The Capstone Years (Grades 9-12)
Students work towards their Global Leadership Diploma
Through carefully-planned curriculum and enriching experiences, students complete 10 Demonstrations of Global Leadership and a Capstone Project including an academic essay and a panel pitch. Students who complete all elements at an exceptional level are awarded distinction.
The Capstone Project challenges students to develop an innovative solution to a global problem, and take researched action on it. We want the students to go beyond theory. We want them to feel what it is like to take a model to implementation, to actually create a prototype, to engage an audience, to garner support and to connect to the world around them.
Capstone Project topics range through all disciplines and sectors, from economics to ecology, from social justice to global equity. We've had students coding live apps, consulting with the United Nations, drawing together advocacy campaigns with over 1000 participants and creating resource-distribution programs that are ready for implementation.
Some students have actually implemented their solution and experimented with ways they can have a real impact on the issue they have identified.
Recent Capstone Project Topics
How might we...
- End the stigma around mental health in Ontario through not-for-profit organizations?
- Continue the reconciliation process in Canada through both recognition and redistribution?
- Address the root causes of arranged marriages of under-16 year old girls in India?
- Raise all wages in Canada above the poverty line?
- Find profitable uses for invasive seaweed in Barbados?
- Connect existing water equity NGOs to create a system that addresses global water scarcity?
- Advocate for and implement systems for clean water in the Attiwapiskat reserve?
- Use social media to connect university students through study groups?
- Create a system for birth registration in rural Senegal?
- Leverage technology for electric cars to create a model of sustainable transportation for a broad population?
"I was absolutely blown away by the accomplishments of these students. I am awestruck by their dedication, research, and passion for their projects. When I graduated from Pickering College, the leadership program was a cornerstone of the Pickering College experience. It has served me well in my time since Pickering and prepared me for challenges life presents when trying to establish yourself in the world. Yet after today, it is evident that the program was in its youth and had not yet grown into the program it could become. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it flourishing into the program it is today. I can say with the utmost confidence that these students are not just learning about leadership, they are living it. I am excited to see what these young leaders accomplish going forward."
- Neil Proudfoot '08