New Bloggers Selected
After an extensive review of applications, the Inside ‘Dores exec board selected eight new bloggers for the 2011-12 academic year. Below you’ll find their self-authored bios. I am incredibly excited to read their work next year!
So without further ado…
Welcome our newest Inside ‘Dores bloggers!
Evan Curan
Hey guys! My name is Evan Curran and I am a second year student in Peabody College double majoring in Human and Organizational Development and Public Policy, with a focus in education policy. I eventually hope to either work in a state department of education or go to law school for education law.
Here at Vanderbilt, I definitely like to keep busy. I am involved in several organizations including Peabody Council, Student Alumni Board, Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity, and Vanderbilt Service and Public Policy. I also have a job at the Vanderbilt Family and Child Center (I get to paid to play with kids…best job ever!). This semester, I have also been interning at the Nashville Children’s Alliance, a non-profit organization that provides forensic interviews and therapy for children that have been abused.
I am originally from Wilmette, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). I am a die-hard Cubs fan (as painful as that may be…I have a feeling this is our year though). In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with friends, playing tennis, volunteering, and exploring all that Nashville has to offer.
Please feel free to email me with any questions about life at Vanderbilt. I can be reached at evan.d.curran@vanderbilt.edu. Go Dores!
Caitlyn Durning
Hi! I’m Caitlyn Durning–or Cadie, to some. I’m from Upland, California (about an hour outside of Los Angeles) and I graduated from Vivian Webb School. I’m a California girl at heart, but I absolutely love Nashville! I am currently a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences and my major is as undecided as it can possibly be. I plan on minoring in French, and I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life–but I’m confident that everything will work out and soon I’ll find a major that I love.
Here on campus, I play on the women’s club soccer team and I am a member of the sorority Alpha Omicron Pi. In my spare time, I love to read, watch Friends, sing, play soccer, listen to music, and host random dance parties in my room–I’ve also been known to occasionally hide cheesy love notes from “secret admirers” for my friends to find. I might be quiet at first, but if you ask my friends, I’m anything but!
I’m loving everything about Vanderbilt, and I hope that I can share how awesome it is with all of you!
Malina Halman
Hello! My name is Malina Halman, and I am from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I am currently a rising sophomore (time has flown!) majoring in Medicine, Health, and Society and minoring in Leadership and Organization and Women’s and Gender Studies. Oh, and I am Pre-med, too. And if you also consider AXLE (..but who would want to do that?), those are a lot of requirements to meet; but I would not have it any other way. I liken myself to a shark in the sense that if I do not keep moving forward, I die… or something like that. Too corny? I’ll move on. I keep myself busy outside of classes by working tech for both Vanderbilt University Theatre and Original Cast—two AMAZING theatre groups on campus that I highly recommend to anyone with a heartbeat.
I am a huge fan of 8tracks (Google it!), Roma’s pizza, documentaries, Diet Caffeine Free Coke, Leonardo DiCaprio, Albert Camus, and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I have also been a dancer for 11 years (ballet, pointe, jazz, musical theatre, and hip-hop mainly), so I do a bit of that, too!
Mary Hadley Holmes
Hi! My name is Hadley Holmes and I’m from New Canaan, Connecticut (Yes, I’m a bit far from home). I’m currently a freshman at Vanderbilt, soon to be a sophomore, which is unbelievable–I can’t believe the year went by so fast! Right now I am undecided as far as my major, but I’m heading in the direction of Communication Studies or Business and Communication and still contemplating creating my own major; regardless, I know for sure that I want to go to law school after college.
I’m involved in the club soccer team on campus, although I’m not on the playing squad, but I still go to team practices to make sure I stay in shape! I’m also a member of Vanderbilt’s Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter. Next year, I’m hoping to try out for the squash team and have the courage to audition for the Swingin’ Dores, one of the female a capella groups on campus.
My high school experience was a little different than others because I went to boarding school. No, my parents didn’t ship me off for being rebellious, I wanted to go and I loved it! I played soccer, squash and ran track and was captain for all three sports my senior year in addition to being a proctor, which is similar to an RA in college dorms.
