Student Wellness

Hello! I am Thao. Born and raised in Vietnam, I came to the U.S. for high school and went to Hampshire College (a small liberal arts school in Amherst, MA) to study anthropology and interdisciplinary science. After college, I worked for one year as a research assistant in Massachusetts, moved to Vanderbilt first as a graduate student, and then applied to the MSTP. Having completed the first two years of med school, I am back in the lab this coming year and excited to continue being part of VUSM Wellness as well as other wellness programs on campus during my research phase! To me, wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Emotional wellness encompasses self-acceptance, self-care, relaxation, stress reduction, and development of inner strength. It starts with us being able to recognize and accept both positive and negative feelings. Until then can we begin to understand why we feel the way we do and decide how we would like to act in response. Being emotionally well grants us the power to express and enjoy our own emotions as well as to understand and empathize with others, enabling us to form supportive and interdependent relationships with those around us.