Seniors Gabby and Hailey Spencer are doing a truly remarkable project to help people with special needs.

“We are doing a Showcase of the Arts for people with special needs,” Gabby said. The showcase will involve singing and dancing. Gabby and Hailey are both involved with music at John Carroll.
They are in chorus, AP Music Theory, and after school a cappella group, Bella Voce. They are usually offered solos for the school-wide Masses. Since they know a lot about music, they hope to put on a great showcase.
Hailey commented, “We will be researching the science behind [it]; how special needs, and even music, affect the brain.”
Gabby and Hailey are both working on it together, but they are doing it for different reasons.
Hailey will be studying the science of the brain behind this project. She wants to study the medical field in college, which is why she is focusing on this aspect of their project.
Gabby, however, will be studying music therapy in college. A musical therapist assesses emotional well-being through musical responses. She wants to “help people with music.”
Although working on their own studies, the two are working together to help the special needs community.
Hailey and Gabby said that their biggest challenges are “having trouble finding people to meet with and having COVID concerns.”
Some people are worried about COVID which is why they didn’t have many people come out and audition.
Another challenge is getting people to sign up, but within the past weeks, the cousins have had much more success.
Gabby and Hailey hope for a positive impact with their Senior Project. Hailey said, “I hope we can make a positive impact on the people who are participating.”
Regarding the impact, Gabby added, “As well as looking into the impact music has on people.” They want to see if it helps them in any way or how it affects their overall emotional health.
Hailey and Gabby would love for this project to continue after they graduate. “It would be really cool and very beneficial to see it continue, and so we hope it does.”
Gabby and Hailey are both very excited to see the outcome, and what it will be like in the coming years.