VU2021
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Dec. 14, 2018—Ana T. Dao, ’21 Vanderbilt is like a lottery. You need to take risks all the time – whether it is applying to a school you only know from pictures and brochures or sitting down with a stranger in the dining hall. There is always a possibility of everything failing, but you take the leap...
Asian New Year Festival
May. 15, 2017—Crystal Kim, ’19 How has my week been? Let me give you a short recap. On Monday, I sat down with the lighting and sound technicians from Vanderbilt University Production Services to discuss some technicalities regarding Langford Auditorium. On Tuesday, I ran from rehearsal to rehearsal to give feedback and meet with respective choreographers. On...
Nach Vandy
May. 15, 2017—Mitesh Bhalani, ’19 School of Engineering For as long as I can remember, dance has been an important part of expressing my cultural identity. Through Bollywood dance classes, I learned about the music, traditions, and celebrations of Indian and South Asian culture, as well as meeting some of my best friends. When I came to...
Intersecting Identities
May. 15, 2017—Anuska Dhar, ’19 Peabody College Walking into the org fair my freshman year, I felt this weight lifted off my shoulders as I realized I could totally reinvent myself in college and explore interests I had never been able to prioritize before in high school. Granted, the possibilities seemed a little overwhelmingly endless, but...
Living in McTyeire
May. 15, 2017—Arrush Choudhary, ’17 McTyeire Head Resident Being the Head Resident (HR) and a member of McTyeire International House has been one of the most meaningful experiences I have had during my time at Vanderbilt. McTyeire is a living and learning community that attracts students with a passion for and interest in language acquisition, cultural awareness,...
Living in McGill
May. 15, 2017—Musbah Shaheen McGill House Head Resident College is a lonely time. We are away from our friends, or homes, our families, and suddenly responsible for our own fates, education, and laundry. It can be overwhelming and fast-paced. The trick is to turn it from overwhelming to empowering, and from fast-paced to exciting. I like to...
Creating a Vanderbilt for Everyone
May. 15, 2017—Anoynomous The New York Times recently published a report on the economic diversity of US colleges, including Vanderbilt. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a snapshot: 70% of students are in the top 20% 23% of students are in the top 1%. 3.8% of students are in the top 0.1% 1.9% of students...
On Being an International Student
May. 15, 2017—Arjun Desai, ’19 College of Arts and Science Growing up in Mumbai, India, I have been provided with a background unlike what the majority of people have experienced growing up in the US. I grew up speaking 3 native languages as well as English and French, and playing cricket, which is the country’s most popular...
Living With a Disability
May. 15, 2017—Carla Pax, ’19 School of Engineering The summer before my sophomore year of college, I found myself in a lot of pain. I had trouble lifting my arms above my head, dressing myself in the morning, or even being able to bend my fingers. It seemed that every joint in my body was inflamed...
Thank You, ASB
May. 15, 2017—Agatha Fenech, ’19 College of Arts and Science *Alternative Spring Break (ASB) gives Vanderbilt University students an opportunity to spend their Spring Break working in service to communities and individuals across the country and the globe. Standing at the Student Org Fair. Hearing your VUceptor say, “Hey, you should really check out Alternative Spring...
Harmonic Notions
May. 15, 2017—Jeremy Mani, ’18 College of Arts and Science College can be an overwhelming experience. In the swirl of planning your classes, being pre-med for at least one semester, figuring out to do with your life, making friends with everyone on your floor and changing your mind just as fast, and just trying to adjust to...
I Live for the Stage
May. 15, 2017—Akash Majumdar, ’19 Vanderbilt Performing Arts Community I live for the stage. Every time the curtains rise, I experience a surge of adrenaline combined with the desire to resonate with my audience. While preparing to make the journey from Kolkata, India to Vanderbilt, I rummaged through Vanderbilt’s 500+ student organizations, trying to gauge my potential...
Beyond Brotherhood: Being in an NPHC Fraternity
May. 10, 2017—Gregory Rudd, ’18 Completing community service on early Saturday mornings; communicating with administration and faculty to program events; throwing parties and having to work the door the entire night; working with alumni to coordinate reunions; following the wishes of the Office of Greek Life even when they are less than agreeable. Being in a fraternity...
