AlexPodrezHawkenProjects2021

David and I have arrived at the end of our senior project, and boy has it been a busy three weeks! We just presented today and our presentation made me think about the details of everything we have accomplished. Stepping back, now I can clearly see just how much we did over the course of these three weeks. Both our mentor, other teachers and parents have come up to us and told us just how much work we have done. Mr. D talked to me today and told me thank you for putting so much effort into my senior project because my final product is here to stay. The kiosk, the equipment, and the fish are going to be enjoyed by Hawken students and families for many years to come.  Overall, David and I accomplished everything that we wanted to and everything that was asked of us. Both of us worked extremely well together. The best way I can describe us is focused, dedicated, hardworking, and persevering. Over the course of these three weeks we were continuously on task and dedicated to getting eve...

 I wanted to dedicate this blog post to the building of the Kiosk. I was able to put the finishing touches on the solar kiosk just a couple of hours ago. Over the past couple days David and I have put a lot of work to make it happen. We spent a lot of time in the woodshop cutting the wood to the correct sizes. We also took multiple trips out to Home Depot to buy wood and supplies. Now I can confidently say that I have purchased wood on my own and screwed in over 200 screws.     The roof assembly for the Kiosk was one of the most challenging parts. Getting the correct angle of the solar panels (south so that they get sunlight in the winter) was difficult. However, due to Mr. D's help and David's and my work ethic we were able to get it accomplished. David and I also put together the solar panel kit in a waterproof box. The solar panels connect to a charge controller which charges the overly large batter which connects to an inverter which is connected to our...

 It is currently June 7th and the end of our senior project is fast approaching. As always, since last post every day has been packed full of activities and jobs to do. Since the last post David and I have mainly been working on the kiosk and also funding for stocking. The day after the last blog post our Orvis equipment came in so David and I were super excited about that. Due to the Perkins family generous donation, David and I were able to purchase 1000 dollars of Orvis equipment with a 60% off discount. We spent this money on 8 Orvis Clearwater Combos and some flies. We received 8 clearwater combos which are high end fly fishing rods. We also made these rods heavier (8wt) in strength so that they will last a while. The reels came pre spooled with fly line so all we had to do is tie on the micro-swivels and leader/tippet. They are currently all ready to use and today a fishing club member actually used them to catch multiple fish for his biology study. It is great to see our rod...

We are currently approaching the midpoint of our Hawken Project, and boy has it been a lot of work. David and I continue to work hard every day and accomplish a lot. The past couple of days have been some of our most productive of the entire project. Over the past couple of days David and I have managed to start building the kiosk, dig the holes in the pond, receive equipment, plan our fish stocking adventure, and design the kiosk signs. This past day, David and I started building the base of the kiosk. We have all of our materials, and the solar equipment has slowly started to come in. We have the entire main frame done and planned out the roof. The solar panels that go on the roof to power the aerator will face south to maximize east-west sun movement, especially in the winter when the sun will be slightly south. Attached below are pictures of our progress.  During the past couple of days, Mr. Biggar was able to give us a lot more donated equipment. We have received a l...

 It has been a couple of days since I have last written a blog post but it has definitely not seemed like a lot of time. Every day working on the Hawken project has been extremely busy. David and I are accomplishing so much important work every single day. Over the past couple of days we have finalized all of our research for the kiosk and made a trip to Home Depot to buy wood and supplies. At Home Depot we bought a lot of quick-crete and the specific wood that we need. We hope to start digging the holes near the pond for the kiosk soon. Since my last blog post, all of our budget has been approved and we started ordering the equipment we need. We are currently awaiting most of the equipment to come from amazon and tractor supply, however Mr. Tate, David, and I went out to dicks sporting goods to purchase the reels we need for the club. We purchased about 18 Okuma spinning reels and 5 Okuma bait casters. David and I hope that these high quality years will be put to great use by futu...