Public Art

For our Civic Term, we focused on the importance of Public Art and mapping throughout Chicago. We had the opportunity to go on Field Experiences every day, for three weeks and visit many public art cites, as well as museums and the Cultural Center. For our last project, we were put into two groups and assigned to go around the neighborhood around our school, to map/categorize buildings as we walked around. Then, after that, we regrouped at school and drafted some questions that we would use to interview people at these mapped buildings, to get a sense of what it is like to work in this neighborhood. Below you will see my group's work:

We (Morgan, Caden, and Nakiya’h) Sophomore, global citizens at GCE Lab School created this public mural proposal for Grossinger of Lincoln Park, to recognize the working citizens of this community. Public art is anything that is created with the intention to portray a message and to be easily accessible by everybody. The meaning behind this public art mural proposal is the societal recognition of non-resident working people of Lincoln Park. We think that it is important to represent working-class people and people of color. It will inform and educate the residents and community members of Lincoln Park on why recognition of the working people at the establishments in the matters and why these workers should be respected. The inspiration for this piece is based on the people we interviewed, who work in this area but don’t live here. They sacrifice their time because they take public transit in order to get to their jobs. These working people build the community of this neighborhood because the residents of Lincoln Park are dependent on the services that they provide. If these people weren’t here, the community would not have its fancy food and dining, entertainment, education, shopping establishments, businesses, and institutions. This art piece is supposed to give credit to the working-class citizens of this community and how they are lifting up the neighborhood, Lincoln Park.

NL, CJH, MEM. Mural Proposal. 2019

Hero's Journey

In unit 3 of my Stories class, we focused on the steps of a Hero’s Journey and what it means to be a true hero. A Hero’s Journey is the universal template for writing stories, and it was studied and popularized by Joseph Campbell, an American Professor of Literature who studied comparative mythology and religion. It includes a hero who goes on an adventure, wins a victory, and then comes back changed or transformed. These steps are broken down into, Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Supernatural aid/Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Trials, Abyss/Death, Rebirth, Atonement, and The Return. A Hero’s Journey is very important because it shows that regardless of the story, the heroes’ paths can be different, but the journey is the same.

For this AP, we chose a fictional character to analyze and a real-life person to interview about their Hero’s Journey. We created a visual representation of our fictional character’s journey and a transcript of the real-life character’s interview. For this project, it was easier finding my real-life character than it was finding my fictional character. In the end, I just went with my favorite character from The Office, which is my favorite tv show. The Office has many seasons, so it was a little difficult to pinpoint certain parts of Dwight Schrute’s Hero’s Journey. Though it was hard, I eventually put together certain moments from season three, season seven, and season nine for his journey. This unit was very interesting to me because I had never considered that there are, sort of, universal steps to each story within a Hero’s Journey. I am glad that I can now watch a movie or read a story and be able to more accurately, pinpoint each step in a Hero’s Journey.

Hero’s Journey

The two characters I chose were my mom (real-life character) and Dwight Shrute from The Office (fictional character). I chose Dwight because he is my favorite character and he is also very funny and smart, when he wants to be. Throughout the show, he strives to become the regional manager of his branch but doesn’t succeed until the last season. I chose my mom because of how much she inspires me and how much I look up to her. She’s always working her hardest and never gives up because she knows that she’s doing it for my siblings and I. Though they are very different, my heroes relate to each other because they both had to work very hard to achieve what they wanted and undergo numerous challenges.

Below is my visual representation of Dwight going through his journey and the transcript for the real-life interview. This includes scenes of him in the show for each category, The Call, Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Trials, Abyss, Rebirth, Atonement, and the Return.

Real-life interview:

Q: “What made you want to pursue real estate?”
A: “I’ve always liked building things and helping other entrepreneurs succeed. When I was little, my dad bought a building for his company and he let my siblings and I help renovate it. That, along with a few other events, inspired me to go into real estate in my 20’s.”

Q: “Did you have a mentor that you looked up to throughout your career?”
A: “My main mentor was my friend, Bill. He always encouraged and believed in me, which helped me to be confident enough to pursue my goals.”

Q: “Were there times where you doubted things?”
A: “As I was striving to become a real estate developer, I had to leave an already secure job so, I was almost always afraid that things wouldn’t work out.”

Q: “What trials or challenges did you face?”
A: “As I was working, there would be developers, banks, and cities that didn’t want to work with me because I was so young and inexperienced.”

Q: “What was your lowest point in your journey?” 
A: “After working for so many years, the market crashed and I lost all of the money and developments that I had worked for, up until that point.”

Q: “How were you able to rebuild after the market crash.”
A: “I was able to rebuild by redesigning my business to include more partners, so not everything was fully dependent on me. This proved to be more successful than what was done before.”

