Alex has had a passion for community involvement and public service since he was a young child and is honored to further these passions with the help of the Ingram Family and Ingram Scholarship Program. Alex has a fascination with government and the opportunity it provides to serve people everyday.

Bridget’s involvement in community service was first fostered by her family. Bridget’s passion for service, though, has been accumulated in more recent years as a student at Omaha Central High School - an urban public school with a diverse student body.

Throughout his high school career, Juan Felipe dedicated himself to several service projects in his hometown Bogotá.  He began his voluntary service four years ago by committing himself to a foundation that helps children from low-income families pay for cancer treatment and education, organizing several fundraisers, becoming a good friend to the children through frequent visits and organizing their annual Christmas party.

Born in a Korean-Taiwanese multicultural family in the heart of Asia, Kyuhoon has maintained a service initiative to accommodate the culturally disadvantaged immigrants to Korea. Another of his service initiatives was to help people in his country overcome the English language barrier, after he realized they don’t attempt to speak English as much as they would unequivocally stress the importance of it.

Everyday for the past five years, Rachel has carried with her a domino. It is a small, tangible reminder that she is a part of life’s domino effect—which involves being impacted and then making an impact on someone else.

Forest’s philanthropic odyssey began in a small hospital bed during the sixth grade. Hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder that has afflicted him since birth, poised his life on the edge of his surgeon’s scalpel.

Gandhi once said, “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their missions can alter the course of history.”  Catherine takes this quote to heart and truly believes that a group of people engaged in small acts of meaningful service can affect lasting change in a community. 

Throughout Emma’s high school years, she was active in community service.  The two most significant experiences were centered around the needs of the individual.

During his first year at Vanderbilt, Jordan Clark dedicated himself to making connections between service ideas, organizations, and opportunities and educating himself about the issues, both large and small, that affect society today. Drawing from the rich community of scholars and service groups in both the University & the Nashville area, Jordan has sought to integrate his own passions for the Spanish language, immigration, technology, healthcare, and sustainability with critical needs of communities and the institutions that shape them.

Throughout her life, Morgan has always been involved in a variety of activities. Though she has been serving her community from a young age, her true passion for service arose upon her entry to high school.

Daniel has had the honor of serving the Atlanta community throughout his life. Starting at the young age of fourteen, Daniel developed his own non-profit organization called Smoothie Kidz, which aids chemotherapy patients without family or friends to assist them through the process by giving them a helping hand as well as nutritious treats.

Over the years, Julian has narrowed the scope of his service. He began by volunteering at his local food pantry and spending his Saturday mornings working to refurbish his local middle school.

Throughout high school Alex Leddin was blessed with numerous volunteer opportunities that directly aligned with her skills and passions. In the fall of her sophomore year, she participated in a service project in the inner city of Atlanta.

Although born in Birmingham, Alabama, Will McCollum grew up overseas, spending his most formative years in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Much of his passion for service was inspired by his parents' untiring work as humanitarian aid professionals.

Patrick's passion for community service began with an "aha" moment as a sophomore at St. Mark's School of Texas during an after-school presentation his philosophy teacher, Dr. Martin Stegemoeller, gave on the importance of service to our communities. He pointed out that we were nothing without our care for and our relationships with others that come from service.

Nell cannot believe how quickly her first year at Vanderbilt blew by, and everyday is more appreciative of all the opportunities the Ingram Scholarship Program has to offer her.  Always interested in education and in improving the achievement gap, Nell was not surprised to find that this passion followed her down south.

Throughout Ryan’s senior year of high school, he was greatly involved in his high school’s community service club sponsored by the Rotary Club of Atlanta called Interact, Boy Scouts, and outreach and leadership in his church. In Interact, he was one of two co-presidents of the club and through his time and effort helped grow the club to over three times its previous size.

The proverb “To whom much is given, much is required” was instilled in Alexis from a young age and she found her passion for service in high school. Alexis was the President and charter member of the Dale City- Prince William County Chapter of Top Teens of America (TTA). 

While at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, OH, Kevin found a love for serving the homeless on the streets of Cleveland, as well as for volunteering through a pallbearer service for the indigent and lonely people who had no one to take them to their final resting place. Throughout his first year at Vanderbilt, Kevin continued his service to the homeless and hungry, as well as tested the waters of new service endeavors he did not have the chance to partake in while in high school.

A native Nashvillian, Newton’s interest in the field of education and ending education inequity surfaced in his freshman year at Vanderbilt when he tutored a nine-year-old third grade student at McGavock Elementary with his daily reading assignments. Through this experience, Newton learned that student achievement is not dependent on the teachers alone; parents, students, and community partners must all work together to propel the student to their maximum potential.

Kelsey came to Vanderbilt with a desire to not only serve, but to connect with the Nashville community. Over the course of her freshman year, Kelsey used her experience with horses to volunteer at Saddle Up!, a center that offers riding lessons to children with mental and physical disabilities.

Rob Higham is a Sophomore at Vanderbilt University where he is majoring in Political Science. In high school, Rob was actively involved with African Leadership and Nations Ministry, two local organizations that work extensively with refugee and immigrant populations. He has worked very closely over the last three years with a community of Burundian and Sudanese refugees.

Maysa's motivation for service stems from her love of working with people and her interest in perspectives, and her service record reflects this passion and commitment. Before arriving at Vanderbilt, she tried to engage in as many service opportunities and realms as possible, eager to make a difference and learn more about how the world works.

Before coming to Vanderbilt, Lisa was involved in a wide variety of service groups and projects. Her greatest commitment was to The Thai Your Shoes Foundation, a fundraising organization she started to support an orphanage near her father’s home in Pattaya, Thailand.

Shilpa's interests in public health and the special needs population fluorished after a touching encounter at Hazelwood Rehabilitation Center, a government facility for individuals with profound intellectual disabilities. At this time, Shilpa began to see the beauty in the special needs population and was inspired to help integrate these individuals into society.

Whitley found his passion for service and action during his junior year of high school after reading the story behind Falling Whistles, an organization dedicated to ending the war in Congo. During the next two years he explored his philanthropic interests by working with a variety of nonprofits and accumulating over 600 hours of community service.

Anuj is fortunate to have had opportunities to explore his passions and serve his community in several ways since coming to Vanderbilt and throughout high school. During his freshman and sophomore years, he worked with the Nashville Mobile Market, a startup social entrepreneurship aimed at providing a sustainable source of healthy foods in limited access areas, and with Vanderbilt’s Microfinance Club, partnering with area high schools to mentor a class on social entrepreneurship.

David arrived at Vanderbilt thinking he wanted to become a doctor. In his freshman year, however, he found an interest for Political Science after taking an Introduction to U.S. Politics class.

Through the course of her freshman year, Jade continued many of the service activities she was involved with throughout high school, including tutoring elementary school students with Preston-Taylor Ministries and mentoring girls from her high school, M. L. King Magnet, with the L.I.F.E. Project. Additionally, she was able to become a mentor for In Full Motion, an ACT preparation program designed to improve the ACT scores of underprivileged Nashville students and prepare them for college.

In her first year at Vanderbilt, Elin pursued her passions of education and youth empowerment through involvement in a range of campus and community organizations. She served as a tutor and friend to youth through Pencil Pals, Vanderbuddies, Vanderbilt Student Organizations that serve students attending Nashville’s lowest performing schools.