Alexandra Busbin

10800 Highway 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
843-650-5600

27 April 2017

Senior Digital Exploration Judges

10800 Highway 707
Murrells Inlet, SC 29577

Dear Judges:

I joined St. James High School as a freshman during August 2013. I have grown so much since

day one and I have discovered so much about myself and others. I have been involved in

orchestra as a violinist since 6th grade year and I continue to enjoy playing as well as composing

music. In the spring semester of my 10th grade year I joined the St.James drama club and I was

so enamored by acting that in my junior year I ran and was elected as the secretary of the drama

club. In fact, the year I became secretary I wrote the majority of the skits in the drama clubs

spring improv and scripted comedy show while also volunteering as a part of the backstage crew

for the schools production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. This year I am in charge as

president of the drama club and I am currently organizing the clubs first one-act play and

performing in it as one of the leads. For a combination of my appreciation for music and theater I

played as a first violinist in the pit orchestra for the St.James production of South Pacific.

However, even though I have enjoyed these extracurricular activities suffering from an

amalgamation of ADHD, depression, anxiety, and trichotillomania have made it difficult to

accomplish all of the things I want to do. Nonetheless, I am proud of what I have done.
I considered only a few topics before deciding that I would be interested in exploring the

misrepresentation of mental illness in broadcast media. Since I was young I was always

somewhat bothered by the fact characters with mental illness were never depicted as doing well

for themselves and hardly ever is their condition mild. It also seems like many people form their

ideas of mental illness through television and movies. In fact, some of peoples earliest opinions

and ideas of mental illness are shaped by television seeing as how children are the number one

leading consumers of televised media. There is a huge swirling pool of vague or flat-out

incorrect information on this subject that is being flashed on a global scale of mass proportion.

My research topic has forced me to have a more analytical and critical view of what I watch on

television and a more accommodating point of view for my screenwriting from now on.

My most difficult challenge with this assignment was finding an organization or person to work

with for my service hours. I contacted several psychologist offices many times. I even had my

grandfather, Dr. Thomas Petrusick, fax me a contact list of local counselors. I was disappointed

when none of them responded but I understood it was most likely due to the fact that bringing in

a high school senior would break some doctor and patient confidentiality contracts. Thankfully,

my mother suggested a friend of the family that I had never met before, David Glass, who is a

school psychologist in Philadelphia. I sent David Glass an email explaining who I was and what

my topic was along with some questions I had for him. He promptly responded with his answers.

I would like to thank the judges in advance for volunteering to assess this years senior

exploration project and for listening to me explain my topic. I am grateful for your time and

effort.
Sincerely,

Alexandra Busbin

Alexandra Busbin