Eric's Portfolio

https://www.thinglink.com/view/scene/1952913673844425572

yippee

Creative Learner

Task: Make an App

My concept for sustainable fishing well depicts how creatively I could have worked upon it. My mind was abuzz with this notion even during the eighth grade as I conceived it when a method to produce nets which were degradable would save a lot of the world from “ghost nets,” nets drifting away that will continue fishing despite having abandoned those. Months later, after brainstorming sessions, I proposed attaching a buoyancy attachment to the nets. The buoyancy attachment automatically floated the net back to the surface if it drifts too far or is released from the ship. In that way, it won’t drift into the open ocean and be lost and pose as a hazard. Further making this practical was adding an application on it that can trace the attachment, thus giving a way for users in real time to monitor the system. All of this shows creativity because I just didn’t stop with my older version and idea but moved to think further of how this might get to work and keep functioning in an absolutely new dimension. It also combines engineering with sustainability and technology to provide a solution that could make some real difference to the environment.

Critical Thinker

The That’s Outlandish activity was a great critical thinking exercise wherein we had to look at everyday things and think creatively about their uses. My partner and I each had to find an object-mine was a simple roll of tape, and his was a piece of plastic scrap. We then had to take this very ordinary thing and pitch it as useful in such a manner that it would make the other person believe in its usability. Basically, this for me, meant looking beyond the obvious function of the tape as an adhesive and finding new uses that were innovative. I thought of how the tape could be used in many unexpected situations, like organizing cables, creating makeshift bookmarks, or even as a tool for quick repairs. The task forced me to step outside of my usual thinking patterns and consider alternative perspectives on everyday items. With my partner’s plastic scrap, which required ways of looking beyond its value, a similar approach was necessary. This exercise honed my ability to think on my feet, identify unconventional solutions, and communicate them effectively. This whole process inculcated into me the need for flexible thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to present an idea in a captivating way, even when the object seems inconsequential upon first glance.

Resilient

The VIA Character Strengths test provided a great deal of insight and allowed me to learn more about myself and things that I truly value. Of my top strengths, starting with forgiveness, stood out to me the most. What intrigued me about forgiveness being my strongest trait was because it defines my ability to let go of negative feelings and move forward in relationships. My second highest strength was teamwork, which is not surprising because I enjoy working with others and collaborating on projects to reach common goals. The remaining top five strengths that completed my top five were love, humor, and hope. With these, I could see how each of them helped shape my approach to life: love reflects my relationships with people, humor is a significant factor in how I handle difficult situations, and hope helps me look forward to the future with optimism. On the other hand, my lowest strengths including spirituality, humility, leadership, bravery, and honesty were quite a big surprise. These results made me reflect on areas I needed to work on. For instance, I felt that I may not always take up leadership roles or be honest in a situation. Overall, this has been an excellent avenue through which to explore myself and my character strengths further via the test provided by VIA, and to learn how one may grow as an individual.

Skillful Communicator

The skillful communicator task afforded me a good opportunity to reflect on my communicative skills; I was really not sure what the reaction of Mr. Caskie to my email would be, so I consciously weighed how I should clearly present my ideas in respect to his. It took some time for Mr. Caskie to respond, and while waiting, I had time to think about what I had written and whether my thoughts were well represented. Once he did, and an appointment was made, I was satisfied. During the meeting, he listened to suggestions I had in improving the high school. This was really a big test of my thoughtful and persuasive communication because I needed to construct the email in such a way that it not only intrigued him but actually made him compelled into responding. Effective communication, I then realized, actually is not just about delivering a message but making the other feel valued and heard. Overall, this assignment really made me realize how important it is to be a good communicator, as it is one of the most vital life skills to maintain relationships, solve problems, and create change.

Effective Collaborator

I found the collaboration task very fun. We worked on the murder mystery, and even though it took a while for us to figure it out without talking, I think that it was worth it. It was really funny to see my friends try and fail at guessing the storyline. It was also interesting to see what strategies we came up with for solving the case, such as sorting the cards into sections relating to each character. This task was a fun exercise that tested our mental and emotional boundaries. There were times where I got frustrated with my teammates, but in the end we figured it out and succeeded. I think this task made our whole table more wholesome and familiar with one another, and as an individual, I learned more about potential experiences in the future, such as working with stubborn coworkers in an actual office space. All in all, I thought that this was a fun experience that trained us for future workplace experiences 

Some things that I saw were barren trees, which I never really payed attention to, but I think that it’s nice to see such a clear representation of winter in Shanghai, where we don’t really have snowflakes or ice.

Something I heard was the wind. This was especially noticeable when I went on the blue swings at the middle school playground, and it was fun to close my eyes and hear the whistling wind as i rocked back and forth

Something I felt was nostalgia. I went on the top of the middle school pyramid thing, and from there I could see the whole school. I saw the elementary school, where I was with Ms. Negley and Mr. Shuang and Mr. Paci, the middle school, where I got introduced to harder work, and finally the high school, where I will be for the foreseeable future.

There were many takeaways I had from today’s skit. First of all, I learned about the Student EUA, learning about what it meant to be an ethical global citizen, skillful communicator, creative learner, effective collaborator, and critical thinker. The skits made me realize that we had to be very responsible online. You should always be responsible for what you post, aware of cultural differences, and mindful of your personal information.

I think that the hardest card to complete was the purple one. There could be dozens of points for why an AI future globe is good, why its bad, etc. This ability really tested how good you are at defending your arguments

I made chocolate mousse on the 4th baking day. It turned out pretty well, with only a few adjustments needed to the recipe.

I think that it turned out pretty well. One thing that was a bit worrying was that the bananas made the mixture touching it wet and mushy. So the bottom 7/8 of the bread was good, while the top 1/8 was a bit mushy. However, it still tasted great

During the weekend, I made macarons. While it didn’t turn out exactly as I wanted it to, it still was pretty good. The shells were originally purple, but they turned brown for some reason. I think the sugars from the blueberry juice I put in burned, making it brown. For the filling, I made a blueberry lemon curd, which I thought tasted pretty good

How I felt: At the start of this project, I was feeling very determined and excited for the passion project. I had a great idea for the baking products, I had the information, I had the ingredients. This lead to how I feel now. Right now, I feel a bit disappointed. I was making a Lemon Bar, and the product left me feeling unsatisfied. I messed up the product, and while I did learn from my mistakes, I was still disappointed. However, I have faith the I can do good on the other baking products, enough for me to present them at the final exhibition day