13 minute read
Music (Performance) | Philosophy
JULIANNE ZHU | MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Photo courtesy of Katie Fox
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BY COOPER SULLIVAN
Asst. News Editor sullcg20@wfu.edu
When the clock strikes 5 p.m., the Wait Chapel bells begin their brief but beautiful song. These aren’t the only instances of music coming down from above — choir concerts, guest performers and symphony orchestras have all graced the stone stage, as has senior Julianne Zhu. “I’ve always wanted to major in music,” Zhu said. “Even before I came to Wake Forest I knew I was going to major in music. At that time, I wanted to be a singer. But, when I got to Wake Forest and I saw the organ in Wait Chapel, and I thought, ‘I want to play that.’” Having only played piano for a few years as a kid in Shanghai, China, Zhu was determined to master the giant instrument. During her sophomore year, Zhu decided to make organ, not voice, the concentration of her Music Performance degree. This past September, Zhu was able to perform, albeit virtually, her senior recital on the Wait Chapel organ. She played pieces from Bach (her favorite composer), Butehude, Eben, Franch, Boellmann and Wake Forest’s own composer in residence, Dr. Dan Locklair. Zhu has also written her own short two-to-three minute compositions on the piano for her music theory class, and she is aiming to write longer organ compositions in the future. “I would also like to know how to improvise,” Zhu said. “Because that’s a really important skill for any organist, and I just have no idea how to do it. My teacher [adjunct faculty member Susan Bates] can just sit on the organ and play some amazing music. And she’s like, ‘Oh, I just made it up.’ So, I really want to learn how to do that.” The organ has not received all of Zhu’s musical attention — she has also learned the viola da gamba, a Baroque-Renaissance style string instrument played similarly to the cello, for the Collegium Musicum, an ensemble she has been involved with since freshman year. Zhu also made sure not to neglect her initial musical love: singing. A video recently posted to the Wake Forest Music department’s Instagram page shows the Bach enthusiast performing Mozart’s “Ah perdona al primo” in Italian. Zhu’s artistic attentions are not confined to music, however. As a member of the Ballroom Dancing Club, one of her fondest memories at Wake Forest was being a part of a theatre student’s honor project, which combined different styles of dance into one performance. “I got to do the polka and wear the giant dress,” she recalled. “That was really fun.” As graduation quickly approaches, Zhu can’t think of anything that she would change about the past four years. Adamantly, she believes she has “made the most out of college.” “I don’t feel like a senior,” Zhu said. “I feel like this past year, because of COVID, I didn’t really have that year, and it feels like I had [only] three years here. I’m not ready to graduate.” But Zhu won’t be going far following graduation. Next year, she will be attending the UNC School of the Arts (UNCSA) in downtown Winston-Salem for a two-year graduate program. After that, the possibilities are endless. “I am thinking about going to Europe to find other graduate schools [where I can] continue playing. For music, you can really do anything with a bachelor’s degree,” Zhu said laughingly. Zhu credits Dr. Stewart Carter, her Collegium Musicum conductor and a professor of music history, as the instructor that helped and inspired her the most over the past four years. As for her advice for others thinking they may want to major in music performance as well,” Zhu explained the importance of remaining flexible and open to change. “I’d say ‘keep your mind open.’ Like I said, when I came here, I wanted to major in voice and I ended up doing organ. Take two or three music classes before you decide what you really want to major in. I know a lot of people struggle in music theory, and when they attend that class they weren’t expecting that kind of difficulty. I would also say, take at least one theory class before you decide your major.”
LORRAINE HAYES | PHILOSOPHY
BY BEN CONROY
Print Managing Editor conrbd19@wfu.edu
Lorraine Hayes’ hometown of Johnson City, Tenn. is home to a culture far different from that of Winston-Salem. For this reason, it was a leap of faith for her to choose to attend Wake Forest. In the end, the lure of a full scholarship and the appeal of remaining within three hours of her hometown proved too sweet to pass up. “My mentor [for the scholarship] went to Wake Forest,” Hayes said. “I thought, okay, maybe I should branch out. I [also] wanted to be able to drive home whenever I needed freshman year … I’m the first person from my town that’s come to Wake Forest.”
