2017
Discovering the Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden
Sep. 18, 2017—It’s off the beaten path, but well worth the trek. The new Latin American ethnobotanical garden, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies, is like a time machine. Here are 50 species of plants, all except 1 (the banana from Asia) originally from Latin America. Thanks to a class I am taking this...
That Time I Ran Across the Football Field
Sep. 8, 2017—The beginning of a new school year has always been an exciting time for me. A new school year means new classes, meeting new people, and most importantly, the beginning of football season. Now, I am not an expert on football by any means, but I know enough to honestly enjoy any game regardless of...
How I Learned to Stop Worrying about STEM and Love Liberal Arts and AXLE
Sep. 5, 2017—Freshmen moving through the motions of the annual Commons Orientation ceremonies may notice that many of their peers have chosen to pursue some STEM major, perhaps even under a pre-med track. At many universities across the country, especially those specifically catered to STEM fields, students are capable of focusing their entire undergraduate curriculum on these...
The Start of Sophomore Year
Sep. 4, 2017—As the semester is beginning and all the squirrels are welcoming you to campus, I am sure that the questions at the front of your mind are “How is Ashli starting off her sophomore year?” and “What is she up to this semester?” Well, to ease your obvious anxiety, here is an update on me!...
Back in the Swing of Things
Sep. 2, 2017—We’ve only been on campus for 2 weeks, but it feels like forever. I don’t mean that as a bad thing. It’s an awesome thing to feel as if you’ve never quite left somewhere. For me, this means somewhere is like home. And definitely, coming back to Vandy as a sophomore feels like coming home,...
Vandy Meals: A Day in the Life
Aug. 29, 2017—As a junior, a lot has changed since freshman year regarding my meal plan. This year, I decided to go on the 14 meals a week plan, while sophomore year I had 19 meals a week, and freshman year I had 21 meals a week. I mainly decided on this change because I’m living in...
(Belated) First Day Advice
Aug. 27, 2017—As I shuffled into Furman 114, a classroom that was going to become a holding tank for 150 students during the next hour, I was both eager and uncertain. I ruminated over the fact that where I decided to sit in this very moment would set the precedent for not only every other class period...
An Ode to Towers
Aug. 26, 2017—Have you ever wondered what upperclassmen housing at Vanderbilt looks like? Here’s a photo blog post about my room in one of the four Towers on main campus, my last dorm room as an undergraduate (and a random picture of my textbooks)!