Project by: Gwen Raffo (10th Grade), (10th Grade)
Project Advisor: Ann Carroll
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Jess Prohias-Gardiner

In this project, looked into the hidden gems of Staten Island. I researched the history of several lesser-known places and traveled to them and documented the adventures. My goal was to create a guide to Staten Island for those who want to “go off the beaten path.” I envisioned a guide for both locals and tourists wanting to get away from the typical crowded Staten Island Ferry trip. Staten Island as a borough is often overlooked, but it does have a very interesting history. Through this project, I gained more knowledge about the borough and its history. I think I also helped others who are looking to have a fun time on Staten Island.

Project Reflection:

Throughout this Honors Project, I got to visit four sites on Staten Island with historical significance. I learned more about how Staten Island was a large part of New York City history. Staten Island history is often overlooked, even in our New York City Studies class. For example, there was a hospital that was one of the first to use new drugs to treat tuberculosis. Through my writing and photographs, I hope to inspire others to go to Staten Island, but not just take the ferry. To go deeper into the island and explore its rich history and impact on the city we know today. In order to reach more people, I created a blog in which I described the history of each site I visited in a more narrative form.

I also created an Instagram account to reach people through photographs. Photographs draw people in and make them more curious. I am happy that I did this project because I feel more connected to the place I live, and I hope others will appreciate it too.

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PROJECT PROPOSAL

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

In this project, I will look into the hidden gems of Staten Island. I will research the history of these lesser-known places and travel to them and document the adventures. From this, I will create a blog about where I went and what we did there. This would be a guide to Staten Island for those who want to “go off the beaten path,” either for locals or tourists wanting to get away from the typical crowded Staten Island Ferry trip. Staten Island as a borough is often overlooked, and it does have a very interesting history. I hope to gain more knowledge of the borough and it’s history, as well as helping others have a fun time in Staten Island.

Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?

This project will take on a great deal of creativity. It would be easy to go online and look up “things to do in Staten Island”, go to those places, and write about them. But I want to dig deeper into Staten Island’s history and create a unique collection of the history and current site in Staten Island. I want to explore lesser known sites and research how they were created, abandoned, etc.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?

As previously stated, I will create a blog that we will update through the project, and possibly beyond. This will include photos from my adventures, history of the sites, and tips for traveling. Hopefully, this will reach a larger audience of those who are looking to appreciate New York City history.

Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?

The process that I take will be repeated through the project:
1. research the history/current state of sites I think it would be interesting to go to.
2. Travel to the site and take pictures/videos of our experience
3. Write a blog post summarizing the history/current state, as well as pictures, my experience, and tips for going there.
I don’t have specific benchmark times because our travels depend on the weather, but my meetings with Ann will make sure to keep me on track.

When do you plan on meeting?
Lunches after my history class on Monday