My Commons Life

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

Features

Humans of the Commons: Sael Soni

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“I started learning different languages because I heard people talking, but I couldn’t understand them, and I wanted to be able to. Apart from Spanish, I speak French, Italian, modern Greek, Hindi, and Portugese. I do travel quite a bit, but not to these countries. I just talked to people online. There are a lot of language-learning platforms where you can be like, ‘I want to learn this language. Somebody come teach me.’ Sometimes I watch TV or read in a new language. I think each language has a different personality. For example, German is very analytical, very to-the-point, very crisp. Italian is very melodic just because all the words end with vowels, which is why you always hear Italian people, when they’re speaking English, end their sentences with a’s and e’s.  And, they talk-uh like-a this-uh. I think you can best connect with people when you’re talking with them in their native language. I’m taking Japanese [at Vanderbilt]. I want to [travel abroad]; I don’t know where though. That’d be chill.”

Humans of the Commons: Josiah Pehrson

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“I grew up in Papua New Guinea, which is a little island in the south Pacific.  Everyone there walks around wearing Bob Marley t-shirts.  It’s definitely very different from here: The roads are very bad.  I love how free everyone is there in Papua New Guinea.  I can literally go up to people in the middle of the street that I’ve never met before and just talk to them and hang out, and within ten minutes, we call each other, ‘brother,’ which is a really cool cultural dynamic.  I love that it’s a tropical island, and yet I also get to live in the mountains.  I can just walk outside my house and see these massive mountains and go hiking in them whenever I want.  I really miss my friends and the community that I built over there.  I’m excited to be here and do the same, but there’s definitely a lot of friends I left behind.”

Top 5 Things To Do In Nashville During Your First Month On Campus

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You’ve survived the madness of move in, orientation, and your first few days on campus as a whole. If you’re like me, this whole process of moving off to college has been a little bit overwhelming. Luckily for us though, Nashville has some amazing places to chill out and just let loose. Here are the top 5 ways to relax, get to know your new home, and have a good time. So grab a few Vandy first years, and check out what Nashville has to offer.

5. First Saturdays

You won’t need to be an art connoisseur to appreciate number five on our list. Every first Saturday of the month, a handful of art galleries open their doors for FREE. With over 20 galleries participating in First Saturdays, you are bound to find just about any style and medium of art to please your taste. Some of the galleries offer free drinks to cool you off after a hot day of walking around campus, and if you’re lucky you may be able to meet the artists. First Saturday takes place from 6pm to 9pm at 5th Avenue of the Arts, 5th Avenue South, and The Historic Arcade.

More Info

4. Lonnie’s Western Room

Lonnie’s is a Nashville staple that college students love. Voted the #1 Karaoke Bar in Nashville and the #10 College Bar in America, the location is a real crowd pleaser. So even if you’re young, dumb, and broke, come out and show off your best dance moves and singing.

Address: 308 CHURCH STREET, Nashville, TN 37201 (Roughly a $10 round trip with Uber)

Hours: 6pm-3am, daily

More Info

3. Fido’s

You can’t officially say that you’re living in Nashville until you hit up Fido’s for some coffee and some high end, yet affordable, grub. Fido’s menu creates a harmony between organic, exotic, and junk foods, and if you’re not ready to experience a Fido’s burger or giant whole grain pancake, then you can always rely on the tried and true latte. Just a short half-mile walk away from the Commons, you’ll find that Fido’s is perfectly located, and you might even get a rare sighting of Belmont Students hanging around, too.

Address: 1812 21st Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212

Hours: 7am-11pm, daily

Menu

2. Broadway

Broadway, also known as Honky Tonk Highway, is a rockin’ street in downtown Nashville. With countless restaurants, junk food stops, and nightlife area, you’re bound to make many memories here over your next four years. So, don’t be intimidated by being a first year student and head on down to music row within your first month to get a true feel for the city.

Address: Corner of Broadway and 5th Ave S. (Roughly a $10 round trip with Uber)

Things To Do

1. Live On The Green

Live On The Green is a homegrown FREE concert series that Lightning 100 host. It features local artists, as well as some pretty well known names. Loads of Nashville natives attend the concert, and if you’re lucky you’ll get to meet some pretty famous artist, like Paramore. There are just two weeks left in the series, but in my opinion the last weeks are boasting the best artists. The next show is Wednesday, August 24th. It begins at 6:15pm at Public Square Park, and will go until 11pm. I would HIGHLY suggest going to this one, because you’ll be able to catch some of my favorite artists like Portugal. The Man and Spoon. If you can’t make it to this one night event, don’t fret because you can catch a whole 3 days of fun over Memorial Day Weekend. Some of the major artists over that weekend include Sheryl Crow, Future Islands, The Lone Bellow, and Drew Holcomb. You can check the whole schedule below, address, and other details below.

