About Our Project

When we began to plan our project in August of 2007, the 2008 Presidental Election was over a year away. The news, however, was ripe with stories about the race. We began noticing how much the media was paying attention to this race and decided that it would be a really interesting topic for our ThinkQuest site. We knew, however, that the outcome would not be decided before the site was due, so decided to concentrate on the campaign itself and how political candidates were getting their message out and how different this year's campaign was from that of the last Presidential election.

Laura

I am a high school student in New York State. I am a member of my school's math team and belong to the school's United Nations of America and the Amnesty International chapters. For athletics, I participate in a school health club and am a proud member of the Varsity Girls' Bowling and Swimming Teams. I often perform community service, acting as an assistant for one of my teaches and also do community service for my church. I work at a local tutoring center with various duties, including administrative work and working with students. Four years ago I started Laura's Gentle Pet Care and have recently started babysitting.

This is my second time participating in a ThinkQuest competition. My first time was in the fifth grade with my computer teacher. We created the website "Wet Ways To Get Around." This experience has been much different for me. In addition to becoming more politically aware, I have developed and strengthened my knowledge in certain computer programs and other technologies. Also, my writing and collaboration skills have greatly improved, because I have written so so many articles and have worked together through most of this process. I believe working on this website has been a very beneficial learning experience for me.
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Megan

I am a sophomore in high school. I take ballet and jazz and am involved in many activities and clubs, such as theater, Student Council, Horizons, a peer leadership program sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League. I'm also a tutor for younger students and I work as a receptionist at my dance studio.

I have been entering ThinkQuest competitions since I was in sixth grade. This will be my fifth website. Some of my previous sites which were finalists include "Why Waste Time Watching TV," "Broadway Inside-Out," and most recently, "I Can Do That: Coping Successfully with Amputations." For me, ThinkQuest is an amazing experience. Each time I learn more about creating websites and using new technology. This topic taught me many new things. I never realized how much effort it took to campaign for office until I started working on this site. For the first time, I followed the current presidential election. As a result, I am more informed regarding politics. Without this experience, I most likely would not have paid as much attention to current events. In addition, I learned about technology's affect on campaigns and how people can use technology to spread information. I was given the opportunity to interview Senator Leibell. It was a great experience that not only taught me a lot, but also got me involved in my own local government. Most importantly, I learned about cooperation and working together. People don't always agree, so compromises need to be made. Without collaboration, this project would not have as many different dimensions. Coming together with different perspectives helped make this site unique and special in its own way.
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Nicole

I am currently a sophomore in high school. I am involved in many extracurricular activates besides ThinkQuest, including theater, volleyball, and the Teen Leaders Club. I was an active participant in Destination Imagination competitions for six years. I have also played the clarinet for five years. I have taken dance for five years, and recently started taking voice lessons. I hope to be involved in theater throughout my life. During the summer, I work as a camp counselor.

Working on ThinkQuest has been a big change. It is different than any of my other activities and requires dedication in a much different way. All group projects require cooperation. In order to achieve consensus on the various aspects of the project and the website, all group members must work together, listen to each other, and communicate ideas to each other in an organized fashion. My ThinkQuest team was able to create our website by using exemplary cooperation and teamwork.
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Mrs. Brandon

I am the Director of Instructional Technology for the Lakeland Central School District and work primarily with teachers, helping them to integrate technology into instruction. Working on ThinkQuest gives me the opportunity to work with students on a collaborative team project.

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