7 Days of Blogging: All About VUcept and Visions
Now that I’ve talked about my classes this semester, I thought I’d share with you all about one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had the chance to have since coming to Vanderbilt: being a VUceptor! For those of you who are unaware, VUceptors are peer mentors who lead Vanderbilt’s orientation program called Vanderbilt Visions, which lasts from before school starts until Thanksgiving break. Our group had our final meeting last week, and I’m so thankful that I have gotten to learn and grow alongside them this year and will miss seeing them weekly, though I’m already planning reunions for us all. Huge shoutout to Visions Group 81, you all are the best!
Being a VUceptor is such an honor, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to be a part of this incredible organization this year. My year as a VUceptor has gone a little bit like this: returning to campus a week early to train alongside other VUceptors, getting to know my faculty partner (each group has both a student and faculty leader), meeting with my group once weekly and getting to know the 18 of them better as time passed, discussing important and sometimes challenging topics, and working to make Vanderbilt a more welcoming and inclusive space for both first-year students and other members of our community.
While my time as a VUceptor this year has ended, I am so excited to be a part of the executive board in the next year as a Selections Co-chair, whereby I’ll get to aid in the process of finding our next cohort of VUceptors who will go on to mentor Vanderbilt’s Class of 2022. My co-chair Tommy and I have hit the ground running, and are enthusiastically writing up questions for applications, which will open this winter! I can’t wait to see what this partnership will produce, and what our board as a whole can work together to accomplish in the upcoming year.
VUcept has been an integral part of my time at Vanderbilt so far, and will likely continue to be as my time here passes. From forming lasting friendships both with my VUceptor last year and other members of my Visions group to having the opportunity to meet 18 wonderful members of the Class of 2021, to working alongside and learning from my faculty partner and other VUceptors, to now being a part of board, I have learned so much about what it means to come to college and what it means for a campus to truly be a welcoming space for the people who spend their time there. VUcept and Visions are amazing programs, and for anyone interested in attending Vanderbilt, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about the first-year experience here. Ask anyone- I can literally talk to you about it for as long as you will let me.