Academy Scholars Program participants presented a summary of their three-year project to their peers and faculty sponsors. Each of this year's nine participating seniors demonstrated why they chose to research a specific topic, as well as what they gleaned from the entire process. They all had hours of extensive research and learning that included statistical analysis, engineering, artistic work, baking, marketing, and more. While many of the participants were surprised by their findings, all thoroughly appreciated the type of work that had to be put in to discover the depth of their "Why?"

Below are the passion projects completed by this year's seniors listed below. Congratulations for jobs beautifully well done. You all more than earned your Academy Scholar ribbon to be worn on graduation day!

Project Descriptions

Sanya Bandekar
Matadaan and Migration: Indian Narratives from the American Ballot provides an intimate view into the political beliefs and experiences of various naturalized US citizens originally from India. By conveying narratives, the book explores the factors that impact Indian immigrant voting patterns, including but not limited to economic status, immigration status, religion, and caste. It also sets the stage for examining these factors as background to the larger story of the individual. By sharing the stories and perspectives of these Indian immigrants, this research aims to add nuance to the smaller, often overlooked Indian community and calls for politicians to consider these details in their campaigning and advocacy efforts.

Libby Brewer
Crossroads: Mooncake Entrepreneurial Business tracks a deep dive into Asian desserts that are less popular in the US, such as fortune cookies and mooncakes. The goal of this project was to create a business that combined Asian desserts with Western flavors. This idea began in 8th grade when Libby started a small cookie business selling to family and friends. After stumbling across a video that explained the history of the fortune cookie, she had the idea to remake the fortune cookie, incorporating some of its original elements, while adding popular Western flavors to draw attention to this generally forgotten cookie.  As this project evolved, these same ideas were applied to mooncakes.  Much was learned about entrepreneurship, networking in the small business community, and the history and evolution of Asian desserts.

Aidan Gor
Aidan’s project, Mitigating Health Disparities, focuses on promoting health equity by identifying and combating health disparities. After conducting literature reviews on existing health disparities, he partnered with Matthew McCambridge MD, Chief Medical Officer of Acute Care Quality of Jefferson Health, and the Vizient Clinical Database (CDB) to identify real-life health inequities at hospitals across eastern Pennsylvania. Finding a disparity at a hospital in Hazleton, PA, regarding Hispanic populations and palliative care utilization, Aidan worked to enhance the comprehensibility of the health system’s palliative care pamphlets and created a technological solution to make palliative care more accessible for all.   

Zoe Hellman
The Process of Building a Beginner-Friendly Electric Guitar is all about designing and building an electric guitar that is easier to use for young kids or beginners who are just learning to play. Since there are so many different harsh factors that can affect someone’s playing, this process involved multiple prototypes, testing, and experimenting with different electronics, strings, neck surfaces, and more!  

Helen Liang
Exploring the Intersection of Musical Composition and Emotion investigates the connection between music and the mind, by analyzing the musical and compositional techniques used to create musical mood and affect. Inspired by her long tenure as a classical pianist, performing and studying piano performance all over the world, she decided to combine her pianistic skill with music theory and composition. The musical details in a string quartet arrangement of Lana Del Rey's Say Yes to Heaven and an original string quartet composition link to the research conducted on how specific choices by composers affect the listener's perception of the music. 

Jazziah Manning
For the past three years, Jazziah has researched Soul Food restaurants, their history, and their impact by watching documentaries, reading various types of literature, and conducting interviews. Jazziah spent two years interviewing restaurant owners, teenagers, senior citizens, and family members to explore Soul Food’s impact on different groups of people. The culmination of the project is an almost 2-hour documentary showing interviews and demonstrating what she’s learned by cooking recipes from some books she’s read. The Passion Project: An Exploration of Soul Food and its Cultural Impact follows a deep exploration of Soul Food’s impact on the Black community both personally and professionally in the restaurant setting. 

Misimi Owolabi
Exploring Climate Change’s Impact on Cultural Identity is a 4-episode podcast that explores how climate change impacts the day-to-day lives of different communities, specifically their cultural and social dynamics.  The focus of the podcast is two communities in Africa,  the contemporary Egyptian Nubians and the San people, and how they experience the effects of climate change and also adapt to it. Inspired by the growing loss of cultural traditions worldwide, this work explores the idea that climate change’s effects are futuristic and distant by presenting communities already experiencing its impact on their livelihoods, heritage, and sense of place. 

Brie Snell
Life Within the Arts: The Everyday Stories of Philadelphia through Art and Photography explores how visual art and photography can capture and celebrate the rich tapestry of lived experiences within Philadelphia communities. She was inspired to begin her project after noticing how everyday moments—often overlooked—reflect deep cultural, emotional, and historical significance. Recognizing that many voices in her city are unheard or underrepresented, Brielle set out to amplify these narratives through powerful visual storytelling. Her objective was to preserve and honor the beauty of life in Philadelphia, foster greater understanding and empathy across communities, and inspire others to see art as a tool for connection and change. As part of her project, she conducted immersive research through interviews and neighborhood visits, curated and photographed scenes of local life, designed and published a magazine that showcased her work, and organized a gallery-style exhibit at her school to spark dialogue about community, identity, and belonging.

Alex Swartz
Alexandra “Alex” Swartz wrote a novel entitled It Ends Where It Begins. Alex’s drive to create this project stemmed from her passion for mythology, literature, and art, and is centered around Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Scandinavian/Norse, and Chinese mythology.  The novel is set in modern times, where the gods are thrown into a new age and have to face an unknown challenge and foe. The story is broken into five parts, and each part begins with a different character, with an illustration inspired by the god alongside. To conclude her project, Alex has published her book and created copies for friends and family.