Many Voices, One VU
THE LOTUS FLOWER
Mar. 29, 2017—Kelly Perry, ’18, College of Arts and Science, Student VUceptor “Small. Unworthy. Insignificant.” Words I used to describe myself on the 8th of October during my first year at Vanderbilt. I was happy to be here…yet something was missing. I am half-Thai, half-American and had spent my entire life in Chiang Mai, Thailand before moving to...
THE “I” IN MINORITY
Mar. 29, 2017—Bridgette Brown, ’18, Peabody College As I walk into my fourth class of the day, I take a look around the room and notice that I am the Black woman in the room. I take my seat, and I note that this class marks the fourth one to lack students that resembled me. For the past two...
Speak Up!
Mar. 29, 2017—Mianmian Fei, ’19, College of Arts and Science I learned a lot during my first month at Vanderbilt: Pancake Pantry is the best place to get breakfast, oceanography class is about currents and sediments and not fish, and grins is pronounced “greens.” Most of all, though, I learned I should keep my mouth shut. Before...
FROM THE WEST SIDE TO WEST END
Mar. 29, 2017—Kevin Groll, ’16, School of Engineering I came to Vanderbilt from the West Side of Cincinnati, which is best described as a small town. Most residents are second, third, and fourth generation West Siders, and people grow up destined to stay forever. Being a West Sider always gave me a sense of belonging, an identity...
Being Blair
Mar. 29, 2017—Katie Parcelli, ’18, Blair School of Music You may think being a Blair student means you are one of approximately 200 Vanderbilt students who studies music, but it means so much more. It means recognizing every face you see in the hallway. It means you have 30 people in your largest class and as few...
SIFTING FOR GOLD
Mar. 29, 2017—Hannah Waters, ’19, Peabody College I came to Vanderbilt sure as the sun that I would know my place as soon as I set foot on campus. But this feeling was far from the reality of my transition. I began the school year as a member of the Spirit of Gold Marching Band, one of the...
Dreaming of Disney
Mar. 29, 2017—Maggie Wang, ’18, School of Engineering As a computer science major, the biggest assumption people make is that my only passion is coding. Even when I share that I am also a Fine Arts major, I am still labeled, first and foremost, an engineer. But, the last place you will find me is in Featheringill, typing...
Vanderbilt.Student.Athlete
Mar. 29, 2017—Jalen Dansby, ’18, College of Arts and Science I loved Vandy even before coming here because of the phenomenal academics and opportunity to play football, but I quickly realized it has so much more to offer. After only a week of living in Gillette House, my peers encouraged me to run for house president. I embraced...
ASK AND YOU SHALL FIND
Mar. 29, 2017—Sparsh Gupta, ’18, School of Engineering, VUcept Executive Board The mantra for finding research opportunities on campus seems to be: “Ask and you shall find.” While I am happy to report this is true, the real challenge is finding a lab that is a good fit. During my first year at Vandy, I worked in...
A MESSAGE FOR PROSPECTIVE SWIMMERS
Mar. 29, 2017—Ryan Coyne, ’18, Peabody College, VUcept Executive Board I have felt like I was drowning at exactly two points in my life. Once, when my dad literally threw me in the deep end of the pool at the ripe age of three in an expertly concocted attempt to teach me how to swim. I don’t...
FROM SKEPTIC TO SERVANT
Mar. 29, 2017—Rebecca Riley, ’17, School of Engineering Anyone who knows me can attest that I am perennially running ten minutes late. It was no different when I rolled into the Crawford House “Meet the Candidates” meeting last August. I checked out the board with the names of the candidates and, to my total surprise, saw my...
DOING SERVICE AT VANDERBILT
Mar. 29, 2017—Clive Mentzel, Director of the Office of Active Citizenship and Service, Faculty VUceptor When we reflect on the values that constitute the social fabric of Vanderbilt, it’s clear that as a community, we care deeply. We give back, and in the two years that I have been director of OACS, many students have heard me...
DUBLIN, DOOR STEPS, AND DUFFLE BAGS: REFLECTIONS ON STUDY ABROAD
Mar. 29, 2017—Hannah Laskey, ’17, Peabody College, Student VUceptor I first wanted to go abroad for the places; I never wanted to leave because of the people. Yes, our weekend trip to Barcelona was awesome. Hitting up Rome, Athens, and Warsaw during reading week was once in a lifetime. And nothing could beat the scenic Irish countryside. While studying...
The Greatest Success
Mar. 29, 2017—Angel Rajendran, ’18 , Peabody College I don’t know who first planted that seed in my head. The seed that whispered to me that success was a two-syllable title in front of my last name that made me a doctor, but I never really questioned it. My whole life, I heard my parents, teachers and...
Engineering: My Spanish Connection
Mar. 29, 2017—Alexander Plevka, ’17, School of Engineering An engineering student operates under the assumption of limitations. We are constrained by cost, time, materials, dimensions, force, weight, shear moduli – you get the point. We are taught in classes that technical problems are just that – technical. They are presented and solved in a nicely wrapped...
ZAR’S DECLASSIFIED SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE
Mar. 29, 2017—Zaria Williams, ’19, College of Arts and Science, Student VUceptor Tips to survive and thrive during your first year at Vanderbilt Tip #1: Embrace your discomfort. For my first few weeks of college, every day was filled with new people, new experiences, and new feelings. But I quickly fell into a pattern of talking to...
THE COMMONS CONTINUED—PERSPECTIVE OF A HEAD RESIDENT
Mar. 29, 2017—Lucas Wesoloski, ’18, College of Arts and Science Let me be the first to say that my first-year experience on Commons did not go exactly as I had planned. I started off struggling with my academics and could not find an organization on campus that fit what I wanted to do. However, thanks to my RA,...
ON BEING VUCEPTORS
Mar. 29, 2017—Elizabeth Covington, Senior Lecturer in English, College of Arts and Science, Faculty VUceptor Working as a VUceptor is the most rewarding part of my job at Vanderbilt. When I first began, I didn’t have the first idea what to expect, and I was amazed and delighted to find myself in the heart of a close-knit...