Profiles
Nemo Sanchez: Swimmer and filmmaker
Jan. 25, 2019—Student-athlete Namilla Sanchez is keenly aware of the role proper nutrition plays in performance. She feels the results each time she dives into the pool – and in her ability to succeed in the classroom.
Joe Toye: Guard and Leader
Dec. 17, 2018—Men’s basketball’s Joe Toye, an economics major and the lone senior on the Commodores’ roster, is the embodiment of student-athlete-leader.
Khari Blasingame: Running back and graduate student
Sep. 28, 2018—Commodore running back and graduate student Khari Blasingame is more than a football player—he’s a prime example of the student-athlete experience at Vanderbilt.
Jalen Dansby sets his sights on medical school and community leadership
Apr. 23, 2018—As Jalen Dansby approaches Commencement, he has acceptance letters from nearly a dozen 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.
Yalun Feng combines his passion for the environment with entrepreneurship
Apr. 16, 2018—Yalun Feng came to Vanderbilt by way of Wuhan, a sprawling city in Central China of more than 8 million people. Feng has seen firsthand the toll that progress in his hometown—a major transportation hub and commercial center—has taken on the environment.
Jonathan Rattner: Film Professor Explores Alaskan Dog Sledding
Oct. 5, 2017—Jonathan Rattner’s passion for creating observational films that draw the audience into places often unseen or forgotten is reflected in The Interior, his award-winning experimental documentary that will be screened at the 2017 Southern Festival of Books.
Fashion Design professor Alexandra Sargent-Capps: Mr. Commodore’s makeover
Aug. 30, 2017—When it comes to getting a stellar makeover, Mr. Commodore goes straight to Vanderbilt fashion design professor Alexandra Sargent-Capps.
Sam Reilly turns his love of fine coffee into a social media app
May. 9, 2016—You may like your coffee in the morning, but chances are you don’t savor it as much as Sam Reilly, an intern at The Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee Studies who is marketing his new app for lovers of a good cup of joe.
Ariel Helms’ past inspires her path for the future
Apr. 20, 2016—For Ariel Helms, a genealogy search when she was young revealed a long-kept secret: Her ancestors were Cherokee Native Americans. “My great-grandparents had taken this knowledge to the grave,” she said. “My dad grew up thinking he was of German heritage. It was, at the time, a difficult thing to be Native American, so it...
Rani Banjarian discovers America—and his voice as a writer
Apr. 20, 2016—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.