Like many students, Hayes’ academic career has followed an entirely different trajectory than she initially planned. After a period of trial and error, she discovered the subject and major that would come to define the rest of her time on the Reynolda campus — philosophy.
“Freshman year, I took a couple of science classes,” she said, “[but] I was more attracted to helping people and learning about people … I quickly realized the sciences weren’t for me.”
What resonates most with Hayes about the subject of philosophy is how it can be applied to so many aspects of the world around us. Though it may not always be readily apparent, Hayes learned through the various classes she took just how intertwined philosophy is with the human condition.
“I took … Philosophy of Emotions, and it showed me how philosophy can be used in day-to-day life to solve personal issues,” Hayes recalled.
The instructor of that class, Professor Francisco Gallegos, was one of Hayes’ most influential mentors within the major, and she’s incredibly appreciative of how he helped her find her footing when she’d just begun to explore the subject matter. The feeling of admiration was mutual, as Professor Gallegos spoke highly of Hayes and all she’s accomplished.
“Lorraine is one of the most well-rounded students I have had the chance to work with,” Gallegos said. “She is an excellent writer with a sharp, analytical mind. Power with heart — that is Lorraine in a nutshell.”
However, Lorraine’s accomplishments extend beyond the classroom; she’s involved in a plethora of extracurricular organizations and activities, including the Pan-Hellenic Diversity and Inclusion Council and Habitat for Humanity. Hayes cited her affiliation with these organization as a way to stay true to her roots and her heritage while still broadening her horizons.
“When you come to Wake, you want to hold onto the parts of you that feel like home,” she said. “It’s been really cool to talk to other kids with similar yet different experiences than me.”
As it did for all of us, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic threw Hayes for a loop. Even so, she was able to lean on the connections she’d established earlier in her collegiate career and make the most of her final year as an undergraduate student at Wake Forest.
“A senior year with COVID was [something] no one saw coming,” she said. “I’m very thankful for the friendships and relationships I’ve made.”
As graduation looms just around the corner, Hayes noted that it’s the little things about life at Wake Forest, such as studying with friends or spending time outdoors, that she’ll remember the most fondly.
“During finals, my friends and I always rent out a couple rooms in Tribble and literally live there for three or four days,” she said. “I think that’s one of [my favorite memories]. And being on the quad. I’m going to miss that.”
After graduation, Hayes intends to pursue a law degree from Boston College, where she was recently accepted. Even as she shifts gears from philosophy, she’ll continue to carry with her all she’s learned from the time she spent studying the subject.
“Professor Gallegos phrased it like this: ‘Philosophy makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar,’” he said. “I really appreciate the new perspectives I have been given and the tools philosophy gives you to unpack the way the world works.”
BY SELINNA TRAN
Life Editor transn19@wfu.edu
Noah Meyer excels as a Wake Forest student in the study of physics. From the age of 11, Meyer knew that he wanted to pursue a career in physics — fast forward almost a decade and Meyer was awarded the Nancy Susan Reynolds and Goldwater scholarships at Wake Forest. The scholarship is a prestigious achievement that is offered to five students studying natural sciences, engineering or mathematics. Although Meyer has always known that physics was his goal, his experience and the opportunities that he has had during his time as an undergraduate have allowed him to explore the world of physics and home in on a specific area of research. Meyer’s utmost fascination with physics relates to materials and quantum mechanics, a concentration he will continue to study at the University of Cambridge. “Physics, to me, has always been the most fundamental way to approach the science and understand the world around us,” Meyer said. As Meyer reflects on his experiences at Wake Forest, he speaks of projects and research that he conducted during his senior year and is especially proud of. One of the primary reasons for Meyer’s passion and love for physics is because it allows him the ability to explore what we do not know, or what we may be unable to see on the surface level. The vast unknown of physics has always appealed to Meyer, and this quality has led him to question the ways the world works. Meyer’s research, which he credits as garnering a deeper appreciation for scientific operations, explores potential answers to these looming questions. “[Within the research], we are working with these