During the last trimester of senior year, Tabor Academy students have the opportunity to take their learning outside of the classroom and pursue a Senior Project of interest to them. In years past, students have presented their insights into aviation, music, fashion, etc. After an application process, students have eight weeks to complete their project and present to the school at the end of May. As the community is eagerly waiting to support fellow Seawolves, one senior has graciously given Tabor a sneak peek.
Sue Zhao ’26 Soundscape
What led you to decide to pursue a senior project?
My Senior Project is on soundscape, which in itself, the definition of it is really broad. I did a soundscape last summer when I was learning some theories, and that was a way for me to argue certain things, not in a traditional paper format, but rather through sounds. I thought that was really fun and wanted to do it again, but this time even recording the sounds myself.
Without giving too much away, what can we expect from your presentation?
My goal is to do an evening presentation with the sounds that I record and arrange, but we will see.
What was the application and brainstorming process like for you?
I think the application process was manageable because it is something I am interested in, so it wasn’t really a lot of effort. I feel like I should have put more thought into it when brainstorming the idea. It was helpful in the sense that I got to write down what I had in mind, even though now I know that some of the ideas I originally thought of were not going to work.
How is Tabor supporting you throughout this process?
Mr. Babbitt is my mentor from the Senior Project Committee, and he’s been really helpful in terms of keeping me on track and letting me know it’s okay to pivot. When I wrote down my goals originally, I thought it was a deal, and I had to follow them strictly, but then he reassured me that it’s okay to change my mind, and the point of the project is to experience the process of exploration and the uncertainty that comes alongside independence. Both Mr. Babbitt and Dr. Zhou, who is my Senior Project Advisor, have been supportive of embracing the evolution of ideas.
How does the Senior Project fit into your daily schedule compared to the typical classes and coursework?
I think that’s the hard part. I initially didn’t realize how much work I have in the spring. Usually, I work on it in the afternoon, during co-curricular time. Some sounds happen during the academic day, so I need to carve out time to do that. That is typically during common time, lunch, or even dinner. It depends. I also went to record at Juntos one time, so it could happen in the evenings, as well.
What takeaways have you gotten so far from this experience?
I have learned a lot about time management. I was not used to having so much free time before. Especially because I just did the winter musical, most of my days were occupied basically up until 6:00 P.M. Now I am free after 3:20 P.M. I feel like the first week in particular, when I had a quiz or tests, it was easy to be overly optimistic about the time I have and then end up not doing productive things.
What adversity have you faced?
I think it was mainly that the idea of sounds is really broad. I struggled with how much control I wanted to assert as the person who is creating the soundscape, because originally, I wanted to really respect the nature of the sounds and environment, to not interfere artificially. I think part of making art and being an artist is that the moment you start thinking about the project, you already begin your control of it. So, I think I had come to a reconciliation with being okay to really make the work my version of Tabor. The other thing is that it is really hard to record sounds during the day while I am part of it. If I were to do it again, I would choose an environment where I am not a part of it 24/7 because I feel like every time I go into that environment, I would have a fresh mindset. Being at Tabor all day makes things both easier and harder.
How do you see this experience playing into your life after Tabor?
I might take some courses on sound studies in college. I may do a project or two, which would be a fun thing to do.