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The Graduate Program in Economic Development

The Graduate Program in Economic Development
  2. Students
  3. GPED Students

GPED Students

Group Photo

GPED Group Photograph, April 2018

Orientation

Academic

Housing & Employment

Life at Vanderbilt

Student Spotlight

2018-2019 Student Representatives

Jasper (Shanren) Pan & Christian Suarez

JasperandChristian

Student Representative Bios

Year 1

Christian             

Christian Suarez 

 Hometown: Miami, FL   

Undergraduate Institution:  University of Florida, Gainesville

Undergraduate Degree:  Economics

Favorite Food: Churrasco steak with coconut rice      

Fun Fact: Top 3 favorite animals are alligators, chameleons, and octopuses 

Hobbies:  Watching college football, traveling, intramural sports and cooking

Why Vanderbilt? Vanderbilt is one of the best schools in the country in one of the best cities in the country with some of the best people in the country.  Why would I choose to be anywhere else?

Year 2

Jasper

Hometown: Guangzhou, China

Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Undergraduate Degree:  Applied Mathematics

Favorite Food: Sushi

 Fun Fact: I’ve been to 15 different countries: Asia, Africa, Europe, North, and South America
       
Hobbies: Playing basketball, going to rock concerts and watching movies

Why Vanderbilt? I chose Vanderbilt because the GPED  best fit my academic interest.  After receiving the acceptance letter, I decided to visit the campus and absolutely loved how welcoming the students, staff, and community are.

Student Testimonials

Ruta Delkute, Alumna of December 2018 | Lithuania

"GPED provided me with an excellent opportunity to learn and grow, not only in academic sense, but also personally. I had to communicate with peers from all over the world, learned from them and with them. I engaged into a field research that allowed to get to know Paraguay as well as my own country. And on top of that I received a lot of support to reach my career goals. I am graduating knowing that I have everything it takes to have a career I always wanted."

Ruta

 

 

Shatakshi Gupta, Current 2nd-Year Student | India

"The GPED is an exceptional program with a flexible course structure and amazing career opportunities. The two years I've spent in the program at Vanderbilt has been some of the most cherished years of me life."

Shatakshi

 

Sahesha Upadhyay, Current 2nd Year Student | Nepal

“The GPED has certainly exceeded my expectations! I have thoroughly enjoyed the classroom experience, the incredible field-experience in Paraguay as well as my interactions with friends from all over the world. Also, the GPED community is very close-knit, which makes it unique from other graduate programs.  I really appreciate all the support I’ve had from Sharon, Kelly and Prof. Anderson to make the best out of my two years at GPED. I believe that GPED has provided me with all the right resources and skill set to start my career as a development professional.”

 Sahesha