Current Scholars
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David Sanchez
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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. Meanwhile, he continued to develop his high school passion for film, producing short videos and becoming well known in the film department. In his second semester on campus, he completed an independent study with film professor, Jonathan Rattner, analyzing the positive effects of promotional videos on the volunteer rates and recognition of non-profit organizations. That summer, with the financial support of the Ingram Scholarship Program, David took his research to Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Ecuador, the three sites of Manna Project International. In his seven weeks abroad, David logged over fifty hours of footage, from which he then produced three concise promotional videos for the organization’s website.
David returned to the Ingram Commons as a Resident Advisor in Stambaugh House his sophomore year. He tutored once a week at Maplewood High School and developed a strong relationship with the staff and students. David then packed his suitcase and shipped off to Copenhagen, Denmark for the Spring semester. While at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS), David served as a student videographer with the Online Marketing Team. He produced a short tutorial to aid future students in attaining their visas and created a promotional video for his core program, Justice and Human Rights. The video will be featured in all future DIS catalogs as the program is pushing for higher class enrollment. While abroad, David also had the opportunity to visit eight new countries, though he didn’t find himself with other college students in Spain or France. Instead he wound up in countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Tunisia and Turkey, a region he fell in love with and will be sure to return to one day.
David spent this past summer in Los Angeles interning at a small television and film production company called Red Varden Studios. He received a $1,000 grant from Ashoka, an organization that invests in social entrepreneurship, to develop an after school film program called Leap Frog Films. Together with a few film students, David is currently developing a video-based curriculum for the class and securing additional funds to purchase equipment. Learn more at www.leapfrogfilms.com.
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