Self-Searching Academics
Time
December 22’ - May 23’
Role
Senior Capstone
Self-Searching Academics brings awareness to the high school experience. High school is an intense time in one’s life, demarking a moment of growth and character-building, prompting a monumental transition to independence. Memories, sensories, and spaces stand out to us from this period; the energy of the football field, the color and placement of our lockers, or the table we sat at during lunch.
Looking back at this period, one may have warm feelings. Alternatively, one may have trauma, resentment, or other emotions. Some negative experiences create deep-rooted wounds, and the students can have difficulty revisiting these years or the physical space post-graduation. In this transmedia project, I share an honest and inclusive story of high school, its environment, and the complexities of social dynamics. They interrogate the experience, and its lasting impact, providing a moment of reflection and nostalgia.
Lunchroom Poster Set
Each 18” x 24”
A set of posters that give the feeling of walking into a lunchroom and asking students about the mental blocks they face on the regular. The issues range from fitting in to substance abuse. This part of the project functions as a way to grab facts quickly and introduce the viewer to what Self-Searching Academics strives to inform. The information is raw data, straight from the students themselves, 50 high schoolers and 20 college undergraduates I interviewed. A common problem in media is representation and as a POC, I wanted these posters to include everyone. Seeing a character on a poster that actually looks like you makes you more willing to learn more about what is being disclosed.
SSA Yearbook
8.5” by 11”
A yearbook where each mental block is dissected even further. The opening spreads reinforce the color scheme where issues are tied to colors. It keeps the same ones from the posters, so viewers are already familiar. Aside from the spread with student headshots and senior quotes from the undergraduates, the rest of the book focuses on including information from the survey that really dives into each issue. The quotes shared by the students are a lighter color, whereas the analysis is darker. This has more dialog from the undergraduates since they are the “graduating class.” Each spread is filled with expressive type and all-inclusive illustrations made by me.
SSA Emotion Map
35” by 23” Vinyl on Corkboard
A participatory emotion map where people who attended the exhibition would place flags where they felt the best and worst in high school. After looking at both the poster set and yearbook the viewer is most likely reminiscing about high school. Here I ask them to think of a time when they felt both positive (white flag) and negative (yellow flag) feelings. Then they would correlate it to a space by taking a flag and placing it on the map. During the exhibition's duration I gathered a good amount of data. Places like the art room and theater were only positive but places like math had overall negative. Areas like the lunchroom and restroom were very split. Getting to see the flags accumulate was very satisfying and I would like to thank everyone who participated.
