Andrew's CAS

I completed my first golf tournament with a score of 119. This was my first tournament as well as first time playing 18 holes, basically my first full round. The course was the El Dorado at Quail Valley and I brought many balls in preparation for the many water hazards. The course looked good and the weather was cooler than the potential 90 degree heat that has been present just. I was paired with a Junior Varsity player from Episcopal who played very well and was pretty cool on the course. I didn't start off too well, but persevered with the mindfulness and in-the-present thinking for each new shot. I ended better than expected, still not very good, but happy with having played a good round of golf and with 3/18 balls still in hand.

Since my last post I have been working towards improving my golf swing and moving towards maintaining a consistent shot. I have found myself becoming more familiar with each of the different clubs and being more aware of my stance as I take each shot. I am still working on implementing the changes in my swing and stance that were introduced when I began. It has been interesting to be able to see my progress as I am able to feel when what I am doing is right and the club is in the right position with the proper shifting weight. The satisfaction gained from each soaring shot when hit properly is an amazing feeling and I look forward to being able to replicate these steps with better consistency with practice. Due to my prior exposure to golf, practice and training has for the majority been about this implementation of proper stance and positioning. I have made enough progress over these last few months for Mr. Roddy to think that I would be able to last in a golf tournament. As a senio...

Taking inspiration from my Ireland project a year ago, I wanted to continue this "up close" and macro photography interest on my journey to London. I brought with me the same Olympus TG-5 which now I was more comfortable with its features and capabilities. I focused on plants as I found the close up detail of these subjects to be fascinating. I tried to also implement many skills that I learned through my work with photo club such as depth and creating a bokeh effect or blurred background to prominently bring focus onto the subject. The rule of thirds and proper dimensions within each photo were taken into account to create better aesthetically pleasing pictures and subject focus. This photo above is one of my favorite photos, as it perfectly displays the characteristics that I was trying to capture. The macro aspect is achieved through the immense detail that is found within each blade. I found the colors to contrast well as the green prominently shows above the grey,...

I have recently joined the school's golf team and have really enjoyed this experience so far. My past experience with this sport has been on and off, and my dad is big fan. While through my past experience I learned how to how to hold the club properly and the basic movement that should occur, I have found difficulty in the exact steps that need to happen for the best swing. I have begun working on my swing on the driving range and have found the ball going a bit further each time as I grow more comfortable to the tips and instruction by Mr. Roddy. The first step was working with shifting my weight and properly lifting the club back. This took a while to incorporate, but within the first few shots I have found improvement with both range and consistency. I have also been learning proper etiquette and rules for playing on the course which has been a great experience playing the holes at Herman Park. Carrying my bag is a bit tiresome, but I am grateful that the weather is still fairl...

I have just finished the working as the chair for the ECOFIN committee for the middle school MMUN conference in New York.  It was a great experience working with the other members of my bureau, my vice-chair and rapporteur, to carry out the rules of procedure during the conference and aid the students in creating resolutions for the topics. I am still amazed by the ability of these students to work together on these issues regarding Women's Development and Sustainable Energy in the world. Each person is participating with the intention of creating a viable solution for these topics and this conversation brought me back to my own time in this debate. One particular situation occurred during this conference where I had to consider what action take as one of the students in room simply left without prior permission. The area that the conference takes place in is also publicly accessible, which makes an unsupervised student with unknown whereabouts an issue especially with the youn...

Its peak college essay season and I still have few to finish up before the New Year begins, but I have just received the position papers for my committee to review. I always look forward to seeing some of these ideas and getting hyped for the actual conference in the next few months. This year I am little more independent with these papers than last time, as it is my decision to decide and notify the schools and students who need to add either information or formatting (only major exclusions). Deciding whether to send a paper back or not is based on whether they fulfill the standard requirements. However, this decision is largely centered around debating whether, from the information given by the paper, will the student have a productive time at the conference. While sending a paper back is in my eyes the best thing for the student, I know from helping with the students at my school prepare that what is on the page is not necessarily representative of their knowledge. This is at times ...

I have been playing a little more than usual in the past few weeks and have been growing more competitive against my brother. It is fun being able to beat him as well as seeing my improvement over the last few months on my swing and ball control. I have begun playing with some of my friends at a local club and while I do not see myself playing competitively, I am still having fun improving my skill and playing.

I have started using a ball machine to uniformly toss balls at me to practice my swing. This has been useful in just practicing one after the other. It has also been interesting to be able to manipulate each individual shot on the machine itself and has given me a better understanding of the variables and characteristics the ball can have. I have been able to improve my serve over this time and am able to get the ball into the box most of the time. Now just to make the serve a little faster.

In the months leading up to MMUN conference, I help students learn about the United Nations and the program as well as prepare the needed materials. I do this with one of my friends and we both aid the teacher coordinators. While I enjoy being able to share my own personal knowledge with those who have yet to experience the program or would like some help, I have found this mentoring to be beneficial for both myself and the students as I am also learning better ways to communicate with students and teach certain concepts.

Working off the aerial inspiration from before, I tried to utilize and practice the techniques I learned in photography club to capture photos of the colorful sunset and the clouds. I found framing to be an important aspect as the positioning of the horizon had a large impact on the composition of the photo. This is due to the sky above the horizon featuring a largely blank and bare surface, while below it is complex with clouds and the ground below. Balancing this simplicity and complexity was interesting as I experimented with the utilization of negative space. 

