SISP Spotlight: Anne Tie

An integral part of the senior experience at Mass Academy is the Senior Independent Study Project (SISP). The SISP consists of 100 hours of work on any project of a senior’s choosing in order to learn something new and gain knowledge outside of the classroom. For senior Anne Tie, she decided on creating a podcast.

Inspired by the podcasts Ziwe, The Mel Robbins Podcast, and Pod Save America, Tie ultimately settled on a podcast because she wanted to get to know her peers. “The bulk of it is that I wanted to get better at small talk. Also, I wanted to get to know those around me because we all have interesting qualities and stories,” said Tie, describing her SISP.

The podcast process itself starts before filming when Anne sends a quick pre-interview for her guest to fill out. The pre-interview consists of basic questions that she uses to plan a few talking points for the podcast episode. Then, she'll meet up with her guest and film the episode with her phone and a set of microphone attachments. After filming, Anne uses CapCut to edit the video and audio.

So far, she’s filmed episodes with Mass Academy senior Kweku Akese and her family members, but she’s yet to post them because it’s been more about the process than the final product. She does plan on posting the episodes on YouTube eventually, but only after she’s happy with the final product.

Another reason for not posting her podcast yet is its name, or lack thereof. Even though she’s spent over 50 hours working on her podcast, it still remains nameless. Anne explained, “I know I want to continue the podcast beyond the SISP and into college, so I don’t want a Mass Academy related name. I have considered ‘Tied Together’ before, but I don’t know if I want the podcast to be named after me. In fact, when I filmed with Kweku, I skipped the name during the introduction so I could add it in post later.”

In the future, Anne plans to film with all of the seniors who are willing; it may take a while, but Anne said that when she says she’ll get something done, she’ll get it done. To make the task a bit easier, Anne mentioned that she’d most likely just meet up with people when they are free rather than go in order alphabetically. When asked about a solo podcast, Anne responded that she probably wouldn’t film one in the near future. “I think because I’m not famous and don’t have an audience to talk to, I wouldn’t know what to talk about for an hour on my own.”

In the future, when Anne posts her podcast, give her a listen, and maybe we can get that solo podcast.