The Vanderbilt Story
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Class of 2016: Jack Coen creates a song cycle—from scratch
On Leap Day—Feb. 29—Blair School of Music senior Jack Coen took a leap of faith. That night Coen, a composition and theory major, premiered his capstone project "Folk and Flora"—a song cycle based on flowers and how people relate to them—in Sarratt Cinema to a full house. Read MoreApr 29, 2016
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Class of 2016: Safiah Hassan celebrates diversity and champions cultural exchange
Growing up in small-town Kentucky, Safiah Hassan longed to live in a larger city with a diverse population. After coming to Vanderbilt, she made seeking out diverse communities a hallmark of her university experience. Read MoreApr 29, 2016
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Class of 2016: Pranjal Gupta pursues chemical engineering, pre-med, film and more
There’s the Pranjal Gupta dressed in kurta and pyjama, his feet keeping time with an impossibly fast Indian dance tune. And then there’s the Pranjal Gupta in a lab coat, peering through glasses at data on how children with autism integrate sight and sound. Read MoreApr 21, 2016
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Class of 2016: Eunice Jun uses design to communicate visually and virtually
Like many little girls, Eunice Jun was a ballerina growing up. But by the time the Los Angeles native arrived at Vanderbilt four years ago, she had traded in her toe shoes to cultivate twin interests in graphic design and technology, pursuing double majors in cognitive studies at Peabody College and computer science at the School of Engineering. Read MoreApr 20, 2016
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Class of 2016: Ariel Helms’ past inspires her path for the future
For Ariel Helms, a genealogy search when she was young revealed a long-kept secret: Her ancestors were Cherokee Native Americans. Read MoreApr 20, 2016
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Class of 2016: Rani Banjarian discovers America—and his voice as a writer
For Rani Banjarian, the summer of 2006 was the defining moment of his young life. For a month that summer, artillery and airstrikes were a daily occurrence as the unrest between his home country of Lebanon and neighboring Israel grew into the July War. Read MoreApr 20, 2016
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Dr. Annabelle de St. Maurice, MPH’15: Disease Detective
Dr. Annabelle de St. Maurice rapidly is ascending to the cutting edge of addressing the practical problems of world-impacting diseases. After earning her master’s degree in public health at Vanderbilt, in July 2015 she began work in Atlanta at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an Epidemic… Read MoreMar 24, 2016
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No Biz Like Show Biz: Vanderbilt Alumni Are Ubiquitous in New York Theater
Vanderbilt alumni are making a splash on Broadway, as evidenced by several recent graduates currently working both behind the scenes and in front of the lights in New York City productions. Many of them worked together as members of Original Cast, Vanderbilt on Broadway and Vanderbilt University Theatre. Some are… Read MoreMar 21, 2016
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James H. Hill is one of the youngest African Americans to become a tenured professor in computer science
James Hill, an associate professor of computer and information science at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, is one of the youngest African Americans to become a tenured professor in computer science at a research university in the United States. He gained the distinction last August, when his tenure appointment in the… Read MoreMar 20, 2016
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10 Questions with Jeremy Price, English major, tour guide and premier “tricker”
Meet Jeremy Price: the senior English major, Tour Guide exec member, and premier “tricker” who (when not in a cast) can be seen doing backflips on Alumni Lawn. The Hustler sat down with Jeremy to hear about his unique amalgamation of majors, what exactly tricking is, tour guide escapades, his… Read MoreMar 18, 2016
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The importance of nurturing literary talent
I was homeless the summer before grad school. Living on the coast of Lake Michigan in the same town where I had gone to undergrad, I was too poor even to pay rent on a $200 room. I spent days working at a local brewery, just trying to save up enough… Read MoreMar 15, 2016
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What’s your story? Meet the student behind #halfthestory
A Vanderbilt University student and entrepreneur is spearheading a social media campaign aimed at helping people be more authentic. Meet Larissa May and #halfthestory. Read MoreMar 2, 2016
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10 Questions with flutist Rama Kumaran
Meet Rama Kumaran, a sophomore who was the winner of the National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition this summer and was featured on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” series at age 16. He talks Harry Potter fan fiction, his strategies to connect with an audience and what drew him… Read MoreMar 1, 2016
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10 Questions with improv comedian Megan Ward
Meet Megan Ward: the actress behind Vanderbilt Off-Broadway’s Elle Woods. Well known on campus as an improv comedian, Pi Phi President and VP of the Business Careers and Entertainment Club, she dons a blonde ‘do and pink heels for her starring performance this weekend. Amidst a crazy rehearsal schedule, the… Read MoreFeb 3, 2016
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10 Questions with Danny McClanahan, mechanical engineering, math and computer science triple major
Meet Danny: mechanical engineering, math and computer science triple major who speaks both Japanese and Russian, has been a committed intern at places like Microsoft and Twitter, and flaunts formerly pink, (but now bright green) hair. Read MoreJan 27, 2016
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Orienting to Owen: Meet just a few of Owen’s remarkable incoming students
The Owen School can say that, too (all our students are talented high achievers), but we tend to not group people together. Each person is individual, unique and vital to the makeup of our student body. Read MoreJan 25, 2016
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Our favorite #vandygram photos of the week
Winter Storm Jonas blanketed the campus with snow last week. Check out photos of the winter weather event on the Get Social website. Read MoreJan 25, 2016
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Jack Rutledge builds career with talent for music and business
Learn how Jack Rutledge, BMus’03, MBA’09, turned his talent for music and business to become head of catalog and selection for Amazon Music. Learn how he blended his music and business acumen into a successful career. Read MoreDec 15, 2015
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Working for Play: Erin Sullivan, MBA’04
Would working at a toy company really be all fun and games? Erin Sullivan can tell you. She has worked at Mattel since landing a marketing internship while a student at Owen. Now senior director for Fisher-Price marketing, she has handled virtually every Mattel brand, except dolls, in her 11… Read MoreDec 15, 2015
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Ann Marie and Greg Brink’s personal partnership inspires their investment in nonprofit management
Greg Brink, EMBA’03, is a senior risk manager at Fannie Mae and has spent his career working with commercial mortgages. His wife, Ann Marie, is a professional musician who is the associate principal violist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. They met at a patrons’ event for the orchestra in Dallas. Read MoreDec 15, 2015