Zachary Abrahamson ’26 is studying Japanese by writing a short story entirely in the language for his Senior Independent Study. Middle School World Languages Teacher Shuang Yang is the adviser for Abrahamson’s project.

Abrahamson said he chose this topic because he is fascinated by Japanese language and culture, but the school does not offer Japanese as an official language class.

“I have a strong interest in learning the Japanese language,” Abrahamson said. “The Independent Study is a perfect opportunity for me to pursue learning the language during school.”

Abrahamson said he began learning from a Japanese grammar book and started drafts of his short story in both English and Japanese. Abrahamson said he enjoys meeting with Yang for her assistance and support.

“The highlights of my project are the Zoom sessions with Yang,” Abrahamson said. “It is so nice to be able to share stories about our experiences in Japan and to talk about them in Japanese.”

Abrahamson said he has improved his understanding of Japanese through this study and is grateful to be working with Yang.

“I’ve known Yang since 7th grade where she was my KITS teacher when we were still doing school online,” Abrahamson said. “I took a Japanese Directed Study with her last year. She’s also studying Japanese, so she is the perfect adviser.”