Sira Nassoko `24 returns to campus, shares soundwalking as a method of community resilience

Sira Nassoko `24, a 2024-25 Thomas J. Watson Fellow, returned to campus last week to share her year-long Watson experience, where she explored how soundscapes build resilient communities through intentional listening. Nassoko engaged in a presentation about her fellowship, individual chats with students sponsored by the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS), a Global Fellowships & Awards tabling event and a guided soundwalk with the College community.

Nassoko led the soundwalk — what she calls the practice of listening intently to one’s surrounding environment while walking — with participants around Grinnell at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15. This practice was the core idea of her fellowship, “Sounds of Hope.” During her Watson year, she studied the soundscapes of five different countries over 12 months. 

Nassoko said the origins of her project are in her hometown of the Bronx, New York. “It’s riddled with a lot of violence — historical, political and socioeconomic violence,” she said. Nassoko said she wanted to understand why that was, and how communities like hers could move forward. She said she developed this interest by exploring the question of how sound can be used for violence and also for hope and peace projects. That question became the driving force of her fellowship.

Nassoko’s fellowship connected back to her time at Grinnell. “It was actually ‘Songs of Hope,’ which I took with Tony Perman, that was kind of my first introduction to music studies in an academic sense, and I just fell in love,” she said. “He also introduced me to the concept of sound studies in that class as well.” 

She recalled an experience in Rwanda that shaped her thinking. “I think it just revealed to me the power of sound to build community and preserve a feeling of safety, among others,” Nassoko said.

After walking to Miller Park, Sira Nassoko leads a discussion with attendees about the sounds they experienced during the walk. (Alissa Booth)

Nassoko reflected on new insights she gained throughout the year in paying close attention to the world’s soundscapes. “It allowed me to just see the world and hear the world through brand new eyes,” she said. “You kind of have to fall in love with the ordinary in a way. At least I did when I moved back home.”

As we embarked on the soundwalk, the morning was sunny and cool, but windy, and even that became part of what we noticed. We moved in silence so we could take in the layers of sound that normally fade into the background. As we walked down Park Street, we heard construction noises, cars passing, people greeting each other with quick “hi”s and the slam of car doors as people got out of their vehicles. Our footsteps pattered lightly against the pavement, becoming part of the soundscape too.

When we passed Central Park, the textures of sound shifted. We heard kids playing, leaves rustling overhead and the constant low roar of cars rushing by on the nearby highway. The construction noises grew louder in the town area, mixing with voices and the clatter of equipment. At one point we paused near the Central Park stage, reflecting on what it takes to listen closely. 

“I think you’re overwhelmed aurally and visually all the time … you rely on both instinctually to get around and navigate,” Nassoko said, pointing out how difficult it can be to be really intentional with sound exercise. 

As we continued into a residential neighborhood, the atmosphere changed again. The construction sounds faded, replaced by more residential noises — leaves on the sidewalk crunching loudly under our feet, dogs barking behind fences and a kid playing in a yard. When we crossed the train tracks, the broken rocks beneath them shifted under our steps in a different rhythm. Each change in environment created a new composition of everyday sounds. 

“I really like the tree sounds, and the animal sounds,” Marley Pozniak `27 said, a participant in the soundwalk. “I think it’s good to be intentional about your environment, and it’s like recognizing what’s around you.”

We ended our walk at Miller Park by the lake and gathered to talk about how the experience felt. While Nassoko encouraged us to think about soundwalking on our own, she said, “Sharing it with another person can be a lot more comforting in a way.” 

Nassoko’s return to Grinnell after a year away sparked new discoveries of the sounds of the town and college for her. “I feel like these little sounds that I wouldn’t have appreciated back then, that now I have a deep appreciation for it, because I recognize how it represents the Grinnell community,” she said. “So I think coming back now, I have such an appreciation for the sounds of Grinnell.”