Class of 2022: Quentin Millora-Brown willing to play his role in engineering climate change solutions
Quentin Millora-Brown, a senior forward on the men’s basketball team, had his best individual season this year. A starter in 30 games, he led Vanderbilt in blocked shots and was second in rebounding. Off the court, Millora-Brown knows that camaraderie alone won’t solve society’s most pressing issues, such as the climate crisis—a problem he is passionate about. But he believes the same team approach in pursuit of a larger goal will make a difference. A mechanical engineering graduate, he is fascinated by conversations about moving away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy—not just the headline-grabbing technologies but the small changes that will also be necessary for success. Millora-Brown will continue looking for answers next year when he returns as an engineering graduate student working in the Laser Diagnostics of Combustion laboratory at Vanderbilt. MORE
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Class of 2022: Military nurse and master’s student Stacey Rokas turns to Vanderbilt while on front lines of COVID pandemic
When military nurse Stacey Rokas filled out her application to Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, she was embedded with the U.S. Marines on a training exercise with an international joint force in South Korea. She was the officer in charge of medical care. Rokas returned from deployment and enrolled in Vanderbilt’s master of science in nursing program to pursue an emergency nurse practitioner specialty. Building on the foundation of the family nurse practitioner specialty, the ENP specialty prepares caregivers for dual certification to practice in diverse emergency care settings. MORE
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Class of 2022: Hao Zhen finds joy in imaginative approach to music composition
It’s not unusual to see Hao Zhen literally bouncing with enthusiasm into the classrooms and rehearsal halls at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music. She traces her excitement about making music to a pivotal moment in her childhood. She’s expanded that passion for piano to composing music for multiple instruments, including what she calls her latest obsession, the harpsichord. Zhen said her professors and fellow students have inspired her to test her creative spirit. As an international student, Zhen initially worried that language would be a barrier. She, however, quickly bonded with the Blair community through a shared joy of music. MORE
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Class of 2022: Harry Choi uses global experiences to create belonging on campus
Harry Choi has lived in four countries on three continents, learned five languages and made lasting connections with people from around the globe. At Vanderbilt he is using his international experiences to help people feel a greater sense of belonging on campus. Choi is known for treating people he’s meeting for the first time like old friends and helping them feel valued. Choi has done this consistently as a resident adviser, a peer health education intern at the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center, and an interpreter for patients at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine-led Shade Tree Clinic, which provides free medical care to people with limited resources in Nashville. Choi said wherever he goes next in the world, he will take Vanderbilt with him. MORE
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Class of 2022: Jordyn Cambridge emerges from adversity as a servant-leader
On the basketball court, Jordyn Cambridge excels at making those around her better. A point guard who played the most minutes for a team that reached the third round of this season’s Women’s National Invitation Tournament, she finished third in assists in the mighty SEC. It’s little wonder that the Nashville native gravitated toward human and organizational development at Vanderbilt. For as long as she has played basketball, she has studied the subtleties of human interaction. Her perspective was shaped by an intensely personal and challenging journey of self-discovery. As each physical setback tested her, she focused on the reasons she played the game—family, opportunity, teammates and a passion to compete. Attuned to understanding others, she began to understand more about herself. The stronger she was on her own, the stronger she could make her community on and off the court. MORE
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Class of 2022: Adrian White strives to embody an inclusive and welcoming version of Christianity
Becoming an ordained Presbyterian minister was not initially part of Adrian White’s future plans, but that path became clear during their time at Vanderbilt Divinity School. “As I continued to think and pray about who I was and how that affected all parts of my life, this call to a life centered on my faith and on making faith and Christianity accessible and safe for more people really bubbled to the surface. And Vanderbilt Divinity School is the place where I have been able to do that.” White also interned for a Presbyterian church in Nashville, which helped to expand and support their calling into ministry. MORE
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Class of 2022: Liza Moskowitz believes business success starts with cultivating community
When Liza Moskowitz walked into the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, she had a vision for her future as a business leader. Part of that included building and empowering a supportive and success-driven community. Moskowitz has worked closely with her peers as the president of the Women’s Business Association and as an active leader in the Jewish Business Association. Moskowitz said the Women’s Business Association has partnered with the business school to build an environment for women to thrive. MORE
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Class of 2022: Dillon Pruett draws on personal experience in genetic research of stuttering
Growing up, Dillon Pruett didn’t know anyone who stuttered like he did, but he was well aware of how widely misunderstood the disorder was—by children and by adults. As he learned more about the science behind it, he became determined to dispel those misconceptions. Today the Ph.D. candidate in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine is conducting novel genetic research to provide a better understanding of stuttering with the goal of developing new therapies to treat it. Pruett is working with the BioVU DNA databank at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to examine the genetic basis of stuttering, as well as how the disorder is characterized in electronic health records. Despite the surge in biomedical work over the last decade, