Dinner with Chancellor Zeppos
Last night, I had the privilege of visiting the Chancellor’s mansion in Belle Meade, which is about 5 miles from campus. A group of students were randomly selected to join Chancellor Zeppos at his second home for dinner and a small reception.
At 5:30 yesterday evening, there were shuttles waiting for us to take us to the house. I was a little nervous because none of my friends were going with me, but of course, in true Vanderbilt fashion, as soon as I stepped onto the shuttle, there were three people I knew from classes last semester. I was also pleasantly surprised to see my RA from last year was also in attendance.
When we arrived at the house, the Chancellor and an array of professors greeted us. We were served drinks (including Perrier in glass bottles!) and left to mingle with each other and the adults. The Chancellor eventually led us into the dining room where we were served and ate a delicious Vanderbilt catered dinner.
You know me, always the foodie, but I must say that the company at this dinner surpassed the food by far. We were all assigned to a table. There were four students and one professor at each. At first, I was a little upset that seats were assigned. I wanted to sit with my RA and my friends from class. By the end though, I had three new friends and a new faculty role model.
Professor Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, from the Biomedical Engineering department, was assigned to my table. She was absolutely inspiring. Her journey was incredible and her work is astounding. She seemed to have life completely figured out: a mom of two awesome kids, a full-time professor and the head of a productive lab. She also had great, yet simple life advice. She told us not to wait for anything. There is no better time than the present because life only gets harder. So, I suppose I should take her advice and start studying for my two exams on Monday, and then go run that marathon I’ve been putting off.