Senior Project #20

I really enjoyed the whole senior project experience. I still have a few more hours to go with my mentor, but those will be done once he returns. I feel as if I accomplished something that is beneficial to the community who has given so much to me as a I grew up by simply giving my time to the children. This really did make me realize that the children ARE the future, so making sure that they get the best education possible is crucial to the world.

Graphic designing was something I had never thought about doing before, and that is why i chose to look into it. The feeling of accomplishment after finishing a piece is the type of feeling that I live for and depending on how creating this building with Doug goes, I may think about looking into graphic designing as a career.

I will have a 21st blog on May 6th about how my last hours go.

Senior Project #19

Today, my dad and I were talking about school and he asked me why I've been gone for so many hours per day and I answered with "my senior project". My dad does not live with us during the week so he does not know much about my senior project so as I told him about it, I told him and it taught me to be selfless instead of selfish and he replied with "that's the key to life". I feel like my senior project is going to help me out in the future either with networking or as a simple reminder to put others first.

Senior Project #18

I learned today that Doug will be leaving for a vacation with his family and will not be back until May 3, so he had told me we would work together on our final project on May 6.

I will post an extra blog about the last of my mentoring hours on May 6.

Senior Project #17

Senior project has taught me so much, and I am really thankful that our school has this. I was never the type to volunteer my time until this project and now I feel like coming back and becoming apart of the Boys and Girls club during the summer (if there is a summer program). I am glad that before I leave my home town of South San Francisco to go to college, I was able to make an impact, even if it was a small one. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work the the children.

Senior Project #16

Doug and I met again today and we worked on all four shapes that he had taught me so far: the square, rectangle, triangle, and circle. We began to put some together such as the triangle and square. I really admire the work Doug does because he makes everything look so simple. He had showed me how to create a building, which took a while, and he used all of the shapes plus a few other abstract ones, and he said that next time he will be working with me to build my own building.

Senior Project #15

At the Boys and Girls Club today, I helped a second grader named Brianna with her multiplication homework. I actually got very excited to help her because when I was in the second grade learning multiplication, my teacher had songs to help us remember multiples. I had taught her the songs, for example, "2 4 6 8 10 12, 14 16 18, 20 22 24, count by 2's, learn some more" and they really helped her. I felt VERY good inside because those songs are the reason I was so quick with multiplication and I am hoping that in the future she will be quick as well.

Senior Project #14

Today I helped a fifth grader named Jessica with her language arts homework. It was pretty easy to explain since she was a very smart girl who caught on very quickly. She had told me "thank you so much!" after we were finished, and that really made me happy because that proves that I helped someone, and I'm all about helping others.

I went home very happy after helping her.

Senior Project #13

Boys and Girls Club has such a positive atmosphere. The other volunteers and workers have such bright smiles and attitudes that it makes me happy to be there. I realized that if the older ones did not have a great time there, neither would the children. It's amazing to see how comfortable everyone is and how close everyone is. Today I saw a girl who was probably in the fourth grade, and as she walked in the doors she said hello to everyone there with a big smile on her face and naturally, that made me smile as well.

Senior Project #12

At the Boys and Girls Club today, I helped a boy named Jacob do his science homework. It was very simple, but I actually remember learning this myself in the fifth grade. The homework was about different types of clouds, and helping him learn brought me back to my own elementary school days.

Other than that, it was a pretty easy day of volunteer work

Senior Project #11

I realized today that I am actually VERY excited to write my research paper. I feel like my topic is interesting and it applies to everyone, that way, I can address a large audience. My topic is how technology has changed the way that we learn, it is specific enough to write a detailed paper, but it is broad enough to talk about different aspects of technology. I'm very excited!

Senior Project #10

Today at the Boys and Girls Club, the kids had a chance to exercise and play outside and since the majority of kids were outside playing, I was offered to play outside with them. It was a great experience because I got to know some of the kids on a more personal level than just helping them with homework. I really enjoy volunteering.

Senior Project #9

I worked at the Boys and Girls Club today. To be honest, there was not much to do because the kids understood their homework and didn't need much. I'd say it was a pretty quiet day, but as I walked around looking at the kids hard at work, I realized that I was in their shoes not too long ago, learning simple math and grammar, and now I'm the one who is helping them learn. It was a pretty amazing thought to have, and it made me want to work even harder at helping them succeed.

Senior Project #8

I met again with Doug today. As he told me during our last session, he let me try making the shapes that he had showed me before. I tried very hard to do everything correctly, and even though there were some parts that I struggled with, he had helped me get back on the right track. I thought that the hardest was making the circle, since there were no edges to work with on the computer.

He told me that at our last session we will try to put all of the shapes together to create a building.

Senior Project #7

Doug and I worked together on 3D graphic designing again today. He had showed me how to create different shapes such as rectangles, circles, and triangles of different sizes. I worked on making the square again and I had succeeded in making it (correctly this time). Next session I will be working on the computer again to create the shapes that he had showed me today.

Senior Project #6

Today was my first day working at the Boys and Girls Club. I turned in my paper work and I was put with an elementary student named Maria and I helped her with her math homework. After I was done for the day, I went home with a sense of accomplishment and joy knowing that I made a difference in someone's daily routine. Even though it was only math homework, it was a bigger deal than that to me.

Senior Project #5

I figured out where I will be volunteering. I will be working at the Boys and Girls club after school program. There I will be working with the children on their after school activities, and also mentoring and tutoring them. I am very excited because when I was in elementary school, many of my friends went to the Boys and Girls club and I was always interested in going because of the fun and positive things I heard about their program, but I never had the chance to tag along. Now, as a senior, I am super excited to be working with the new generation.

Senior Project #4

Today I had another session with my mentor, Doug. He walked me through the steps of creating a "simple" 3D box figure on the computer. Let me tell you, it's not as simple as it sounds. AFterwards, he asked me to create a box figure on my own, but it did not come out the way I intended. He had said it took him a while to master the technique of creating figures and said that we would try again next session.

Senior Project #3

I am really enjoying working on my senior project. I feel as if I am doing something useful in my community and also benefitting myself. I always dreaded the thought of it because of what former seniors would say about it, but I am surprised about how engaged I am with the whole process.

Senior Project #2

Two days ago, I had my first session with my mentor. He showed me the basics of using the computer to create 3D graphic designs. Next time, I will be working on the computer and actually making a creation myself.

Senior Project #1

Today I finally got in contact with my senior project mentor. His name is Doug Chin and he deals with 3-D designing on computers. For a long time, I have been interested in working with computers, since my dad is a computer engineer. I am very excited to begin learning how layouts and plans are made through 3-D programs.