Story by Kalia Lao ’28 and Ryan Chow ’26
Every year, senior De Paul Scholars complete a January project. Starting in December, they study their chosen topic to present at the end of the following month. Scholars are required to conduct 100 hours of research, apply a service element, and make their presentation interactive. Each project is unique to every student, and the projects overall cover a wide variety of interests.
Isabel Merriman’s ’26 presentation, Bioplastics, addresses the issues of plastic pollution around the world. Giving the audience a glimpse of how prominent this problem is, she volunteered at Ocean Beach, collecting seven pounds of trash within only two hours. Considering the severity of the situation, Isabel introduced an alternative to plastic products: bioplastics. Bioplastics are a sustainable substitute for plastic. They can be made from renewable sources such as corn starch or gelatin, and Isabel did just that. She created bioplastic spoons from the named substances to compare their properties, ultimately proving the simplicity of discontinuing the use of plastic in daily life.
Through his project, The Grocer’s Guard, Matteo Gupta ‘26 identifies the loss of money local grocers experience because of excessive focus on solving external problems and the lack of attention on internal problems. Through his research and interviews with local grocers, Matteo discovered that local grocery stores’ prices on products are 17 percent higher than prices at chain grocery stores, yet benefit the community more. He discovered that half the earnings from local stores go to farms and factories, and the other half goes to employees and neighborhood services, while 90 percent of the revenues from chain stores go to manufacturers, and only 10 percent goes back to the community. Increasing the concern for the loss of money for independent grocery stores, Matteo noticed the “boiling frog effect”. This metaphor describes negating problems, causing them to grow over time. Many grocers fall victim to this effect because of the imbalance of focus on internal and external problems. By acknowledging the effect that external factors, like theft, have on local grocery stores, Matteo encourages people to shop locally. Doing this allows those stores to focus on internal problems and provides more advantages to the neighborhood.
Beyond the research and service itself, these January Projects pushed students to reflect on their thinking and own learning.
For Matteo, that meant learning to question his assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. Matteo reflects, “Instead of accepting the 17 percent price gap, I conducted an economic audit to prove its validity. Instead of simply introducing the economic multiplier on money retention in neighborhoods, I provided concrete examples with Safeway and Good Life grocery.”
Similarly, Isabel found the experience equally transformative, revealing that “[she] learned how widespread plastic pollution is in our lives and how even a simple solution like DIY bioplastics can serve as a model to replace plastic in our daily lives.” She reflects on how she discovered that meaningful change doesn’t have to be overcomplicated, and that even high school students can challenge the notion that solving global problems is beyond their reach.
Ultimately, these January Projects emphasize students' capabilities when given the freedom and opportunity to explore what genuinely interests them. Beyond just these two presentations, over 40 scholars tackled real-world problems with research, creativity, and purpose, while gaining a deeper understanding of how they think and growing the confidence that their ideas have the power to matter.
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