SENIOR PROJECT SELF-EVALUATION Name: Anna Katogiritis Project Start Date: 3/21/14

Title of Project: Say No to GMOs Organic Dessert Competition Project Completion Date: 4/2/14 1. In 40 words or more describe your project and the steps you performed to complete it. What did you produce or perform? For my senior project event, I hosted an organic dessert competition. This competition was held to give people the opportunity to learn about GMOs and the benefits of organic eating. Some people brought organic desserts to enter in the competition, while others came to learn about GMOs and sample desserts. The deserts were judged on a variety of factors including taste, texture, level of difficulty, and presentation. Everyone who enter received a prize, with 1st prize being a $25 gift certificate to Whole Foods, second prize being and organic smores kit, and third prize being organic chips and salsa.

2. In at least 40 words explain how the project challenged you, and what sort of time challenges and resource problems did you encounter? I have never hosted or organized an event before. I am naturally a very disorganized person, so organizing an event was a new kind of challenge for me. I am also naturally afraid to ask people for help, so recruiting people to come to my event was stressful and difficult for me.

3. List and then describe 5-8 fundamental ideas/concepts/skills of your project, which you learned during your project. 1) Event organization 2) Time management 3) Social media recruitment 4) Cookbook formatting 5) Synthesis of ideas into one event 6) Creative problem solving

4. List and describe 5-8 problems you encountered in your project, and briefly describe how you solved each. Problem Competition Explanation My original proposal was just for an organic food competition. However, it soon became apparent that people would not be able to keep their food hot during the school day. Because of this, I decided on an organic dessert competition, as most desserts are easily stored and do not need to be refrigerated or heated before serving. Being a disorganized person, I ran into organizational issues a number of times, whether it was through time management with m consultant or setting up the library in an orderly fashion.

Organization

Seating

Because I was not expecting very many people to bring dessert at my event, I did not provide much seating for contestants. However, enough people entered the competition that I ran out of seats. I rectified this by arranging the tables in a different way. Interruptions The school library was not closed because of my event. Therefore, there were people in the library who were not part of my event, some of which were being distracting. To remedy this, I invited them to join my event and learn about GMOs. Some accepted, while the others quieted themselves. Sign in sheet I forgot to provide a sign in sheet for visitors and contestants. I fixed this issue quickly by contacting everyone who showed up to my event before I forgot who was there. A. Estimated total hours spent on project: 25 hours B. Estimated total steps involved in your project: 1) Find a consultant 2) Find a venue 3) Prepare speech 4) Focus on one type of food for event 5) Organize furniture in library 6) Purchase prizes and prize kits 7) Spread publicity for event 8) Organize event setup 9) Create and print score sheets and exit surveys

5. List materials used: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Printer paper and ink Desert tins Plastic utensils Napkins Prizes Note cards Tables and chairs

6. List all people who helped you on the project and briefly describe the help given. Ms. Hilldam Ms. Hilldam was my project consultant and event judge. Because of her affiliation with Buy Fresh Buy Local, she was very knowledgeable in my subject and was able to provide me with a lot of useful information and ideas. She was a very thorough judge, which was a large part of what made my project successful. The senior project teacher, Mrs. VanSchenck, did a great deal for me during my senior project. Whenever I hit a roadblock, she was sure to offer creative solutions and ideas. She was also good at keeping me on track and caught up with all of my absences getting in way even of late work. My parents offered both financial and emotional support during the course of my project. They provided all the funds for prizes, and also made it clear

Mrs. VanSchenck

Mom and Dad

that they would support me in planning my event and in all other aspects of my project. Friends Truly, the backbone of my project were the people who came out to support me on event day, whether they brought a dessert or just came to watch and show support. Without great friends, my project could have definitely fallen apart.

7. How does your completed project compare to the picture you had in mind when you started the project? It was far more organized than I imagined it. More people came than I had ever imagined, and the judging was far more thorough than I thought it would be. There was also a lot of people who came to show support, which was integral to my competition being a success, as each contestant was supposed to make enough dessert for a large amount of people. All in all, my project turned out far better than my original vision. 8. If given the opportunity, what would you do differently now that you speak from experience? I would have provided some educational opportunities or games for people who were watching the event. For instance, while the desserts were being judged, I could hand out GMO trivia to make the project that much more informational. 9. Now that the project is completed, explain/describe the stretch or challenge you encountered/experienced. My main challenge was organization and time management. All in all, the project came together well and I was able to teach myself how to organize an event, which will definitely come in handy in the future. 10. Beyond the project itself, what did you learn about yourself? I learned that I truly have wonderful friends, more than I could have imagined. The amount of people who showed up was absolutely astounding, especially because I didnt have to ask anyone twice to come. Everyone showed up by their own accord. 11. What grade would you give yourself on the project? Justify the evaluation of your grade in at least 25 words: Id give myself a 90 for my project. There were things that definitely could have been done differently, and there were opportunities to make the event more educational that I missed out on. However, my event did fulfill its goal of raising awareness of GMOs, and it was fun, which made the audience receptive.