Mabella Zou, WCS Class of 2016

After Wolfeboro Camp School, Mabella attended The Webb School (CA), graduating in
2019; she then returned east to attend and graduate from Boston College (BC) in 2025. She now
works for an entertainment firm in Los Angeles.

Mabella didn’t plan on going into entertainment. She set out to become a journalist/
reporter, but her journalism classes taught her she didn’t want to be a journalist.
Concurrently, her dad wanted her to get a business background. So, at BC, she
embarked on a business and linguistics studies program that included a digital media
internship. After graduating from BC, she moved back to Los Angeles; New England
was too cold.

She turned 16 while at WCS. It’s been nine years since her summer on Rust Pond.

Our conversation has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Why is Wolfeboro still important to you as an adult?
My Wolfeboro experience is a crucial piece of my academic journey/experience.
In 2015, I was making the transition from an International Baccalaureate (IB) structured
middle school to The Webb School in California, which has a more traditional liberal arts
approach. Humanities and science were a challenge for me. My advisor at Webb
suggested that Wolfeboro could help me strengthen academically and foster good
habits.

Do you still do something or fall back on routines or practices that you learned at
Wolfeboro?
Keeping a schedule. Going to sleep on time.
Writing and precalculus provided my foundation for my sophomore and junior years.
Wolfeboro class discussions helped prepare me for Harkness discussions and built my
confidence when making points while speaking in class.
Wolfeboro reinforced and taught me that I’m a morning person. I start my homework
during the day, finish it, hang out a little bit, and then I’m in bed.
I work before doing things that entertain me.

What kind of student were you before you came to Wolfeboro; how were you a
different student when you left Wolfeboro?
Before Wolfeboro, I would go with the flow. I didn’t push myself. I had aspirations and
dreams, but things weren’t going as well as planned. I needed to sit down and improve
myself.
Wolfeboro taught me to reflect and learn what I could do - very practically - to improve as
a student.
After Wolfeboro, I was willing to sit down and do more than the teacher asked. I would
go beyond the topic to understand more.
I would write a better paper.
Through the Wolfeboro experience, I was able to form better study and lifestyle habits.

What’s something you want people to know about Wolfeboro?
Something I really liked about Wolfeboro was that I was able to meet people from all different
backgrounds. It was easy to make friends. We still have a Wolfeboro FaceTime friend
group; it’s international and includes friends we made from Europe.