Q: “What truths did you have to face when you were in the process of rebuilding?”
A: “When I was first starting out, I thought it was all money and that, that’s what brought power, but I later learned, that wasn’t true. I learned to rebuild in a better way while using my own talents and strengths. This proved to have a stronger effect than my will for money and it helped me forgive myself for my mistakes.”

Q: “How did you return from everything that happened?”
A: “My whole life I’ve wanted to make a difference for other people and I learned to realize that you make a difference in a lot of small areas that build in a long period of time, as opposed to them happening all at once. I continue to keep this vision in mind so I don’t get off course and I always push myself to do more.”

Citations:

Todd, Karen. Personal Interview. 12 November 2019.

Where To?

Unit 2 of my Population class was called "From/To". In this unit, we focused on Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution, Natural Selection, and organisms' ability to adapt to their environments. For this Action Project, my class was supposed to find around twenty cats and dogs from either, the PAWS website or, the Pet Finder website. Then, we collected their weights and approximate heights and put them into a spreadsheet. After that, We were each randomly assigned cats or dogs and an environment that would be their new home. With our selected groups and environment, we were supposed to present our theories on how well our animals would and wouldn't survive, and how, through evolution, they would adapt to these environments. Below, you will see my project.  

 
In conclusion, I think this project was a very interesting way to simulate evolution and to imagine what our own organisms would be like in the future. I also think it was a helpful contribution to my knowledge of evolution and natural selection, and I enjoyed doing it. 

Skipper, Toby, and Grandmother Tree.

This Action Project was for unit 2 of my Stories class. For this unit, we focused on fables and the morals/life lessons they teach you, and about reaching beyond the literal meaning of a story, and creating a deeper, more figurative one. We also focused on how the lessons that we learn as children, prove to be important for life beyond childhood as well. For this project, we were supposed to create our own fables with lessons that connected to the story, are beneficial to real life, and contain a deeper meaning. For my story, I chose to write about appreciating what you have and making the most of things, because you never know how much time you have left. I was inspired because of how my dad always tells me that he wishes he spent more time with his grandmother. This also sparked my inspiration from my own grandparents because of how they are close to ninety years old, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can.

Skipper, Toby, and Grandmother Tree

Once upon a time, in a mystical forest, there was a wise old tree, named Grandmother Tree. She was known for reading the creatures’ futures and for her miraculous ability to do magic. Among the creatures in the forest, were her two favorites, the Tortoise and the Hare. The tortoise was named, Toby and the hare was named, Skipper. Not too long ago, Grandmother Tree made Skipper and Toby friendship bracelets, which symbolized their immense friendship. They were two peas-in-a-pod and they were very connected to their bracelets. One day, the two paid an unexpected visit to Grandmother Tree. She was quite surprised but happy to see them.
“Why hello, how are you my little ones?”
“Hello Grandmother Tree, we’re well. We wanted you to give us a reading,” Toby explained. “Alright, sit here,” said Grandmother Tree, pointing to a spot in front of her.

 The two sat down, awaiting their reading of the future. Grandmother Tree took both of their hands and closed her eyes. At first, she saw nothing. She waited, and as she looked deeper, an image appeared at a distance. It was like a car going through a long, dark tunnel, trying to reach the light on the other side. As it slowly approached, her anticipation grew larger. Then, all at once, there was something. A vision!

 The vision started with a single oak tree that seemed quite abnormal, in a dark and eerie setting. The tree was bent to its left, moping with sorrow-filled years gone by. Its branches were prickly and bare, for all the leaves had vanished. Then, two little animals that resembled Skipper and Toby appeared in a trance, while a dark figure lingered behind them. The dark figure started talking in a low, raspy voice as it said, “In eight days time, there will be an outbreak of sickness and all of the creatures of the forest will recover, but one.” It took a short pause before continuing, “The one that shall die is among the two friends. The one that is slow and weak shall pass, and the one that is swift and wise shall survive.”

 The figure disappeared suddenly, causing Grandmother Tree to jump out of her dream-like state. When she awoke, she was distressed because one of her little favorites would soon die. Toby and Skipper were confused by the look on her face and asked her what was wrong. Naturally, she was reluctant to share, but they kept pressing her. With a long, sad sigh, she began to speak. “It started with an eerie image of a tree and you two appeared, followed by the Shadow of Death.” She was hesitant to say the rest but continued. “The dark figure turned and said that in eight days time, the slowest and weakest among you would die.”
She ended with a tear in her eye, explaining that it was meant to be. The two turned towards each other and all they could do was cry. While sniffling, Toby managed to speak, “Since it’s obviously me, then I will continue living out my days to the fullest!”

 For the next week, Skipper wanted to be there for Toby, but Skipper avoided Toby at all costs because Skipper didn’t want to face what was about to happen. He spent his days laying in the sun and doing anything to keep his mind clear of sorrow.