Multicultural Leadership Council
May. 10, 2017—Jacob Pierce, ’19 Student VUceptor, College of Arts and Science I don’t do many class readings, but one in particular has always stuck with me: “diversity loses its force, however, if in the same space, different persons or activities are merely concentrated, buch each remains isolated…Differences have to interact.” I never expected my view of...
Walking Fast and Slow. Learning to “Profiter”
May. 2, 2017—Elizabeth Winter, ’18 College of Arts and Science Student VUceptor It’s hard to escape a conversation in Aix-en-Provence, a small city in the south of France, without hearing the phrase “profiter de,” translating roughly to “make the most of” or “enjoy” two to three times. Whether it’s “profiter d’Aix” (enjoy Aix), or “profiter du soleil”...
From D to Dean
May. 2, 2017—Vanessa Beasley, Ph.D. Dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons When I remember it now, I can still hear the sound of my mother crying. In the 1980s, when I was a Vanderbilt undergraduate, your final semester grades were sent home via the mail. There was no way for students to look up your final...
Identity, Adversity, and the Weight of Conforming
May. 2, 2017—“…I thought he was gay…”—five words that haunted me for the first twenty years of my life. I heard them whispered through the halls of my middle school by the “popular kids” that I wanted so badly to impress. I felt their scornful and demoralizing intentions in the concerned words of my Sunday school teachers...
Double-Majoring in Blair
May. 2, 2017—The start of my college experience was far from glamorous. I was enrolled in 16 hours but had class for twice that amount of time. Being a part of a campus that felt off the beaten path and practicing hours a day isolated me and skewed The Commons experience I hoped I would have. I...
Losing a Loved One
Apr. 27, 2017—Haneesha Paruchuri, ’19 College of Arts and Sciences I woke up early one summer morning with a sense of unrest. Only a few hours previously, we had celebrated my friend’s twentieth birthday; yet, for some inexplicable reason, I felt lonely with a sense of longing for home. Having only been home for three weeks this...
Get Connected: The Many Faces of Vanderbilt
Apr. 27, 2017—Henry Bristol, ’19 School of Engineering When I got to Vanderbilt my freshman year, I had no idea what to expect. Frankly, I had set foot on campus just once before, and made the decision to come here because I couldn’t convince myself out of it. I was hesitant. I still vividly remember that first day...
Constant Conversations
Apr. 27, 2017—Audrey Glover, ’19 College of Arts and Sciences, Writing Studio Consultant I took every single paper I wrote freshman year to the writing studio. I loved having the space to talk about and improve my own work and have someone engage deeply with my ideas. It wasn’t until a consultant once encouraged me to apply...
Finding Purpose at Vanderbilt
Apr. 27, 2017—Krystal Clark Director, Office of Student Leadership Development Purpose is central to intentional action and it is one of the hardest but most fulfilling things to uncover. I say “uncover” because I believe that it is already inside of us, but it’s buried underneath a need to learn, grow, experience, fail, resist, laugh, compare, trust,...
Over-Involvement
Apr. 27, 2017—Do you know that feeling when your hands aren’t doing anything? You know, the one that they should be doing something? That’s how I felt on August 22, 2014, which was the date of the Student Organization Fair on The Commons. It was intense and overwhelming, but wonderful and exciting at the same time, and I...
Reflections from a Graduate HR
Apr. 27, 2017—Emily Thompson, ’19 Vanderbilt School of Medicine, The Graduate School Welcome to Vandy, Class of 2021!! From Fall 2015 onward, I have received the phenomenal privilege of serving as Head Resident Advisor for Gillette House – an incredible honor and dream come true! A New England native, I graduated in May 2015 from the University...
The Essence of The Commons
Apr. 27, 2017—Gabi Grys, ’18 Peabody College The word tradition means “the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice.” My first year of college was marked by one tradition in particular: on Thursdays, I ate pancakes. Now this was not just a regular...