Making real-world connections: English capstone project helps Willowbrook students discover how they can have a positive impact on their community

Students in Willowbrook English teacher Leslie Allenspach’s English 12 Dual Credit class recently completed a capstone project centered on the idea of using their voices to make an impact. 

Students were encouraged to choose a cause, an issue, or a discourse community that matters to them and create meaningful, authentic work designed to inform, support, advocate and inspire.

Topics included:

• Mental health
• Senior citizens
• Animal welfare
• Willowbrook’s greenhouse and book club (called the Brook Club)
• Individuals experiencing homelessness
• Financial literacy
• And more!

View all of the projects at www.dupage88.net/WBEnglishCapstoneProject2026.

“What impressed me most was the sincerity and care so many students brought to this project,” Allenspach said. “Their topics reflected compassion, resilience, creativity and a genuine desire to make a positive difference in the lives of others. In a time when it can sometimes feel easy to focus on negativity, these students reminded me there is still a great deal of empathy, hope and humanity in the next generation. I am incredibly proud of the work they created and so grateful I had the opportunity to witness their growth.”