Blog 8

When my group members and I were thinking about potential project ideas, we thought that it was really important to create something that would both have a long-lasting positive impact on Hawken and something that involved physical construction. As we are in the midst of a pandemic, many of us (ourselves included) can feel especially stressed, and would just like to relieve our minds somehow. Many of us try to play sports with our friends, but cannot due to COVID-19 regulations. We thought that it would be extremely beneficial to both the faculty and student body to have some sort of outdoor recreational activities that would cultivate physical exercise and social interaction without being worried about not following CDC COVID-19 guidelines. We then narrowed our project options to either calisthenic equipment similar to those in the Metroparks or a spikeball court. When evaluating the pros and cons of each project, we thought that it would be significantly more difficult to carry out and construct the calisthenic project because it would require us to be somewhat versed in carpentry, Metropark/city safety guidelines, and welding. Furthermore, my group members and I were also more intrinsically interested in spikeball because it has been one of our favorite pastimes while at Hawken, and has led us to both be more active community members and form lifelong friendships. These factors ultimately led us to pursue the spikeball court project. I found this project to both be really fun and super helpful in cultivating communication and time management skills, and had required us to draft countless emails and presentations to administrative personnel, private corporations, and faculty members. I feel that I especially enjoyed and learned a lot with Mrs. Zilenski and Mr. Scott in regards to both architectural design and construction respectively. I am extremely grateful that both Mr. Scott and Mrs. Zilenski to my group and I under their wing, and were truly invaluable resources in the development and implementation of the spikeball court. After our presentation on our Hawken project, I began pondering as to how we could better maintain the spikeball court for years to come, and think that it would be a good idea to include in the maintenance instructions on the sign that they should flip the sand seasonally to mitigate the spread of weeds within the court. When regarding advice for Hawken projects to rising seniors and juniors, I recommend that you do a thorough job researching potential projects that might interest you, and when you find one, create a detailed proposal as to why you are doing it and how it might positively affect you or your community.

Comments

  1. Rachel MullenJune 14, 2021 at 12:17 PM

    Mel, I'm so glad you had the idea to build something that other students will be able to enjoy for years to come! -Mrs. Mullen

    ReplyDelete

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