Monthly Action Plan

05 Monthly Action Plan

This calendar focuses on the next 12 months leading into the beginning of senior‑year applications. The priority is turning your environmental engineering interests into measurable, documented work while expanding the real‑world reach of your filtration installations. Each step is sequenced so that by the end of the summer before senior year, you have concrete results and data that can be referenced in applications and updates.

Month Priority Actions Target Outcome
January
  • Design a simple, repeatable water‑quality testing protocol for your filtration installations (baseline measurement, post‑filtration measurement, and recording format).
  • Research testing options for contaminants or microplastics and identify affordable kits or lab partnerships you could use.
  • Create a shared spreadsheet or database to store all measurement data.
 Testing system ready so that all future installations produce consistent quantitative data.
February
  • Begin baseline water sampling at existing filtration locations and record before/after results using the protocol you created.
  • Start compiling photographic documentation and short installation summaries for each site.
  • Identify Chicago nonprofits, school networks, or community organizations that could host additional installations.
 Initial dataset established and first list of potential community partners.
March
  • Reach out to 4–6 Chicago organizations to explore partnership opportunities for additional installations.
  • Continue water‑quality testing at current locations to build multiple data points.
  • Start drafting a brief one‑page description of the filtration system and its purpose to share with partners.
 Early partnership conversations underway and growing dataset from existing sites.
April
  • Confirm at least one partner organization willing to host or coordinate installations.
  • Schedule spring installation dates and testing visits with participating locations.
  • Organize collected measurements into charts or simple visual summaries.
 Clear pathway to expanding installations beyond your initial sites.
May
  • Complete additional installations where possible and immediately collect before/after water measurements.
  • Finalize summer schedule for site visits, testing, and partner coordination.
  • Outline how your summer work will be documented as an engineering project (see §06 Essay Strategy for how this narrative can be framed).
 Operational plan for a data‑driven summer project.
June
  • Begin intensive summer testing cycle: collect repeated measurements from all current installations.
  • Work with your partner organization to identify additional sites with the goal of expanding toward roughly 10–20 locations.
  • Maintain a project log documenting testing dates, installation steps, and observed outcomes.
 Structured engineering project underway with consistent field documentation.
July
  • Install additional filtration units at partner sites where feasible.
  • Collect follow‑up data from earlier installations to evaluate filtration effectiveness over time.
  • Begin summarizing results in charts showing before/after contaminant levels or microplastic counts.
 Expanded network of installations and growing dataset showing measurable impact.
August
  • Complete summer installations and finalize your dataset across all locations.
  • Write a short engineering project summary explaining the system, testing methods, and results.
  • Prepare materials that could support application updates or supplemental materials if appropriate.
 Documented environmental engineering project with measurable results.
September
  • Continue periodic water‑quality measurements at several installations to show durability of results.
  • Refine your project summary and impact description for application activities sections.
  • Identify any additional partners interested in hosting installations during the school year.
 Ongoing data collection and stronger documentation for applications.
October
  • Finalize descriptions of your filtration project for application activity entries.
  • Prepare a concise update summarizing installation count, partner organizations, and testing outcomes.
  • Continue occasional testing to extend the dataset if feasible.
 Clear, quantitative description of the project ready for applications.
November
  • If applying Early Decision or Early Action, submit applications and ensure your project description highlights measurable engineering results.
  • Maintain testing schedule at a few representative sites.
  • Organize all collected data and documentation in case colleges request additional materials.
 Applications submitted with strong evidence of hands‑on environmental engineering work.
December
  • Compile fall testing data to show how installations are performing over longer periods.
  • Prepare a concise project update that could be sent to colleges if new results become available.
  • Reflect on lessons learned from the project to inform essays or interviews.
 Extended dataset and a polished project narrative ready for application updates.

By following this sequence, Aisha Robinson, you should enter the senior application cycle with three concrete outcomes: a network of installations developed with a community partner, a structured dataset showing water‑quality improvement, and a clearly documented engineering project derived from your summer work.

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