Frank, Senior

Frank has taken every opportunity to nurture his passions and maximize his schedule in his senior year. He balances his elective courses with a full slate of extracurriculars and independent research. As a budding author, Frank is the Co-Editor-in-Chief for The Courant, Andover's literary magazine, Co-President of Andover’s Writer Alliance, and Managing Editor of The Revere, Andover’s global affairs newspaper. Frank is also deeply involved with campus sustainability and climate change efforts, and has worked with the Andover Archives to document Chinese Students at Phillips Academy.

With so much on his plate, Frank has found that time management and building relationships with adults on campus have been critical to his success. “My favorite thing about Andover is the collaboration and conversation.”

Wake Up | 7 a.m.

Frank wakes up in his dorm and gets ready for the day. He heads over to Paresky Commons for breakfast by 8 a.m.

Period 1 | 8:30 - 9:10 a.m.

Frank has an open first block, so after breakfast, he usually makes his way over to the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library to see what's happening at the Archives or Tang Institute and engage in casual conversation before going to his second-period class. (See how Tang is involving students in its work!)

Period 2 | 9:20 - 10 a.m.

Math440: Financial Literacy Seminar // Instructor: Noureddine El Alam
Students who sign up for this course will be able to utilize their skills, passion, and creativity in a way that will definitely make an impact on the world. The instructor presents and explores models theoretically and practically to promote fiscally responsible behavior. Students will read and discuss several short books and research and design collaborative projects to demonstrate proficiency of concepts learned and to help develop a solid foundation of critical financial skills. Concepts will include a wide array of topics, including budgeting, writing and pitching business plans, marketing, prototyping, project planning, balance sheets, income and cash flow statements, resume writing, online advertising and social media marketing, graphic design, philanthropy, and much more.

Conference Period | 10:05 - 10:45 a.m.

Frank visits with his current and former instructors to both socialize and ensure he’s on top of his assignments for the week.

Period 3 | 10:50 - 11:30 a.m.

History 593: Natural Causes: How Climate Change Wrote History // Instructor: Marcelle Doheny
Through a series of case studies, students investigate how civilizations have been influenced by weather and climate change. Starting with a historical overview of broad changes in climate, students will investigate specific instances when weather has influenced the course of history. How, for example, did winter weather protect Russia from invasion by first Sweden, then Napoleonic France, and Nazi Germany? We will then expand our scope to examine the larger and longer-term influence of climate shifts on the course of regional civilizations such as the Maya in Central America, the Tang Dynasty in China, and the Harappan/Indus Valley civilization. The third group of case studies will examine the impact of global climate shifts on the interaction between civilizations on a continental scale. Examples could include the rise and spread of the Mongol civilization from central Asia to Eastern Europe and eastern Asia. We will end the term by examining the possible consequences of climate change on the future course of modern civilization.

Period 4 | 11:40 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.

Frank heads to Paresky Commons for lunch. Depending on the day, he’ll either meet his friends or grab a quick bite before squeezing in a club meeting or some assignments. His favorite menu item: poke bowls!

Frank is a 2021-2022 Community and Multicultural Development (CAMD) scholar. Over the summer he completed independent research for his project, “Make a Christian Out of Him': Muscular Christian Education and 1900-1940 Chinese Students at the American Academy.” He will present to the Andover community in the spring.

Period 6 | 12:30 - 1:10 p.m.

Philosophy 540: Bruce Lee: An Exploration of Race, Identity, and Philosophy // Instructor: Michael Legaspi
This course explores the life and thought of Bruce Lee as a means for understanding philosophy, specifically how sustained engagement with Eastern and Western thought formed the basis for Lee’s martial art and became what he called a path of personal “liberation” that encompasses the physical, moral, and aesthetic dimensions of human life. This course also explores the social contexts that shaped Lee. A man of both European and Chinese ancestry and a figure who strove to modernize the traditional and, at the same time, win recognition for Chinese culture in the West, Lee was a cultural pioneer. In examining the opportunities that Lee enjoyed and the prejudices that he faced in a turbulent period of American social history, students will study the recent history of Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S. and consider how this history figures into discussions about race and identity today.

Period 7 | 2:10 - 2:50 p.m.

English 522: American Identities in African Literature // Instructor: Elly Nyamwaya
The course engages students in exploring African identities in American literature. Through the study of select texts, students will examine the portrayal of these identities and how they are perceived in the media—both African and American. Classes are discussion-oriented, based on the Socratic and other models that foreground total student engagement. Weekly blog postings and biweekly oral presentations will punctuate regular essay assignments. The texts will include: AMERICAN: Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, and The House at Sugar Beach, by Helene Cooper; AFRICAN: A Man of the People, by Chinua Achebe, The Dilemma of a Ghost, by Ama Ata Aidoo, and The Thing Around Your Neck, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; FILMS: Coming to America, Blood Diamond, Invictus, Cry Freetown, The Constant Gardener, Hotel Rwanda, and Sarafina.

Afternoon | 3 - 4:50 p.m.

Frank doesn’t have a sport during winter term so he typically fills his time with club meetings, independent research, writing, and following his day-to-day inspiration. He explains, “Balance comes with really enjoying the people that you're talking to and working with so that each engagement feels rejuvenating instead of exhausting.

5 - 11 p.m.

No night is the same with so many club commitments and activities happening on campus. Frank will attend meetings, study, have dinner with friends, and eventually make it back to his dorm to unwind with his “amazing” hallmates, where they’ll gather to listen to music, talk about their days, or stream the latest Netflix show.