I’ve been a part of the PLTW program far before high school. I’ve always loved to build and create so when I joined the PLTW class at SMASH (Santa Monica Alternative Schol House), I was beyond stoked and enjoyed every second of it. After that seventh-grade endeavor, I decided I wanted to join the PLTW program at Samohi.
My high school engineering career included Introduction to Engineering and Design freshman year, Computer Science sophomore year, Digital Electronics and Aerospace junior year, and in senior year this class, End of Year Design and Capstone class. Throughout those four years, I can confidently say Intro to Engineering and Design was my favorite class. I’ve always been better at art and visualization so the 3D modeling we did in that class appealed to my creative side.
Looking back, there were many projects I enjoyed and a ton others would be proud of. However, the projects I’m most proud of didn’t have the best end result, but they had the best engineering process and my most authentic effort put into them. Because of this, I’d have to say the project I’m most proud of is the desk organizer I made freshman year.
At the end of freshman year, our class was tasked with designing and modeling a desk organizer with someone in the other class period. I had the pleasure to work with Jaydn and together we made the following:
I can call this the piece I’m most proud of because not only did I love the final product, but we took weeks to design it together, I got to try many new modeling techniques to make it, and it was unique.
Though the capstone project I created in my senior PLTW class wasn’t my favorite project, it was certainly high in the ranks. There are certainly a few pieces of advice I wish I’d known before I started for they might’ve made my project more desirable.
First, make sure your solution is unique. If there are similar solutions to the one you’ve developed, it’ll stand out less and your project will be less impressive. Plus, with a unique solution, there is more room to innovate. Otherwise, most changes you make will have already been done.
Then, I would recommend you strap down the last few months and make a schedule. Extra points if you’re ahead of schedule. By doing this, you’ll avoid a lot of stress and troubleshooting. Plus, if you plan everything ahead of time it’ll be easier to understand the next steps in your project. Overall, it’s healthy to make plans ahead of time and look toward the future.
As I continue to take the next steps in my educational career, I hope this advice I’ve left behind may benefit someone, even if that someone is me.