TOWSON, MD – Twenty-six 2019 graduates of Pikesville and Eastern Technical high schools have earned the Advanced Placement® (AP®) Capstone Diploma, and seven 2019 graduates of Eastern Tech earned the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™ during the 2018-19 school year.

AP Capstone™ is a College Board program designed to prepare students for college and career success through the development of critical thinking, academic research, collaboration, presentation, and time management skills. To receive the AP Capstone Diploma™, students must earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar, AP Research, and on four additional AP Exams. To receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate, students must earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research.

The AP Capstone Diploma program allows students to develop critical thinking, research, and presentation skills, both individually and as a team. Students conduct academic research on topics of personal interest in two interdisciplinary courses: AP Seminar and AP Research.

The Baltimore County Public Schools graduates honored – and their research topics – are:

AP Capstone diploma recipients:

Eastern Technical High School

• Chetan Adupa, Determining the Relationship Between Fuel Efficiency and Car Safety
• Leo Cha, Impact of Overwatch on Reaction Time
• Josef Chamera, The Future of Land Surveying
• Timothy Chun, Data Privacy for Facial Recognition
• James Comotto,Social Media and Politics
• Ryan Cummings, Dietary Habits: A Closer Look into the Animal Within
• Alyssa Foster, Subjective and Objective Health Literacy of High School-Aged Adolescents: Insurance, Medicine Safety, and Prescription Literacy
• Francis Maglaqui, The Most Destructive, Yet Romanticized Path: Suicide
• Paulo Manalo, Video Games and Exercise: To What Extent Pokemon Go Improves Physical Activity in High School Students
• Andrew Naiman, Finding an Optimal or Suboptimal Combination of Hands in Rock-Paper-Scissors
• Kiet Nguyen, Exploring the Role of Naag In Cancer Metabolism
• Phuong Dinh Nguyen, To What Extent Do the Practices of High School Students Impact their Online Safety on Instagram
• Amy Peshku, Applying Preventive Care Practices to the Opioid Crises and Addiction Treatment
• Claire Reitenbach, The Epidemic of Teen Smoking: How the Shift Away from Traditional Cigarettes Increases the Use of Electronic Cigarette Smoking in the Pediatric Population
• Hunter Sheils, The Centrifugal Method: A Possible Solution to the Growing Problem of Kidney Failure
• Neyla Sherrod, Effective Measures Schools Could Take to Help Students Manage Stress Levels
• David Suraj, Student Stress in American High Schools
• Cayla Waterman, What is the Main Factor that Makes the United States Health Care System Less Effective in Comparison to Health Care Systems in High Ranking Countries?
• Ryan Weeks, How Can Running Belts Be Altered to Allow People to Take Part in the Exercise of Running with a Lower Chance of Dehydrating Their Bodies?

Pikesville High School

• Savoy Adams, How do Teachers’ Viewpoints on Black Males Influence Students’ Viewpoints on Black Males?
• Emma Hirshbein, Teacher Support in Working with Students who Struggle with Executive Functioning Skills
• Hannah Merwin, Female Rabbis in America
• Sophie Nusinov, Understanding the Social Stigmas Placed on Children with Food Allergies
• Liza Sadykova, Teacher Education of English Language Learners in the General Education Classroom
• Morgan Suchin, Hunger in Schools: Working with Students who are Economically Disadvantaged
• Sophia Talesnik, Correlating Social Media Use Among Educators and their Performance in the Classroom

AP Seminar and Research Certificate recipients:

Eastern Technical High School

• Jeily Bonilla, The Transparency of the Office of Food & Nutrition Services and School Lunches
• Deepti Ghimire,Positive Psychology Interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in First Responders
• Chiamaka Ibe,Foreign Parents Versus American Parents: What Are the Emotional and Social Affects that Students Face When Feeling Pressure from Their Parents?
• Samantha Maina, Stress and Mental Health Management Through Mobile Apps
• Kelvin Nyaluki, Protecting Our Privacy Among Virtual Assistants
• Fortune Ogungbe,The Impact of BCPS Laptops in Eastern Tech
• Jocelyn Vanschoorisse,Is Exercise a Cure?

“The AP Capstone Diploma program provides an outstanding opportunity for our students to do in-depth research and writing about a subject of interest,” said Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “We are so proud of these students for their excellent achievements in this program. AP Capstone, as well as other initiatives in our school system – such as independent research projects, Career and Technology Education programs, AVID, and magnet programs — enable students to build college-level academic and collaboration skills.”

Over 1,500 schools participated in the AP Capstone program worldwide during the 2018-19 school year when approximately 7,800 students earned the AP Capstone Diploma and 4,100 earned the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.

“Congratulations to the AP Capstone award winners, who conduct, present, and defend academic research on topics they are passionate about,” said Trevor Packer, College Board senior vice president of AP and Instruction. “Their ability to manage long-term projects, collaborate with teams, and deliver effective presentations will accelerate not only their academic careers, but their professional careers as well.”