A fun fact about me is that I absolutely love to travel. When I was a sophomore, I got a grant to go to Thailand to work with elephants and teach English. My junior year, I was among a group students selected to travel to Antarctica, and also traveled to Kenya to visit a school that I helped to raise money to build. Needless to say, I took some time off from traveling my senior year to focus on my college applications.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to send an e-mail my way! => M.Hadley.Holmes@Vanderbilt.edu
Nell Koneczny
‘Allo there! My name is Nell Koneczny, and I am a freshman from Maryville, TN. I am majoring in anthropology and am exploring history or HOD as my second major or a minor. I plan on becoming a professor one day to share my love for learning.
While in high school, I was very involved with the marching band and community service. At Vanderbilt, I started as a member in the Spirit of Gold Marching Band during the fall and joined the University Concert Choir in the spring. I am a Susan Gray Fellow through Murray House; I go play with my little buddy once a week at the Susan Gray School on Peabody Campus. I spent my spring break in Minnesota with Alternative Spring Break. I am also involved with Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science, an organization that sends college students to perform nifty science experiments at local schools. Aside from all of that, I love spending time with my friends.
I adore Vanderbilt, and I can’t wait to share my experiences while at Vanderbilt and abroad! If you have any questions or comments, or if you just want to talk, please send me an email at nell.a.koneczny@vanderbilt.edu! Let me help however I can.
Juliana Musselman
Hi! I’m Juliana Musselman, a freshman in Peabody double majoring in Special Education and Elementary Education. I am originally from Upper Arlington, Ohio (a suburb of Columbus) but my family moved to Washington DC last October.
Here at Vanderbilt I am involved in a wide range of activities. I sing in the Vanderbilt University Concert Choir, I host prospective students through the Dore for a Day program, I am involved with Wesley Canterbury Fellowship (the Methodist/Episcopal group on campus), and I am a member of Sigma Phi Lambda, which is the Christian sorority. I also tutor elementary school students once a week.
When I am not doing homework or attending meetings for my activities, I really like to spend time with my friends. I love going to dinner off campus, walking through Hillsboro Village, going to Predators games, watching movies, and going to concerts. I have really enjoyed the time I have spent at Vanderbilt thus far, and I hope that my blog will allow you to see just how wonderful life at Vanderbilt really is!
Una Nattermann
Hey there! My name is Una Nattermann and I come from the happiest city in the United States! Well…that’s not a real statistic, but it’s how I feel. Proud to be from the liberal, fun-loving city of Bloomington, IN, I am now more than happy to call Nashville my home. I’m a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences double majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and French. What do I want to be? – you ask. Who knows? A doctor, a researcher, or a mountain guide perhaps!
On campus, I’m involved in women’s club soccer, the campus radio station (WRVU 91.1 FM), Habitat for Humanity, Vanderbilt Dining, the Outdoor Recreation Center, and WilSkills! I absolutely love anything that will take me outdoors (I dare you to ask me about rock climbing!), but frequently spend my time studying and doing research in a structural biology lab.
So friends, Commodores, classmates, lend me your ears! And feel free to e-mail me with any questions at una.w.nattermann@vanderbilt.edu.
Ashlin Sara Philip
My name is Ashlin Sara Philip, and I’m a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences from Chattanooga, TN. My plan is to major in Biological Sciences (yes, I’m pre-med!) and perhaps acquire a minor along the way. My dream career is to be a pediatrician, and I’m very confident that the experiences I have at Vanderbilt will help me achieve that goal, and have an amazing time along the way!
I really love interacting with people, so I chose to get involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Masala-SACE, BCM, and AmbassaDores on campus. Apart from these groups, I enjoy spending my time eating, running, and singing along with songs, whether people are present or not.
I also love receiving emails, so please feel free to email me if you have any questions about life at Vanderbilt at ashlin.s.philip@vanderbilt.edu.