Address: 1 Public Square, Nashville, TN 37201 (Roughly a $12 round trip with Uber)

Schedule and Line-Up

General Festival Info

Official Spotify Playlist

Humans of the Commons: Talene Tse

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Talene Tse (2020) Major: Public Policy, Hometown: Philadelphia

“When I was a freshman in high school, I met a girl named Sabrina in my swim class. The first time I looked at her and she smiled, I could see her eyes sparkle with love and adventure. I knew right then we would be wonderful friends. She taught me to love unconditionally, to never take a moment for granted, and that there is never a bad time in life to dance. She has truly made me a better person. I joke that she didn’t want to be my friend at first. But she was really just homesick because she had just moved away from political turmoil in Venezuela. A few years before meeting Sabrina, a psychic told me that I would help someone who had moved, and she would become very important to my life. I believe it was destiny for me to meet Sabrina.”

Humans of the Commons: Brendan Finnerty

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Brendan Finnerty (2020) Majors: Human and Organizational Development and Political Science, Hometown: Port Washington, New York

“A very pivotal experience for me as a first-year student was the fall rush process for Greek life. I knew little about the fraternities on campus, but my roommate told me I should check out Alpha Tau Omega. When I went to their rush events it felt like more than a social club, but rather a true brotherhood where the brothers genuinely cared about not just each other but others as well. Joining Alpha Tau Omega has allowed me to branch out to new friendships and opportunities on campus, and it has definitely had a tremendously positive impact on my first year at college and beyond.”

Humans of the Commons: Rebecca Archambault

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Rebecca Archambault (2020) Major: Human and Organizational Development, Hometown: Wittman, Maryland

“The last three summers I have volunteered for a program called Horizons which provides reading and math education to children from the inner city of Philadelphia over the summer for free. All of the children I work with – kindergarten to fifth grade – have suffered through some traumatic home life circumstance from simply great poverty to the murder of parents. As someone who had a very privileged childhood with a very stable family life, this job opened my eyes to a whole other side of the community I lived in and revealed some incorrect biases I had been viewing others with. These children, despite their circumstances, are intelligent, kind, funny, and innocent. I realized it was not them who lacked the ability to succeed but that our society failed to provide them resources to overcome their unfair circumstances. Because of this, I am now devoted to pursuing a career in education reform.”

Humans of the Commons: Bill Badi

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Bill Badi (2019), Resident Adviser in Hank Ingram House, Majors: Political Science and Cinema & Media Arts, Hometown: Pretoria, South Africa

“When I was in the ninth grade my family went through a period of financial hardship. We lived without electricity for four months, during which I would boil water on a gas stove to take a bath, do homework by candlelight and travel to my grandparents’ house to charge my phone or watch TV. The only reason we managed to get out of our situation was the generosity and love shown to us by my grandparents and friends of our family. This has made me realize that one of the differences between me and the thousands of people living on the street in Nashville and my home Pretoria (South Africa) is that we had a strong support system. I believe it is of the utmost importance for us as a society to ensure that systems are set in place which ensure that all human beings have a safety net or support system that guarantees their basic human rights. In countries like the U.S. you have more than enough resources to do this, so it’s quite appalling that it isn’t a reality.”

Humans of the Commons: William Pace

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William Pace (2020) Major: Biomedical Engineering, Hometown: Fayetteville, Tennessee

“In eighth grade, I started public school. I didn’t know anyone in the school, but I walked over to a close-by table and stood. The kids were talking and having a good time but not recognizing me. Then one kid looked up and asked me if I wanted to share his seat. I sat down and began talking. Because of that inclusion, I made friends I would know throughout high school.”

Humans of the Commons: Abigail Finn

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Abigail Finn (2020) Majors: Human and Organizational Development and Political Science, Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia

“One event that has changed my life was getting into Vanderbilt University. It was my dream school, and I was so excited to get in. My best friend from home also got in, and we were both so excited to go to college together. Nashville is such a cool city to live in, and coming to Vanderbilt has been so amazing and opened up so many new opportunities.”

Humans of the Commons: Tam Wheat

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Tam Wheat (2020) Major: Political Science, Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

“Working in retail was definitely an experience that taught me a lot about responding to clients – and how tiresome doing so can be. Doing so made me much more appreciative of the intricate step-by-step processes that go into selling apparel and keeping inventory as well as cashiering and filling orders. Being able to fulfill all the necessary tasks that were required of me on an everyday basis was certainly rewarding but definitely not an experience I would want to repeat.”