Last week our 12th graders presented their Capstone projects at St. Edward’s University in front of a professional panel, their teachers, and peers. Senior Capstone involves partnering with organizations throughout the Austin area to help address a need through all three STEM pathways: engineering, biomedical science and media technology.
This year’s Capstone presentations included:
Bloom to Believe – Due to the stigma surrounding teen pregnancy, there is a lack of resources available to young mothers, creating a barrier that prevents them from recognizing and seeking treatment for perinatal mood disorders. The mission of Bloom by Believe is to raise awareness about this issue and provide resources to young mothers who are struggling.
Compass hopes to provide resources to survivors of sexual assault, as well as their parents and counselors. Our guides support counselors, parents of students and victims of sexual assault, and inform about the next steps to take after an assault occurs.
Linguistics Education and Diversity – LEAD’s mission is to help bridge the language barrier that families may experience as they transition to American culture. Our resources for teachers, parents, and students are created with them in mind and to make the transition easier without language being a barrier.
AllForTheKids created an event called CareFest, a festival for foster youth in grades 5 through 8 to experience a day of fun and activities together to bond with other kids in foster care and help foster youth feel less isolated by building community.
Flo On The Go’s mission is to alleviate the duress many homeless individuals experience during their menstrual cycles. Flo On The Go partnered with Mobile Loaves & Fishes, which agreed to install its menstrual product dispensers on five of its trucks, addressing the gap between product donation and distribution.
LARC – Arising from a passion for art and equity of access for all people, LARC partnered with the Arc of Central Texas to design a device that fits on top of a standard canvas and uses sound to assist the visually impaired artist.
Art-Felt strives to connect two issues in our community: the monarch butterfly’s imminent extinction and depression within the elderly community. Art-Felt worked with the South Austin Senior Activity Center to create a new garden that is a perfect ecosystem for monarch butterflies as well as a place for the elderly community to rest, heal and enjoy.