 The night before the eight days were up, Skipper and Toby waited anxiously with Grandmother Tree. When they heard the village’s alarm sound that sickness had struck, they tried their best to go to sleep. The next morning, Toby awoke, still holding hands with Skipper, as they lie on the hard, cold ground. He sat up and looked around and was very confused because he felt oddly healthy. He glanced over at Skipper and noticed his friendship bracelet had come apart and was decayed. He started nudging at Skipper many times but he wouldn’t wake up. He sat there for a moment, tears swelling in his eyes, and turned to Grandmother Tree for reassurance. She slowly shook her head and said, “He’s gone Toby, Skipper is dead.”
Toby shook his head in disbelief.
“No, it can’t be, I’m the one that was supposed to die!”
Grandmother Tree said softly, “No Toby, it wasn’t about how fast you were in speed and size, it was how quickly you could apply the lesson to spend ALL your days to their fullest. It’s the wise and purest ones who spend every day as if it’s their last!”

Here is my drawing of Grandmother Tree, Skipper, and Toby:

MEM. Grandmother Tree, Skipper, and Toby Photo. 2019.

Their Job is on Fire and Their Money is Too!

Their Job is on Fire and Their Money is Too!
Studying Firefighters' Job Title vs. Annual Salary







Collecting my Data:







Originally, I was going to base my data on the comparison of Apple to Samsung in yearly sales, but I couldn’t find enough accurate statistics to support my project. I knew I had to find something else to study, so I started looking at the City of Chicago Data Portal since I knew I would be able to collect an accurate set of data. I started browsing at categories and I found one called, “Current Employee Names, Salaries, and Position Titles”. Under that category, there were public service jobs such as Police, Firefighter, Street and Sanitation, etc. I chose to study the Firefighters because my Aunt used to be a Firefighter. The Firefighter data columns included Job Titles, Names, Department, Full or Part-Time, Salary or Hourly, and Annual Salary.

I made a scatter plot using 24 of the Job Titles and Annual Salary columns and then ranked them based on how I thought they should be ranked. I did this because it was very confusing to see all of the titles on the graph and not know what they meant. You see them as 1-11 instead of 1-24 because many titles appeared more than once. For reference, here are the titles and their ranks (1 is the highest and 11 is the lowest):

1. Captain - EMT (x1)

• $132,732

2. Lieutenant - EMT (x1)

• $121,818

3. Fire Engineer - EMT (x2)

• $107,106 and $103,350

4. Firefighter/Paramedic (x2)

• $94,476 (x2)

5. Firefighter - EMT (x6)

• $99,324 (x2), $92,274, $89,148 (x2), and $84,870

6. Firefighter (x3)

• $97,386 (x2) and $93,666

7. Firefighter - EMT (Recruit - x2)

• $68,616 and $56,304

8. Paramedic I/C (x2)

• $91,080 (x2)

9. Paramedic (x3)

• $72,510, $68,616, and $56,304

10. Firefighter (Per Arbitrators Award) - EMT (x1)

• $107,106

11. Firefighter (Per Arbitrators Award) - Paramedic (x1)

• $105,804

My Graph:

I collected my data from the portal and put it into a spreadsheet. I then used the tools on Google Sheets to insert a graph of my data. I found the independent variable (x) to be the Job Titles (Rank) and the dependent variable (y) to be the Annual Salary. This means that the Firefighters’ Annual Salary depends on their Job Title (Rank). Looking at the graph, you can see that the Firefighters’ Annual Salary is, for the most part, between $50,000 and $100,000.




My Linear Equation:

On Google Sheets, I used my chart editor to find the equation of the linear trendline. As you can see from the graph, the equation is -3,862*x + 115,260. The slope is -3,862x, so that means as their Job Rank gets more insignificant, their Annual Salary gets lower.




My Prediction:

Based on my equation, I predicted that a random Firefighter-EMT would have a higher income (based on the fact that it’s farther than zero) than a random Paramedic in my dataset. To do this, I inputted 99,324, (random Firefighter-EMT) into my first equation and then 68,616, (random Paramedic) into my second equation. Here is what they look like: Equation 1) -3,862*99,324 + 115,260 = -383,474,028, Equation 2) -3,862*68,616 + 115,260 = -264,879,732. So you can see, a Firefighter-EMT would have a higher income than a Paramedic in this circumstance (because it’s farther than zero). I pinpointed those two points (99,324 and 68,616) on my graph to show that the EMT has a higher annual income than the Paramedic.

Final Observations:

An observation that I made is that the Firefighters in this dataset are pretty close in terms of how much they earn annually. Another thing I thought about was how these categories might look with other public service jobs such as Police or Streets and Sanitation. Overall, I think this data is useful because it allows you to see the correlation between a Firefighter’s Title and their Annual Salary.