Who We Are Transcript

Why Vanderbilt?

Medicine is constantly evolving, and the way it’s taught should, too

Friendships that last a lifetime
Vanderbilt emphasizes its people, not just their degrees. I’ve found my absolute best friends here – lifelong friends I know will always have my back.

-Leland Dunwoodie, VMS2

Med students make change
I chose Vanderbilt because I felt that the deans and faculty truly valued student feedback and that student input was just as important as faculty input.

-LeAnn Lam, VMS1

Vanderbilt really is one big family
Never has that been more apparent than in this time. From the beginning, the administration has been fighting to ensure that we have the best opportunities available to us and are staying safe.

-Simone Herzberg, VMS2, MD/PhD

Shaping the future of medicine
I selected Vanderbilt because they made an explicit point to tell us that they were going to make us into leaders. I wanted to become a leader and I wanted to grow not only academically but also personally.

They were right.

-Daniel Pereira, VMS3

During COVID-19
Something I’ve learned from co-leading our COVID-19 volunteer efforts is that Vanderbilt is unique in how strongly they value and encourage student leadership. This isn’t a one-off event; this kind of support and engagement happens with all kinds of student-run projects because they believe in our ideas and our leadership. This is the way it’s done here, and I don’t think I fully appreciated that until I learned how different it was at some of our peer institutions. This has been one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had while in medical school.

-Catie Havemann, VMS3

We brought expertise from previous careers and experience, and found a niche where we could help. I worked on using my engineering skills to design parts and prototype them using 3D printing. This helped repurpose masks from other applications for use in high-risk environments.

-Sai Rajagopalan, VMS3, MIDP

The outbreak of COVID-19 has revealed the strength and fortitude of the Vanderbilt community. There has been an outpouring of compassion, proactivity, and innovation among our students and faculty, and it is precisely this impassioned response that makes me so proud to complete my medical training at Vanderbilt.

-Mason Alford, VMS1

At Vanderbilt I feel like more than just a student. I feel like a partner in my education. Our deans and administrators have always empowered us students to forge our own paths and find our passions. In this uncertain time, they have continued to make sure we can continue working towards our goals.

-Peety Kaur, VMS3

I was interested in what it was like for med students during the 1918 pandemic. Within a week, I was collaborating with administration, a medical librarian, and another med student. A month later, that same med student and I were lecturing on our findings in the newly-minted Pandemic Medicine course. I don’t think it’s possible to find a school that supports their students’ academic interests more than Vanderbilt.

-Noah Harrison, VMS2

It’s who we are
I have been very impressed by the commitment of Vanderbilt students and faculty to its patient population. The clinics and school could have closed its doors during this time, but the students have constantly been asking “how can I help?” During this pandemic, I have been impressed not only by what my peers have been able to accomplish but also who they are.

-Rohini Chakravarthy, VMS4, MD/MBA

Commitment to innovation
At Vanderbilt, I knew I would be able to conduct impactful research. Little did I know that in studying coronaviruses during my PhD, I would contribute to the development of a promising therapy for a pandemic infection. My colleagues have been developing anti-coronaviral drugs for the last several years. We were the first to test remdesivir against coronaviruses, and this drug was just approved by the FDA for emergency use in COVID-19 patients. Labs across campus are making similarly important contributions across all sorts of fields.

-Kevin Graepel, VMS4, MD/PhD

Questions for current students? Email mdambassadors@vanderbilt.edu
General questions? Email mdadmissions@vanderbilt.edu