Kaliyah Sturges
Final Reflection
May 13th, 2021
When reflecting on this year's experience of capstone, it definitely showed me where I’ve improved and some things that I need to improve on. When looking back at when I first planned capstone, I originally thought I’d work with this program that was able to help me in ways I couldn’t imagine but I quickly realized just how much expectations become reality. When I realized that I wasn’t able to work with Ebony Horsewomen, I was very devastated and I found it very difficult to search for someone else I can work with. At the time we’re in the middle of December and here I am with no plan of what I should do for my capstone project. I was contacting organizations from out of state located in Rhode Island and North Carolina to work with,but I received no response. I sat down with my mother and aunt to discuss my frustration and disappointment, to where they both stated I should work with the homeless or create a food drive. I knew I wanted my capstone about mental health and animal therapy, so instead of choosing a different capstone which could've been easier I decided to challenge myself. Knowing that no other student has done a project like mine and realizing many students can benefit from my capstone gave me the motivation that I needed to want to keep going with my topic that I loved so much. When reflecting I’m so glad that I stuck with my original plan, to see the students interact with Sophie and really comprehend the information that I gave was very rewarding. Before capstone I struggled with telling the closest to me that I needed help, so telling students that I had little to know relationship with was very out of my comfort zone. When I was presenting to the students, I explained to them how I struggled with asking for help, because till this day some people and myself included can have trouble when asking for help. When it comes to myself, I struggle with it because sometimes my mind interprets me as weak, and due to my ego I refuse to let people see me as weak. But I need to realize that there are people and resources around you if they’re needed, all you have to do is ask for help. I also noticed when reflecting with the students that they really enjoyed my presentation, and some actually wanted to work with therapy animals which was very rewarding to hear. I enjoyed doing my capstone and I really put my heart into it to where I’d like to keep it going after graduating. I made a great relationship with Ms. Proll and we’ve planned to work with each other in the future. We planned that I will visit her farm where I’ll help around during the summer and we discussed that we can have sessions with the college students when finals come around and they need to be distressed. Capstone helped me become more confident when it comes to what I achieved, because before I was very hard on myself. When my family sees me, I want them to see the determination and strength my father, grandmother, and god sister had in this world. If I can tell my past self something, it would be that “it’s okay if you're not perfect, it’s okay to cry, it’s okay if you need help, it’s okay if you don’t feel like yourself, because everything is going to be okay”.
Final Reflection
May 13th, 2021
When reflecting on this year's experience of capstone, it definitely showed me where I’ve improved and some things that I need to improve on. When looking back at when I first planned capstone, I originally thought I’d work with this program that was able to help me in ways I couldn’t imagine but I quickly realized just how much expectations become reality. When I realized that I wasn’t able to work with Ebony Horsewomen, I was very devastated and I found it very difficult to search for someone else I can work with. At the time we’re in the middle of December and here I am with no plan of what I should do for my capstone project. I was contacting organizations from out of state located in Rhode Island and North Carolina to work with,but I received no response. I sat down with my mother and aunt to discuss my frustration and disappointment, to where they both stated I should work with the homeless or create a food drive. I knew I wanted my capstone about mental health and animal therapy, so instead of choosing a different capstone which could've been easier I decided to challenge myself. Knowing that no other student has done a project like mine and realizing many students can benefit from my capstone gave me the motivation that I needed to want to keep going with my topic that I loved so much. When reflecting I’m so glad that I stuck with my original plan, to see the students interact with Sophie and really comprehend the information that I gave was very rewarding. Before capstone I struggled with telling the closest to me that I needed help, so telling students that I had little to know relationship with was very out of my comfort zone. When I was presenting to the students, I explained to them how I struggled with asking for help, because till this day some people and myself included can have trouble when asking for help. When it comes to myself, I struggle with it because sometimes my mind interprets me as weak, and due to my ego I refuse to let people see me as weak. But I need to realize that there are people and resources around you if they’re needed, all you have to do is ask for help. I also noticed when reflecting with the students that they really enjoyed my presentation, and some actually wanted to work with therapy animals which was very rewarding to hear. I enjoyed doing my capstone and I really put my heart into it to where I’d like to keep it going after graduating. I made a great relationship with Ms. Proll and we’ve planned to work with each other in the future. We planned that I will visit her farm where I’ll help around during the summer and we discussed that we can have sessions with the college students when finals come around and they need to be distressed. Capstone helped me become more confident when it comes to what I achieved, because before I was very hard on myself. When my family sees me, I want them to see the determination and strength my father, grandmother, and god sister had in this world. If I can tell my past self something, it would be that “it’s okay if you're not perfect, it’s okay to cry, it’s okay if you need help, it’s okay if you don’t feel like yourself, because everything is going to be okay”.