. Instead, what I found were fundamental similarities and patterns that almost provided a blueprint for a successful movement for radical change. I read hundreds of pages of Russian, Chinese, and American history that I had not been exposed to before.
Politically, I am left leaning, and in the past had prided myself on understanding many of the different movements in America fighting for change like the green movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, or the Feminist movement. I believed that all of these groups were hitting different parts of legislation at the same time and had great potential. I thought that the only reasons they were not successful was solely due to external factors or disorganization within the party. One of my major conclusions from my research was that if all of these groups do not combine into a single umbrella/coalition party, they will never gain enough political power to inspire the real long-lasting change that they seek. Also, the average person can not keep up with all of these movements and groups at the same time, and normally choose to represent only one or two of the movements.
Essentially, I see all the movements as a house divided. What unification does, aside from gaining political power, is accelerate social influence so it becomes much easier to rally supporters of different groups around one cause at a time. Lastly, unification leads to smooth mobilization of resources. This is not a new idea, but one that is not normally supported with historical facts and analysis.
In addition to what the revolutionary movements did correctly in the past, I discussed what they did wrong to lose power, or lose focus on their own goals. I concluded that what a majority of the movements were missing was a strong emphasis on democracy. It is incredibly difficult to prove loyalty to the general public when they do not have any say in their parties’ actions. Also, without one of the main focuses being democracy, then it becomes much easier for corruption to bleed into the party.
In tandem with the historical context of the countries the revolutions took place in, I briefly analyzed today’s conditions in America and the similarities and differences between contemporary America, the USSR, the PROC, and America during the American Revolution.
Overall, I learned a ton during the research phase of the project and had a lot of fun during the writing phase. I chose a very broad and rich topic because it is something I have been passionate about since high school, and I feel very rewarded and proud of myself for the paper I produced. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to write a paper that could help people to understand why movements have barely gotten off the ground in the past 70 or so years in America, from a unique perspective of what the movements are doing wrong rather than external factors that may have contributed to their inconsistent levels of influence, like smear campaigns against the leaders of the movements or powerful lobbying in congress. Also, I am grateful to have had the pleasure of working with Professor Collins from the History department who was an enormous help in the direction and organization of the paper.