Student News

When Nashville’s Sexual Assault Center (SAC) set out to reimagine an exhibition for its spring open house, two College of Arts and Science students stepped forward to bring the project to life. Quinn Fitzpatrick (left) and Taliyah Bradberry (right) Taliyah Bradberry, a senior double-majoring in history of art and studio… Read More

At a young age, Sophia Kantejeva learned firsthand how socioeconomic status impacts healthcare. “Growing up in Illinois in a tiny, subsidized-housing neighborhood with limited access to healthcare, and noticing how characters in TV shows could go to emergency rooms and urgent care without any concern over money, I became aware… Read More

This year, four College of Arts and Science students had the opportunity to participate in the 2026 Rachel Carson Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. A national environmental organization envisioned by late marine biologist Rachel Carson, the Rachel Carson Council (RCC) promotes scientific concern for the environment and human health to… Read More

For George Boardman, history was never just a subject—it was part of the fabric of his everyday life. His mother earned a Ph.D. in diplomatic history and spent years teaching and researching the field, his father ran for U.S. Congress in the ’90s, and his grandfather served as a senior… Read More

For many students, middle school is a time of uncertainty. For Alaina Jefferson, it marked the beginning of a certain and lifelong fascination with the brain. As a seventh grader attending a science camp at Virginia Commonwealth University, Jefferson participated in an experiment that allowed students to control each other’s… Read More

Remember Bethel? Last year, she shared her first-year experience with us. This year, we sat down with her to reflect on her sophomore year and see what’s changed since freshman year. Read More

As 2026 Keegan Traveling Fellows, seven Vanderbilt students will embark on immersive global experiences designed to deepen their academic interests and broaden their perspectives through independent travel. Three postgraduate Keegan fellows will spend a year pursuing self-designed projects around the world, while four rising juniors and seniors have been named Summer Keegan Traveling Fellows and will participate in an eight- to 10-week international experience, pursuing immersive cross-cultural projects as part of Immersion Vanderbilt.  Read More

The robot revolution is coming, and it’s time to pick a side. This spring, the Department of Theatre presents Я.U.Robot, an adaptation of Karel Čapek’s 1920s science fiction play R.U.R. about a future where synthetic workers are mass-produced to serve humanity. The concept was chosen by Professor of Theatre and the… Read More

Julia “Jules” Ashworth (class of 2026) fell in love with the French language at an early age, when she took her first French class in the third grade. She continued to study French up until middle school, when she was required to take Spanish, but then re-enrolled in French as… Read More

When physics and astronomy Ph.D. candidate Oem Trivedi was growing up in India, he had big dreams: becoming a wrestler in the World Wrestling Entertainment industry. Trivedi admits that as a kid he was not the best student; his parents were often called to the school for his behavior, as… Read More

William McLaughlin starts his day at 7 a.m. with a cup of coffee. Photo by Liz Chagnon/Vanderbilt University A Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences, he likes to keep his mornings slow and predictable before driving to campus to work in Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Megan Behringer’s… Read More

As a little girl, Gabrielle (Gabby) Goodwin had a difficult time keeping barrettes in her hair. “My mom would spend 15-20 minutes doing my hair in the morning,” Goodwin recalled. “She would drop me off at school looking nice and then pick me up to find that half of my… Read More

Two members of the Class of 2025, Benedict Ballman and Rui Huang, have been chosen for the 11th cohort of the highly selective Schwarzman Scholars international graduate fellowship program. The Schwarzman Scholars program focuses on tackling the world’... Read More

Two seniors in the College of Arts and Science have been named 2026-2027 recipients of the Wattles Fellowship. The fellowship offers three women graduates from Vanderbilt University a one-year, fully integrated position in the London corporate risk management and insurance market. Meet the college’s two Wattles Fellows and learn about… Read More

Freedom is something many people in the world seek, but what factors contribute to a country being considered free? This is a question students in Associate Professor of Political Science Katherine Carroll’s course, Middle East Politics, explored by creating a mock report for Freedom House, a… Read More

Get to know the Class of 2026 Outstanding Senior winner and incredible nominees and hear what inspires the winner most. Read More