My Commons Life

News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here

Linh Vu

Professor Spotlight: Interview with Professor Jacobs

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Professor Jacobs is currently a lecturer at the Department of History at Vanderbilt University. He is a historian of politics, thought, and culture in the twentieth-century United States. His work examines the tangled histories and multiple meanings of liberalism and conservatism in the modern American political imagination. Professor Jacobs’s American Studies classes provide Vanderbilt students a golden opportunity to broaden knowledge on a diverse scale with regard to American culture, history and politics.

First Year, First Person Blog: My Last Month As A Freshman

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Guess what? Here I am in the last month as a freshman at Vanderbilt University! How could summer be so close already?

If someone asked me how I have changed from the first day of college till now, I would not be able to tell. Being in college has made me emotional, anxious, and sometimes depressed, yet it has also given me much more. I have learned how to do things by myself, how to deal with stressful situations, and how to set up goals to achieve—all of these new experiences have transformed me from a naive high school graduate to a mature college freshman throughout my first year.

Throwing back to the first semester at Vanderbilt, as I was an international student from Vietnam, America overwhelmed me. Living half-of-the-globe far from your family was tough. I struggled a lot with how to balance academic life and social life, how to interact with friends and assimilate in a new environment, how to participate in different clubs that I am interested, and even how to get used to American food. Campus seems bigger on the first days than it is now. Weeks seem endless but weekends seem like vacations.

However, things are different now. Though my second semester is packed with 17.5 credit hours, I enjoy my life residing in Commons, chatting with professors during Office Hours, rushing to classes after attempting to use meal swipes in the dining hall, and waving hands to friends on campus. I enjoy observing Vandy trees changing leaves, exploring Nashville nightlife at weekends, and cramming for midterms the night before. All these little things make an experience I couldn’t trade. People often say that April is the month to rescue your GPA, but trust me, save these memories first. They are invaluable.

Now that I have learnt to master my time-management skill and get on track with the fast pace of college, midterms are no longer “scary” as it used to be. Sometimes, I will stay in Commons or the libraries with my dear “colleagues”-friends to study for the tests till midnight and wake up early the next morning for classes. Without a doubt, as I’m pushing myself to embrace my freshman year—to be open-minded and nonjudgmental, I am grateful to be admitted and being a freshman at Vanderbilt. This time next month, after moving out, I will definitely miss my friends, professors, Commons and my life in the United States. But I will come back to Vietnam, recharge my energy and prepare for an exciting sophomore year ahead.

Thus, shout out to all freshmen out there, you are only freshmen once! So please, enjoy the last month of your first year! We still have 3 years of life experiences awaiting!

Oh, but wait, finals await us first!

Professor Spotlight: Interview with Professor Buckles

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If you are a Vanderbilt student, there is no way that you don’t know Professor Stephen Buckles, who is in charge of teaching the Introduction to Macroeconomics and Introduction to Microeconomics class as well as other higher-level classes of Economics. He is one of the most outstanding, knowledgeable and respected professors on campus. His enthusiasm for the subject and the humor that he brings into every lecture create a lively interaction between students and professor. If you are planning to major in Economics or finding a class to fulfill AXLE: Social and Behaviorial Sciences, his classes are highly recommended. It is guaranteed that you will never regret taking a class with Professor Buckles and it may be one of the most unforgettable yet challenging moments of your college career.

Professor Spotlight: Interview with Professor Ghandi

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Professor Hojat Ghandi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Vanderbilt University. He teaches classes in Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Economics Statistics, Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, etc. Professor Ghandi’s classes are challenging, but he is very accessible outside class and always pushes you to think about real-life applications beyond economics concepts. Without doubt, he is a MUST at Vanderbilt.

Professor Spotlight: Interview with Professor Grundstrom

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Professor Erika Grundstrom is currently the Director of Astronomy Labs and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University. Professor Grundstrom’s classes, especially the Astronomy lab, offer Vandy students a golden opportunity to explore all the mysteries of astronomy in depth and bring these understandings into applications. If you are interested in discovering the Universe, her class can be one of the most mind-exploding and awe-inspiring of your college career.