September 7, 2023
The Senior Project, the pinnacle of the BASIS Curriculum, is a selective program that involves an off-campus research project or internship of the student’s choice and design for the last trimester of their senior year.
Seniors select a BASIS Independent Schools faculty member as their advisor and work with a mentor at their research site. These students create detailed project plans, bibliographies of resources, and a personal syllabus for their projects, all of which are approved by a committee of teachers and administrators.
At the end of the trimester, students return to campus and present an analysis of their findings to peers, staff, and parents. To remain connected to their school community while in the field, students are required to blog throughout their experience.
To view a sample of this year’s Senior Projects, keep reading below.
Student: Alison D.
Project Title: Illustrating Jane Eyre: Reviving Classics Through Art
Internship Location: Virtual
Abstract: Many classic novels have been adapted into visual mediums like TV, graphic novels, and web comics to give an element of modernity to historical stories and make them appealing to students. However, these works are often far more simplified than the original and fail to embody the complex themes and nuances of the text. Additionally, since the visuals portray each scene explicitly, readers no longer have to pay close attention to the writing in order to visualize the descriptions. My project explores a middle ground between a graphic novel and a text-only book. With the guidance from my advisor, Mr. Bucci, I will create a few illustrations for a novel that will provide the reader with a visual base for their imagination while preserving the original text. I’ve chosen Jane Eyre as my book since it is a well-known and ever-relevant classic. I will use the Medibang Paint software to digitally draw my historical illustrations in a modern art style that will appeal to the younger generations and encourage them to read the book. The final product will be a set of 5 – 10 illustrations of scenes from Jane Eyre.
Student: Timothy H.
Project Title: The Dissection and Arrangement of Music Using Computer and Instrumental Composition
Internship Location: San Jose State University
Abstract: When creating music, it is important to understand the ins and outs of the various sounds that are used to create the melodies that are produced. From learning how to create a rhythm to adding the right percussion and bass to even finding a catchy and appropriate melody, each part of the song is an important aspect that needs tuning to create a coherent song. Through arrangements, it is important to take those key components of a song and translate them in a new and original way, potentially utilizing different instruments or even software to generate the notes and melodies. Whether it’s simple guitar arrangements from Sungha Jung or Andrew Foy to the fully fleshed post-modern arrangements of Weird Al, my work analyzes these various arranging styles and how they use their creativity to utilize the musical tools to create their own arrangements. Through the understanding of these complex arrangements, I am creating my own arrangements of songs for people to listen to through researching and adopting various arranging styles of well-known artists and music creators.
Student: Cindy W.
Project Title: Generosity and Vulnerability in Conditional Cooperation
Internship Location: Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract: Standard economic theory assumes that all agents are rational, acting in their own best interest. Yet, we often find real-life decisions to be far from rational as they are affected by our emotions and environment. Specifically, I am focusing on the factor of vulnerability through a virtual project with Carnegie Mellon University’s Social & Decision SciencesScreenshot 2023-05-31 142845 Department. Vulnerability has often been studied in psychology as a facilitator of trust and intimacy. Considering this, I am researching whether vulnerability can also induce trust in an economics setting through reciprocity, generosity, and cooperation. By creating my own economic game and distributing it through Prolific, an online site for completing surveys and conducting research, I am gathering a sample of subjects to participate in my study. In my game, there is a clear Nash equilibrium; however, due to the effects of vulnerability, some subjects may not choose the most rational choice for themselves. Instead, they may be more inclined to give to other people. I expect that vulnerability can induce connections between humans, which is extremely pertinent in real-life interactions, specifically in business through sales and marketing. The results of my research add an additional explanation for why real-life human behavior is not the same as that predicted by economic models, and more importantly, it may advise us on sales and marketing strategies that can induce customers to give back more to the business.