Being able to see the world from above is something that has always amazed me. While flying above the northeastern United States, I was mesmerized by the grid and layout of the cities formed by the shining lights. I used the rule of thirds and what I learned with layouts in these images. My goal was to distribute the city lights in a way that would display the vastness of the grid, yet still feel small due to the sky above. I believe I was able to portray these feelings through the highlighted presence of the sky overlooking the city. In both photos below the sky is follows a uniform color or gradient which contrasts with the sprawling city below.

I have begun playing tennis with my brother again at my local park. It is difficult playing against my brother as he is a little athletically inclined than I am, but I enjoy the sport and trying to match his speed. It had been a while since the last time I played, so my swing was rusty and I could not control the ball very well. I plan on continuing going more regularly to practice my swing and control of the ball.

I have been invited, once again, to serve in the position of chair on the bureau at the February New York Montessori Model United Nations Conference. After my experience last year as my first time serving in this position, I am excited that I will another opportunity to be apart of this program. This will be my eighth MMUN conference, but I am still looking forward to leading a committee session, helping the process of creating some resolutions, and will aiding the MMUN students at my school in preparation.

I had the opportunity last week to visit the Virgin Islands Montessori School in St Thomas which I had been campaigning for over the past few months. During this visit I was able to visit my grandparents who live on the island, deliver the funds I raised through my fundraiser, and meet my fellow montessorians. I was able to talk with the principal of the school, Mr Bornn, and he told me how much the faculty and students appreciated the solar lanterns I was able to send. This impacted me greatly as I was able to fully realize the impact that my actions had. I also found his vision for the the school to be interesting as he seeks to be a leading example of renewable energy. He has currently implemented solar panels on a few of the buildings and plans on expansion of their storage capacity to provide greater energy independency and possibly provide extra energy for the grid and residents. While it appears I am wrapping up my major efforts to provide some aid and do my part to relieve so...

With the incoming Summer I have had a little bit more time on my hands than before and have been taking more personal time walking outside with Reyka. I have found that I have a preference with using a harness and leash rather than simply the leash attached to her collar, due to both look and less feelings that I am going to choke her when she tries to test the leashes length. I have been using these walks a period to simply think and clear my mind which has been useful for sparking different and new ideas. Sometimes I have also been introducing some music which has been a good use of my airpods, and which has made me incredibly fond of the lack of wires.

We have walked many miles and have hatched many Pokemon GO eggs, but now Reyka is definitely improving in her walking behavior. Previously my family overfed her and she was a little more overweight, which is no longer a large issue due now feeding her the right amount and having daily exercise. I think this joint experience has allowed for a better bonding between myself and the dog as she harasses me more than others.

This series of photographs contains selected pieces taken by myself in Ireland. My goal with this project is to capture the minute detail and viewpoints that are often missed by the common eye. This objective required me to look at everything from multiple angles in order to ensure that I found the one I wanted to highlight. I sought to deviate the attention away from the main attraction and to the outer details. I captured scenes that typically went overlooked such as in a few photos of the pavement, where the people simply walk over. I also centered around objects that commonly only supplemented to the overall landscape like the small weed or grass. With these aspects in mind, through this series, I want to project this different perspective and shine the spotlight on the smaller details that otherwise would be passed over.

I have been walking Reyka regularly for a little while now and have been able to see improvements in both her behavior when walking as well as ability to walk further. These differences have also translated over to myself as I find myself being able to go further after each week feeling less exhausted comparatively. I am feeling personally better as now I want to walk more and am matching the excitement of Reyka when going for the daily stroll. This time has been useful for myself as a way to replenish myself and simply think, though I am still distracted by Reyka trying to tug away.

I have just returned from the MMUN conference in New York, where, if you have not been keeping up, I just served on the Bureau as the chair for the first time. My committee had around hundred delegates (students) who were all there to collaborate on creating a resolutions they had been studying from a country's perspective in preparation and my job was to ensure that everything went smoothly and to procedure. I had a great time this year and the ability to pass on the conference experience that I would have enjoyed to the next generation of participants was quite satisfying. I would not say I am the most confident public speaker, so I was often nervous throughout the conference when calling rules of the procedure and speaking to the staring crowd of eyes, but as I went through I became more and more comfortable and am grateful that I have had a chance to practice and utilize these skills. This made me step out of my normal comfort zone as I generally wait for people to approach or ...

All my materials have arrived for my Dice Tower, as well as my leather pen case was almost done getting sewed up. The Carvey and the laser cutter both had long queues (especially the former) and I initially planned on using the Carvey to cut out my tower's outline so that there would be no scorch marks around the edges. Unfortunately, I decided to use the laser cutter to cut my tower due to almost everyone in class signed up to use the Carvey and highly likely event that it would not reach my turn by the end of the term. While waiting for the queues for both machines to get shorter and for my turn to come up, I went to finish my pen case. After a few more stitches, I cut the thread and bam-I had a pen case. I was very pleased with how turned out and look forward to transporting my stationary in my own handmade pouch.  I finally got to do my laser cuts with my walnut. When they were finished being cut out, I constructed the tower and realized to my dismay that my measure...