Media studies and music dual major Isabel Li ’25 graduates from 91¶¶Ňő this spring
By Lauren Mar ’25
If there’s one thing that Isabel Li ’25 has taken away from her Scripps experience, it would be don’t hold back. Despite having played violin since she was four, Li was initially a media studies major with a music minor—something she changed this fall when she began working on her senior thesis film.
“I already had an idea of making a film about an Asian American cellist or classical musician because I’ve never seen that type of representation on film before,” Li says. “Since my thesis was always going to be a combination of media studies and music, I decided to switch to a dual major. My thesis blended my two interests with technical filmmaking and production skills.”
From Prague to Malaysia to Scripps’ Denison Library: Growing as a global citizen
Inspired by her study abroad program in Prague in spring 2024, Li produced and directed a film centered on a mother and daughter who are Czech Vietnamese. The story references the Vietnamese diaspora migration to the Czech Republic following the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Li says that her program’s approach—using limited rolls of analog film, shooting for hours at a time, planning every shot precisely—helped prepare her for her thesis film titled Play, Then.
“It was intense, but Prague was amazing. It was difficult at first to adjust to a new environment, but I would love to go back to the Czech Republic,” she reflects.
Li working on her thesis film, Play, Then
Li also learned a lot about film budgeting from her study abroad experience. That spring, she applied for grants and received $4,500 from The Claremont Colleges Services, the Hive, and 5×5 Films, the 5Cs’ student filmmaking organization. The senior is using her remaining grant funding to submit her thesis film to festivals. The entire process has helped Li figure out what type of filmmaking she wants to pursue.
“Being able to work in an interdisciplinary environment and collaborate with all these great people who have different skill sets was something I fell in love with,” she says. “Whatever projects I do in the future, I want to be in that environment.”
Studying abroad in Prague was not Li’s first international academic experience. In the summer of 2023, she accompanied Associate Professor of Music Anne Harley on a research trip to Malaysia as part of a grant from ASIANetwork, an organization that promotes Asian studies programs at liberal arts colleges.
Being able to work in an interdisciplinary environment and collaborate with all these great people who have different skill sets was something I fell in love with.
Li and the other students gathered ethnographic interviews in the rainforests of Sabah, an eastern state of Malaysia, and created an experimental theater production. The performance illuminated the conditions of pollution and climate change in Malaysia’s rainforests.
“Seeing the birds, plants, and animals that we can’t find anywhere else in the world was very eye-opening,” expresses Li.  “Witnessing the rainforests in Malaysia and Borneo specifically was pivotal because in 10 years they might be gone.”
Much like her senior thesis film, Li emphasizes the crucial connections she made with those on the research trip. She learned about the opportunity from Jennifer Martinez Wormser, director and Sally Preston Swan Librarian at Denison Library, who she had worked with the summer prior as part of her Ellen Browning Scripps internship where she examined Ellen Browning Scripps’ personal papers and helped create an interactive website of the archives. She presented her work at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research and Stanford Undergraduate Research Conference and ultimately began working at Denison. Three years later, Li is now developing a video project about Ellen Browning Scripps for the College’s upcoming centennial in 2026.
Vision for life after Scripps
Looking back on her time at Scripps, Li says that she would not have been able to pursue so many opportunities without the support of the Scripps students, staff, and faculty who championed her along the way.
“I’ve certainly valued the people and the community that have gotten me to this point,” she says. “My voice is being championed in these spaces. The people in my classes and Scripps’ interdisciplinary, intersectional environment have pushed my thinking and given me a more curious perspective.”
As for her plans after graduation, Li is open to a diverse range of possibilities. She hopes to receive a Fulbright grant to either return to the Czech Republic or a central European country. More broadly, Li hopes to pursue arts and community-oriented projects with purpose-driven advocacy. One potential path she sees to combine her interests is being a professor.
“Doing research, service, and engaging with students directly could be a way that I can take my interdisciplinary perspective and apply it in multifaceted ways. I’ve been so inspired by the professors here who not only teach, but also specialize in so many different areas,” she says.
Now in her last semester, Li is enjoying life without the stress of working on her thesis. She hosts a show at KSPC, the 5C radio station, where she features classical music. If one thing can be learned from Li’s impressive Scripps experience, she reiterates, it’s the importance of being open to opportunities.
“I would tell any Scripps student or even my younger self to say yes to anything that excites you,” Li reflects. “Even if it feels new and unusual, it’s worth giving a try.”