Comenius Projects 2026: A Celebration of Independent Research

A signature experience at Moravian Academy, the Comenius Project is rooted in the legacy of Moravian scholar John Amos Comenius, whose educational philosophy helped inspire the school’s founding in 1742. Each year, Upper School students design an independent honors-level project and carry it from initial question to finished work under the guidance of faculty mentors.

 

Projects span disciplines across the arts, sciences, economics, ethics, and more. Students might explore how private equity ownership influences healthcare systems or evaluate the cost and feasibility of micro-scale hydroelectric power in the region. The process invites students to engage deeply with real-world questions using methods that extend well beyond the classroom.

 

The Comenius Project is a self-directed journey of discovery. It gives students space to test emerging interests, refine academic and professional direction, and connect classroom learning with future pathways.

 

This year’s projects reflect that range, bringing together scientific inquiry and human-centered thinking in ways that challenge students to investigate, analyze, and create with purpose.

Student Reflections:

"Something I learned about myself is that I can actually enjoy a long research project, and working consistently, if it's something I truly care about: something I'm not sure I would've said about myself a few months ago." 

— Asad Ali ’28

"The Comenius project gave me lots of freedom for my research like I had never experienced. I feel like the Comenius project is a great gateway into the future research projects and papers that I will be involved in."
— Gavin Cascino ’27

"The work was fun; it was something that I was actually interested in and cared about. Every time I worked on my project and robot, I did not want to stop working." — Apollo Fernandez ’28

"Comenius taught me that things that I had originally thought were too intimidating for me, were in reality not all that far out of my comfort zone." — Maryn Guroff ’28

"The Comenius Project gave me the opportunity to explore a topic I care deeply about while learning how to bring together academic research, public perspectives and professional insights.  Even though I'm only a high school student, I'm proud that my work could still help raise public awareness and may contribute in some small way to developments in healthcare." — Jay Lu ’28

Student Projects: 

Damla Aksade ’27: When is Animal Testing Justified? 

 

Asad Ali ’28: Advanced Statistics in the National Football League

 

Asude Aslan ‘27: How Do Heritage Communities’ Internal and External Cultural Factors Contribute to the Social Fabric of the Lehigh Valley?

 

Kathryn Carolan ’28: Social and Environmental Effects of Neocolonialism on Françafrique 

 

Gavin Cascino ’27: Relationships Between the Major and Minor Authoritarian Countries of Inter-war Europe 

 

Elias Chen ’28: Illumination Gallery

 

Apollo Fernandez ’28: Will Car Crash Numbers Collapse to Virtually Zero in the Future?

 

Maryn Guroff ’28: Making a Graphic Novel: Storytelling Through the Art of Comics

 

Annie Hotz ’27: The Impact of Classroom Environments on Elementary Students’ Learning and Wellbeing: Creating the Most Effective Learning Spaces 

 

Maryam Janjua ’27: Same, Same, Different: How Different Regions Tell a Global Story 

 

Axel LeRoy ’27: Restoring a 1947 Jukebox 

 

Jay Lu ’28: A Comparative Study of Traditional Chinese Medicine Integration in China and the United States 

 

Anika Mehta ’27: The Key to your Memories 

 

Lia Nnenkwo ’28: One Size Does Not Fit All: Using Personalized Psychology to Fight Recidivism

 

Lily Packard ’28: Is There a Correlation Between Cannabis, Alcohol, and Screentime Rates in Adolescents?

 

Reva Paul ’27: Exploring the Applications of Neural Networks in Satellite Motion and Space Systems

 

Kavi Perumal ’26: Medicine for the Unheard Voice: A Study on the Treatment of Pregnant Patients in Medicine

 

Gavin Qian ’27: What is the Impact of Moravian Academy’s Sonic Environment and Can the Merle-Smith Campus Improve It?

 

Lily Razavi ’27: The Bhopal Gas Tragedy: An Exploration of History’s Greatest Industrial Disaster Through the Lens of Environmental Justice and Environmental Law

 

Jake Welton ’26: Lyric to Law: The Evolution of a Queer Eros from Sappho to Late Plato 

 

Thank you to our faculty mentors: Sol Andrade, Katherine Burd, Lara Cesco-Cancian, Brian Crowe, Makkah Davis, Rachel Engl, Kevin Ferdinand, Leon Galitsky, Jeffrey Lawlis, Paul Reduzzi, Wendy Sheetz, Cristina Usino, Judy Winship, Cole Wisdo, and Lindsay Woodruff, for guiding our students for these meaningful and rigorous projects.