Stories by Amy Wolf
More than 70 countries and all 50 states are represented in the Vanderbilt undergraduate community and more than half of undergraduates study abroad. This melding of unique cultures, perspectives, experiences, and identities cultivates a robust environment on campus and among alumni around the world.
Meet three members of the Class of 2024 who are using their global experiences and identities to enrich the Vanderbilt community.
Starting in middle school, family trips for Vivek Kumar meant donning scrubs with his physician mom, who traveled to provide much-needed medical care to low-income communities in Haiti, Brazil and Venezuela. It was just where he wanted to be.
"I remember on the flight back from Haiti my freshman year in high school, I knew I needed to be in health care," said Kumar, a medicine, health and society major from Portland, Oregon. "Just to see their smiles when they received free medication and having someone care about them, outside of all the struggles that were going on in their lives, was just unbelievable."
But Kumar said that during a medical outreach trip in Honduras for his Immersion Vanderbilt project, he saw that providing medical services just wasn't enough.
"I want to see how we can work with residents to build a sustainable health care infrastructure and business model to help communities build themselves up, instead of people coming from the outside," he said. "And I really believe there's possibility and hope for us to do that."
CONNECTING WITH HIS CULTURE
The cultural diversity of Vanderbilt's campus helped Kumar to connect more to his own Indian roots. Though he had no formal dancing experience, he knew he wanted to try out for the award-winning BhangraDores. He has been involved with the dance troupe since his freshman year.
"Joining BhangraDores was my opportunity to explore what it means to be Indian, what it means to be proud of my culture and heritage. And I just love the social family aspect," he said.
He also credits the South Asian Cultural Exchange student group, and his time as its president, with expanding his appreciation of his culture and creating a sense of community on campus and with alumni.
"It's going to be such a gratifying experience to be able to look back on my college experience and be like, wow, I've grown so much and had such incredible experiences," he said. "All those small interactions really add up over time, and I am so thankful."