crystal structures with metal organic frameworks that have channels and guest molecules that combine to the inside of the channels,” Myers explains. “[We want to better] understand how certain molecules combine to certain metal organic frameworks.” Dr. Timo Thonhauser, a professor in the physics department, has played a guiding role in Meyer’s academic journey through both mentorship and research assistance. Meyer’s time with Thonhauser has been incredibly insightful and quite lengthy, as Thonhauser has guided and advised Meyer since his freshman year. “It has been a delight to work with Noah — even as a freshman he was already at the level of a graduate student with his interest, motivation, independence and willingness to learn,” Dr. Thonhauser said. “He has had an impressive career here at Wake Forest. I am very excited for him as he goes to the University of Cambridge and I believe he has a bright future ahead of him.” Beyond the classroom, Meyer is a part of the Society of Physics Students, the Student Association for the Advancement of Refugees, the Association of Women in Mathematics and has participated in the Integrating Research in Science Conference. Meyer regards his time at Wake Forest as enriching and says he feels grateful for the resources, mentorship and advising that were available to guide him as he pursued his ambitious academic dreams. Meyer will be graduating from Wake Forest with plans of completing a Master’s at the University of Cambridge in physics followed by a Ph. D. at the University of Maryland. At the University of Cambridge, Meyer’s studies will be concentrated in quantum matter, a field of study connected to quantum mechanics. Meyer’s career plans remain unknown, but he is excited to see where his journey will take him. Science policy is not out of the realm of possibility, too, as Meyer would consider a career that combines both politics and physics.
NOAH MEYER | PHYSICS
Photo courtesy of Katie Fox
OLIVIA FIELD | POLITICS
BY ALEXANDRA KARLINCHAK
Editor-in-Chief karlae18@wfu.edu
In an ever-changing cultural environment, it is vital to prioritize the education of young people so that they are primed to reimagine and improve the political world as it currently exists. Thankfully, students such as Olivia Field have stepped up to the plate throughout their undergraduate career. Field is a politics and international affairs major with minors in French and English, and she is the definition of a changemaker.
Field explained that one thing she appreciates so much about the politics and international affairs department at Wake Forest is how flexible it is.
“There’s so much room to explore your interests and draw lines that connect different categories,” she explained. “So, even though I wasn’t super interested in international politics, I took a class on colonialism, capitalism and development while I was abroad. I was able to connect that a lot with the domestic work I was learning about in the United States.”
While abroad in London, Field also interned at a nonprofit organization that functioned as a women’s aid charity.
Field’s work did not stop when she returned from overseas. For four years, Field wrote and edited for The Old Gold & Black, serving as its Editor-in-chief in 2020. In this position, Field wrote, edited and published hundreds of informative and provocative articles that kept the Wake Forest population both entertained and well-informed.
For a while, Field thought that her calling was journalism. After all, with years of editorial experience under her belt, it seemed like the natural next step. But after the 2020 election, Field realized that the intersection of journalism and politics emerges in one specific area: political campaigning.
“I’ve spent all of college wrestling between going into government work and politics or journalism,” Field said. “Then I kind of came to my own personal conclusion that I care about all these issues so much and the only way for those issues to matter and for us to see progress with them is to win elections. For the right people to win elections.”
Right now, Field is working on Erica Smith’s U.S. Senate campaign. Smith is running to represent North Carolina in 2022.
Following graduation, Field will be continuing her work on Smith’s communication team. As for a 10 year plan, Field just knows that she wants to do something impactful.
“I just want what I do to make a difference,” she explained. “That’s vague, but that really is it. If that’s happening within a campaign, that’s great. If that’s happening within the actual government, at some level, that’s great. If that’s happening within nonprofits, that’s great. I’ll see where life takes me. I just want to wake up every day and know that the work that I’m doing is making positive, tangible change in someone’s life.”
In a time of such partisanship and pain, future political scholars and leaders need to move forward with unity, compassion and ingenuity in mind. Field embodies each of these qualities to the fullest.
