Curb Spotlight: Ardelan Oray
Curb Scholar Ardelan Oray has a passion for film, photography and fashion. Writing Fellow Chris Ketchum caught up with Ardelan to talk about his creative pursuits, his dream to work in medicine and his experiences of being a Nashville native at Vanderbilt.
Chris Ketchum: Tell us about growing up around Nashville. How has coming to Vanderbilt influenced your relationship with the larger Nashville community?
Ardelan Oray: I grew up in south Nashville, about a 15-minute drive from Vanderbilt. Even as a kid, I’d always wanted to attend this school. It’s interesting coming to a school like Vanderbilt in your own city, because I have my group of friends from high school, and I’ve got Vanderbilt friends who are from all over the country. It’s really opened my eyes to get close to so many people with experiences much different from mine.
CK: You filmed an original YouTube series called Summer in the Suburbs. What called you to create this? Do you have any other films you’re planning or working on?
AO: My freshman year of high school, I used to watch a lot of “travel films” on YouTube; pretty much videos of people who would travel to some crazy location and make a cinematic video about it. My sophomore year, I started trying to do this myself, and on our once-a-year family vacations I’d film it with my iPhone and make a similar video and post it on Instagram or YouTube. In my junior year of high school, I really started to develop m
y own style with this, and I decided to shift the kind of content I was making. I saved up for an actual camera, and I started filming what my friends and me would do in our summers in Nashville—I posted these videos and called it Summer in the Suburbs. I feel like although what we do isn’t very different from other teenagers/young adults- going to the local pool, playing soccer at the field near our house, and just messing around at the local mall–there’s a kind of beauty in that simple, carefree lifestyle, and a lot of American kids can relate to that.
This summer, I’m planning to film season two of the series; the first season I made in 2019, and I couldn’t do it in 2020 due to COVID. I think this season will be especially interesting, because it’ll have some new faces: people I met at Vanderbilt. And it’ll show how even after a year of college, my hometown friends and I always just pick up where we left off.
(You can find Ardelan’s videos here: https://www.youtube.com/ardelanoray/ )
CK: Would you tell us more about the fashion brand you started recently? And how did you become interested in fashion design?
AO: I’ve always been into clothing design and that sort of thing. In 2019, I made some shirts for the first season of Summer in the Suburbs and mainly sold them to kids that went to my high school. One of my closest friends I met last semester, Don Kim, also had an interest in fashion and clothing. We decided to put our brains together: him being well-versed in the business and marketing side of things, and me doing the film and photography aspect, we started a brand called Au Courant. We are still working on our first drop, but we’re hoping that this will be something we carry on throughout our four years at Vanderbilt.
CK: You’ve chosen to major in Medicine, Health, and Society. What interests or aspects of your background drew you to those majors, and how does it align with your other non-academic interests?
AO: Even in high school, I was very involved in the health science program. I took anatomy classes, volunteered at the local hospital, and took a program through Saint Thomas to earn my Medical Assistant certification. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed the same way I’ve enjoyed film and photography. I think there’s something special about a career path that allows you to help people and make a difference in society.
CK: How has being a Curb Scholar shaped your experience at Vanderbilt?
AO: I would say the best part about Curb is being able to be a part of this community of students who also pursue artistic passions as well as their academic careers. Coming into the program in August, I felt very welcomed by the upperclassmen and it’s been really enjoyable to work on different creative projects with people who are pursuing paths similar or totally different to mine. I remember watching the Curb Scholars video on the Vanderbilt website before I applied and thinking, “This is definitely something I want to be a part of.”
CK: What else should we know to get an understanding of who you are as a student, artist, and individual?
AO: One thing I’ve learned is that there definitely is a way to pursue something you are passionate about as well as a career path that is totally unrelated. I’ve always wanted to have a career in health care, and along the way I’ve picked up all of these different hobbies: film, photography, and entrepreneurship. The more new things I’ve tried, the more hobbies I’ve found that have allowed me to tell my own story and have fun doing it.
Ardelan Oray
Class of 2024
Medicine, Health and Society
Nashville, TN