High School Portfolio-Jake Edwards 2011

Global and Cultural Awareness

Mural

Picture
    In November of 2010, Cody Payne and myself began working on our eight by four foot oil on masonite mural which, upon completion will hang in the Large Room at YMHS. A work in progress, our mural and my senion project is somewhat of an improvisation. It seems that some of the best things that can come of a human being can be those that manifest as they come to you, in a pure almost spiritual form. We can be so easily entangled in all of the things that we feel are so important to us, but how often do we simply observe the pristine beauty of the moment? How often do we set aside our worldly troubles to realize what a blessing we have truly been given by existing? In some sense, that is how I think of this mural; as a chronicle of moments progressively merging with the cosmos. From the left of the painting to the right, it is observable that a "realistic" scene transcends the gap between the levels of universal function, from a tangible reality to a cosmic reality.

Civic Responsibility

Service Learning Class and Greenhouse

I took the fourth Quarter Service Learning Class with Aaron Mainly doing work around the School and on School Projects such as the greenhouse and amphitheater which is to built behind the school. Most of the work was manual labor such as landscaping for the greenhouse and adjacent garden, but also work organizing the materials and helping to make suitable the land on which the future Amphitheater will sit. In my freshman year as well, I helped to construct the school's greenhouse and even excavate the foundation. The construction began with the excavation of a hole for the greenhouse to be based in, but also to install an underground air circulation system to provide the plants with warm soil beds and air circulation even in the winter. We then constructed the base of the Greenhouse, and the framework that sits on top of it. The finishing touches then included several heat retaining plastic roof panels as a covering, a couple automatic open/close windows, the soil beds, a large water reservoir, a door and of course, plants. In addition, The Service Learning Class and I spent part of the quarter digging terraces for the fenced garden that will be across from the greenhouse.

Sustainable Settings

    As one of the Friday outing options, I had the opportunity to do some volunteer work at the Sustainable Settings Farm in Carbondale. Mainly manual labor including fencing and helping to maintain crop areas. We worked together with the farm's supervisor to set fence posts and fix the fence itself to the posts for a new livestock pen, as well as preparing the field(s) for the coming year's crop. Sustainable Settings Is a Colorado based program purposed around the research, development, enterprise, and popularization of a sustainable and renewable society for the future of human beings.

Collaboration

River Guiding Class

My Freshman year, I took a quarter in the River Guiding Class with Mike Podmore. And, despite being a seemingly simple activity, safely maneuvering a floating piece of plastic through rapid currents and pointed rocks can require lots of teamwork and concentration. It is imperative that there is fluent communication, good leadership, rapid response, and trust between all of the participants. Depending on what your role is on the raft, you need to be particularly attentive to certain people on the raft and be able to execute orders quickly and efficiently. For example, if you are the guide, the largest responsibility rests on your shoulders. You are responsible for the safety of yourself and your passengers, you are responsible for navigating obstacles safely and reacting to dangerous situations as best as you can. Whereas, if you are simply paddling as a passenger, you are responsible for aiding other passengers if need be and responding without hesitation to the guide's requests. All positions, however require cooperation between people, a service oriented and assertive attitude, and a somewhat unified goal.