Class of 2018
Class of 2018: Samantha Long sings with body and soul
May. 7, 2018—Samantha Long, who is majoring in musical arts (voice) at Blair School of Music, came to Nashville with many interests, not certain if music would be her path. But after doing a bit of searching, she found that singing was still her passion.
Class of 2018: Logan Brown has immersed herself in law and justice
May. 3, 2018—At age 12, Logan Brown decided she wanted to become a lawyer. So the pre-teen pursued and landed an internship at the Douglas County district attorney’s office in Lawrence, Kansas, giving her a front-row seat to the legal system at work.
Class of 2018: Phillip McGloin wants to promote sports as a cultural unifier
May. 3, 2018—Since he was 13, Phillip McGloin’s world had orbited around basketball. He walked on to the Commodore basketball team as a freshman and played three seasons. But he chose to leave the team during his junior year to begin planning more seriously for his future.
Class of 2018: Christian Motyczka helps build a virtual reality app for struggling addicts
Apr. 30, 2018—School of Engineering senior Christian Motyczka has found his passions in and out of the lab. He is one of two computer science undergraduates who developed a virtual reality program to help addicts stay clean.
Class of 2018: Sami Chiang champions hands-on learning
Apr. 30, 2018—Sami Chiang was conducting experiments and using critical thinking long before she knew what those things were. The daughter of a school administrator and an engineer, the Berkeley, California, native’s life was immersed in experiential learning from the start.
Class of 2018: Briana Francois wants to make content that resonates and entertains
Apr. 26, 2018—The only thing Briana Francois enjoys more than watching TV and digital content is creating it. Her double majors in psychology and cinema and media arts have allowed her both to examine human behavior and represent it authentically on film.
Class of 2018: Alexandra Doten wants to help young students reach for the stars
Apr. 26, 2018—Alexandra Doten’s passion for blending science, education and outreach was born from a failure. Doten took an astronomy class her first semester freshman year and failed the first test. But with encouragement from a professor, she turned the experience into a lesson in perseverance.
Class of 2018: Jalen Dansby sets his sights on medical school and community leadership
Apr. 23, 2018—As Jalen Dansby approaches Commencement, he has acceptance letters from 10 of the country’s top medical schools, including Yale and Vanderbilt. He’s motivated to become a doctor not just for himself, but also for his community.
Class of 2018: Sarah Robinson bridges cultures through language and music
Apr. 23, 2018—“Adventurous” is the word that best describes Sarah Robinson. The Blair School of Music student is unafraid of doing things she has never tried before and open to new cultural experiences.
Class of 2018: Elizabeth Lee explores identity through an original web comic
Apr. 18, 2018—Elizabeth Lee identifies as many things. She’s a mechanical engineering major, a proud Asian American, and a woman working in the STEM fields. To give a clearer voice to these identities, Lee created a web comic called “Existing Quietly, Living Loudly.”
Class of 2018: Yalun Feng combines his passion for the environment with entrepreneurship
Apr. 16, 2018—Yalun Feng wants to look beyond science—to social solutions and entrepreneurship—to help solve problems affecting the environment.
Economics senior Sasha Pines creates business sisterhood
Dec. 6, 2017—Sasha Pines, a senior majoring in economics, believes combining solid business strategy with a sense of empathy can change lives.