Capstone Project Update January 20, 2020

My capstone project is set to happen on February 26, 2020 at 6:00pm, and I’m in the midst of planning efforts. I recently reached out to Bishop Taylor, Bishop of Los Angeles in the Diocese of Los Angeles of The Episcopal Church, about being one of the panelists for my capstone project. I was extremely excited to hear back from Bishop Taylor when he responded saying he’d love to participate! So, I’ve locked in my first panelists, Bishop Taylor, who will act as the Christian representative for the panel. I’m also working with the Guibord Center on finding other speakers of the Jewish and Muslim faith. The Guibord Center is an organization in Los Angeles that connects different religions, spiritualities, and faiths, and they do a lot of work that aligns with my capstone project. The mission of the Guibord Center is “To bring people together to challenge assumptions, unleash the Holy, and affirm the faith that transforms the world.” I’m currently working with a representative from the Guibord Center on finding more panelists, as many members of different religious communities are affiliated with the Guibord Center. I’ve also continued to meet with my in-school mentors to talk about the panel. Originally, I thought finding support within the Poly community for this panel would be quite difficult. Conversations about religion and faith at Poly tend to be pretty taboo, so I didn’t think many people would be quick to support my idea. However, the community has truly blown my expectations away, as I’ve received so much more support than I would’ve thought considering the secular nature of this school. I think bringing a conversation about religion to this school will be interesting and necessary, as religion is such a defining aspect of life for so many people around the world. Although religion isn’t necessarily important in the secular Poly community, I think this conversation will bring new and important perspectives to Poly.