Final Capstone Reflection

What I learned:
This experience taught me the importance of taking the initiative to start a club that
can benefit like-minded students and it helped me develop greater leadership and
collaboration skills.

How the project is relevant to me, the school, and the community:
This project is relevant to me because ever since I was little, I’ve always been fond of video
games. As I’ve watched my brother and played video games myself, gaming played a huge
role throughout my life as I’ve connected with a variety of people through Esports. Seeing
that there are many talented students amongst our school who are experiencing a lack of
recognition for their skills in gaming, I wanted to take initiative and create an Esports club as
it did not exist in our school yet. Furthermore, knowing that the Esports scene is
predominantly male, being a female student who enjoys gaming, I wanted to show that
anyone can join the club and that it doesn’t matter what your gender is. By creating this club,
it’ll allow the students to grow personally and professionally as the club continues to provide
them with opportunities. Alongside that, it’ll help bring together students who share a similar
interest in gaming in our school and community.

Six Core Competencies:

Communication: Collaborating with other students to share ideas of ways to improve the
Esports club.
Creative Thinking: Reflect on existing ideas to generate new and innovative ideas for the
Esports club.
Critical Thinking: Examine and analyze the members within the club to see their playstyle
and team skills.
Personal and Cultural Identity: Connection between Esports and myself as a person, as well
as the fact that video games can be played by people of any gender and race.
Personal Awareness and Responsibility: To be aware of the responsibilities of founding and
administering a club, as well as to make ethical decisions with members and fellow club
managers.
Social Responsibility: Building a connection with the Esports club members as well as
respecting everyone while having friendly competitions.
The impact of my Capstone project:
The Esports club will have a long-term impact on the Esports community and our school, as
the club will continue to remind others that hobbies can be turned into possible careers and
allow fellow students to express themselves, no matter their gender and race.

What I am most proud of:

I am most proud of my determination to start this club. It had taken me a while to think about
it, however, when it had dawned on me that I wanted to create this club, I was determined to
make it happen. I started by asking around and collaborating with fellow peers to connecting
with other people from different schools to coordinate tournaments and events. With this, I
was able to get the club running as there were many students who were already interested
in the club. From there, we were able to successfully host an online tournament against the
other local schools’ Esports club and peaked at 93 viewers on our first stream.

Difficulties I have encountered and how I solved the problem:

A challenge I came across was when I stepped back from being a leader for a bit. I did my
best to do as much work as possible at the beginning, however, I already knew that this
would happen and I would lose sight of where to bring the club in the long run. The reason
behind this is that I am a mediocre gamer compared to the other co-leaders as they have
more experience in the Esports world than I do and I prefer to manage the external matters
rather than the gaming itself. When I realized this, I immediately communicated to the co-
leaders about this and we were able to work it out as we found solutions to combat this
possible situation. One of the solutions is that I focus more on the physical aspects of the
club where I set up and plan the events/tournaments as well as be the spokesperson for the
Esports club.

What I wish I could change about my finished product:

One thing I wish I could’ve changed about my finished product is to add more
pictures/evidence. Due to the last-minute change of my project, I didn’t think to take many
pictures during the making of the club. Though, I luckily have enough evidence thanks to
projects I had done throughout the club.

What advice I would give to a student completing Capstone next year:

For students who will be completing Capstone next year, I advise those students to choose a
project that they are passionate about as it will make it much easier and more enjoyable to
do. Another piece of advice is to start as early as possible. You may think you can cram it all
within a months’ time, however, the project is much larger than you think and will have you
end up with a rushed project. To avoid this, I recommend spacing out periods where you
focus on your Capstone project during the time given to you. Also, use as much class time
as possible so you’ll have less workload later on. Overall, Capstone is meant to be a fun
process where you get to explore a topic you’re interested in, enjoy the process!

What source from my research helped me the most:

One source that helped me the most was a website that talked about creating a high school
Esports club. It is listed in the reference list below. This allowed me to see the process of
creating an Esports team prior to creating the club.

What I wish I could change about my approach to my project:

One thing I wish I could change about my approach to my project would be changing the
topic of Capstone a little earlier. I completely switched my Capstone project from creating a
recipe book to creating an Esports club as I felt unmotivated to complete my previous project
and I realized that I’m really passionate about creating a new community in our school to
showcase the amazing talent our students have in gaming. Other than that, I wouldn’t
change anything else as I’ve worked hard to get this club successfully running.