Isabella Sophia Guzman

2025

Hi, my name is Isabella Sophia Guzman. Currently, I am a junior at Sacred Heart Cathedral and I plan to make this year memorable. I went to St. Stephens’ for kindergarten through second grade, then transferred to St. Anne School for third grade all the way to my graduation of eighth grade. I have tried many different extra curricular activities such as playing the piano, learning mental calculation on the Japanese abacus, art classes, and every sport ever created. These sports include basketball, volleyball, track and field, soccer, tennis, gymnastics, martial arts, golf, swimming, fencing, badminton, skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and ballet. Very few of these sports have stayed but basketball, volleyball, and martial arts have stuck with me for eight years or longer. These sports are the lucky ones that I have committed over half of my life to.

Prior to freshman year, I’ve only ever been involved in something relating to i2 when my middle school held a science fair for the seventh and eighth graders each year. For my seventh grade year project, I used a pump, 2 liter bottle, rubbing alcohol, and a mountain of duct tape to create my very own, homemade clouds. In all honesty, it wasn’t as difficult as it may seem. First, I coated the inside of the 2 liter bottle with the rubbing alcohol. Then, I taped the pump to the spout of the bottle tightly, leaving no cracks or any loose areas. Lastly, I pumped air into the bottle until the rubbing alcohol condensed and filled my bottle with clouds. The sole troublesome part was putting enough or too much tape to prevent air from leaking out, which caused me to have multiple mistrials. This project’s purpose was for me to learn more about the water cycle, specifically condensation, and how I can recycle liquids. Coincidentally, our next unit in science was the water cycle, so this idea was beneficial. Before I started working on my homemade clouds, my first idea was to see which liquids made a bean plant grow the fastest. I used water, milk, orange juice, and soda. Long story short, my black thumb was not helpful on my road to success with this idea.

Now that I’ve spent a two years as an i2 student at SHC, I’ve fulfilled two annual projects in the program. My freshman year project, titled “Bacteria Cafeteria”, experimented with the bacteria that builds up on face masks after certain time periods and on various materials. The relevance and usefulness of this project was the perfect way to stay up to date throughout the year and educate the general public.  Through this project, I’ve achieved my goal in creating a successful STEM related project and I am one step closer to becoming the most innovative and inquisitive person I can be. On the other hand, my sophomore year project, “Senser”, focused on assisting blind and visually impaired individuals by creating an electronic guide cane for detecting objects in the surroundings. I constructed and coded this from scratch while volunteering at the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired to gather feedback from potential users. Reflecting back, I enhanced my engineering skills dramatically and became very adaptable to any obstacles in my way.


MY BLOGS

Journey of i2 Begins

When I was first made aware that I was invited to join the Inquiry and Innovation program, I admit, I was flustered. I was excited enough as it was to be accepted into Sacred Heart Cathedral, but to also get accepted into the i2 program was the next level. Despite this, my only knowledge of […] Read more

i2 Projects

Bacteria Cafeteria

Bacteria Cafeteria is a project focused on testing how much bacteria accumulates on different types of masks over different periods of time. Through these experiments, we will be able to decipher the most suitable material and time to clean or dispose of your mask.

Project details

Senser

Senser is a project that highlights the lack of feedback received from blind canes and ensures users are the utmost aware of what’s in front of them. Once I complete this project, my cane users will be able to receive auditory and haptic feedback consistently.

Project details

Sixth Sense

Sixth Sense is an improvement of Senser in that the electronic guide cane will provide more precise auditory and haptic feedback through a buzzer and vibrations on the cane. Everything besides the on/off switch and the laser range sensor will be within the hollow cane instead of on the outside.

Project details