Why Peabody?
“What’s the deal with Peabody?”
“How manageable is your course load?”
“Are all Peabody students future teachers?”
Being a ‘Dore for a Day host and a writer for this blog, I get asked these sorts of questions a lot. So I’m here to answer some of them for you guys! Peabody is one of my (many) favorite things about Vanderbilt, and I could probably talk/write about it for ages.
First of all, Peabody’s liberal core requirements are really great: they make sure that you’re a well-rounded, educated individual after graduation, but they also don’t force you to take a whole ton of classes that don’t pertain to your major. That’s one of the main differences between Peabody and the College of Arts and Science: the prerequisites that we need to graduate aren’t as extensive as AXLE (A&S’s core requirements), which makes majoring and minoring in multiple disciplines super doable. In fact, on top of my double major and minor, I’m planning on studying in Chile for a semester! Peabody definitely allows for flexibility if you wanted to go abroad or take fun classes outside your major(s).
Also, oh my goodness, the Peabody family is SO AWESOME. It’s made up of a pretty diverse group of minds: contrary to what you many have heard, many Peabody students aren’t education majors. Peabody houses programs like Human and Organizational Development and Cognitive Studies, courses of study that focus on human behavior and how the mind works. Despite our differences, though, the vast majority of Peabody students are some of the kindest people you’ve ever met! I’ve made so many sweet friends from the education classes I’ve had so far, and I’m bound to make more as I spend increasing amounts of time with my cohort (the group of people who share my major and concentration, for example, Secondary Ed and English). The faculty that I’ve had interactions with are also so, so, wonderful. The two professors that have taught me thus far, Dr. McTamaney and Dr. Wehby, are both incredibly talented at making large lecture-style classes seem cozy. Even the Peabody administration is amazing and accessible: my friend Andrea regularly grabs lunch with the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Dr. Robinson-Nichols, who I’ve heard is really supportive and a great mentor!
Because of its size–Peabody is the second-smallest college at Vanderbilt behind Blair–it’s also really easy to get involved, make change, or just take advantage of the multitude of opportunities there are here. I’m a member of the Secondary Education Advisory Council, which is a small group of both undergraduate and grad students working to directly tackle issues that concern us as students. (More on this in a future blog post.) Research is also readily available if that’s your thing! One of my professors this semester, Dr. Wehby, has offered my class the chance to help him out with some of the influential work that he’s doing in the field of special education.
So if you ever see me studying in the beautiful Wyatt Center or walking into class at the Sony Building, please say hi! I would be so happy to chat about Peabody, the opportunities that I’ve found there, or just life at Vanderbilt in general. I’m so passionate about my school & program and I just want to share the love :) My friends love Peabody just as much as I do, so stay tuned for an eventual post about their experiences, too!
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If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at annabel.r.sengstock@vanderbilt.edu. I really want to hear what’s on your mind!!
Love, Annabel