Josh Teichman
4th Year Engineering Student
Blog
September 1, 2020
During this Summer vacation lockdown, the COVID-19 pandemic led me to pick up unique skills and hobbies that I wouldn´t have otherwise. Because most restaurants were closed, I learned how to cook new meals. I was even able to perfect and omelet recipe that I have been eating a variation of my entire life. I also took a film analysis class this summer which was really fun and will hopefully help me with AP Lit this year. I have been looking forward to this year in engineering ever since I entered PLTW as a freshman. I am really excited to have creative liberty this year so I can pour myself into a project I am passionate about. I am also really excited to use my ideas and cooperative/technical skills that I have developed over the years in this class to help in my leadership role as an event planner/fundraiser. In general, I am looking forward to the virus going away so I can interact with my classmates and friends and am most excited to vote for the first time in the election this November!
September 25, 2020
I am grateful that I am very passionate about the problem that I am working on for my Capstone project. I am also grateful that a lot of members in my group are passionate as well and have great creative minds. On the bright side, our problem is manageable and prevalent where it applies. On the downside, it is a relatively niche problem making it hard to identify if it is truly worth solving. It is hard to find statistics to support are claim because not a lot of studies have been conducted on the subject of places to lock one's bike. Overall, I am excited to help create a solution because I feel like the results will be easily apparent.
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In the coming weeks, I anticipate disagreement between each of the group members including myself in terms of dividing up the workload. I also think that we will have some differences in opinion on the best possible approach to solving the problem we presented. The biggest problem that I think we will have in the next few weeks and for the rest of the school year will be in communicating exchanges of resources (whether those resources be virtual or physical). We will have to depend on each other to specialize in aspects of the project that suits the resources available to us the most. Because some group members don't have access to the same resources, it will be hard to find work for them to contribute in the coming weeks. I also anticipate that it will be hard for us to conduct research in the first place because a lot of members won't find it engaging and will put it off.
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I am currently adding the final revisions to my first UC Personal Insight Question. I am also filling out demographic information on my Common App and organizing my extracurriculars spreadsheet. I am speaking with college counselors, will be attending college fairs/workshops, and am doing research on majors and university programs. I wish someone told me the importance of checking my school email once I got into Senior year. There are so many opportunities and deadlines that are shared through email from advisors and teachers that help you keep track of the college process and make sure that you are saving as much money as possible through scholarships.
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November 1, 2020
I would say this photo accurately portrays my current "state" pretty well. My definition of "state" is a measure of one's reaction to minor inconveniences. By being mindful about the way I react to short-term troubles, I am able to gauge what type of "state" I am in. Between college apps, the pandemic, the election, and my transition into adulthood marked by my recent 18th birthday, I am feeling very confused and overwhelmed. This picture symbolizes that when a minor inconvenience happens in my current state, I am usually puzzled and frustrated. I feel paralyzed in trying to prioritize what I should do first and what I should do later.
December 12, 2020
Now that I have finished my UC application, I wish I had given myself more time with the activities section instead of allotting the vast majority of my time to my Personal Insight Questions. I also wish I planned out my work sessions more and had more of a structured schedule for when I would work on my apps. I would tell rising seniors to start on their application early and look at the activities section before starting. This allows you to start calculating how to record your high school time commitments (hours and descriptions) early and gives you a good idea of what activities you want to add to your application. I am most excited about the independence that I hope college will bring. I look forward to campus culture, living in a dorm, and exploring how I can balance my interests with my academics. I am excited to be part of a larger community without as many guidelines in general.
Me during the college application process:
February 1, 2021
Capstone Project:
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What is the difference between products that are made for profit and products that are made to benefit others?
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For products that are for the benefit of others, the function matters more than the form. However, for products that are made for profit, the opposite is true. For products made for profit, the main priority is selling as many units as possible making it necessary for the product to be attractive in order to make it appealing for consumers. On the other hand, if a product is beneficial for others, the problem that the product solves is the majority of the selling point.
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Research the pros/cons of developing a product that is made for profit vs a product that is made to benefit others. Provide an example of each type of product.
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March 5, 2021
My biggest challenge with the engineering project so far was building the prototype because when we got to the prototype phase, I realized that we had to change our design to make it feasible. This meant that I had to redesign and construct our solution at the same time which required a lot of abstract thinking and time. However, it is also what I am most proud of so far. When I finished the prototype, I felt very accomplished because it validated that I am very adaptive and it felt good to finally put all of the theory we have been working on the past several months into physical terms.
My advice to future students in the Capstone class regarding the Capstone project is to make sure you and your team have fully realized a feasible design solution before you get to the prototype phase. Don't be afraid to drastically change your design if you think it isn't going to work because the longer you wait, the worse it will be. I would also recommend keeping very close communication with your Capstone group members because it is important that everyone in your group puts genuine work into the research document. This is important because the research document needs to be consistent and accurate if you want it to help you.
May 24, 2021
I will be attending UCLA next school year in the College of Letters and Sciences, however, I am still undecided for my major. I know I want to work within the STEM field and I am exploring Applied Math as a possible major. My goals for next school year are to commit to a steady workout routine and to balance out my academic life more. I hope to reinvent the way I approach academics in my college years.
Putting my PLTW career in perspective, the Rube Goldberg machine I made in my sophomore year remains to be the project that I am most proud of. Not only did it take extensive creative planning that was challenging but fulfilling, but it also took lots and LOTS of testing. Resetting the components of the Rube Goldberg machine after every failed attempt was tedious but it also felt like I was a detective. I enjoyed the type of thinking/problem solving skills the project required. Since it was so tedious and time consuming, I felt extremely accomplished when the reaction finally worked to completion.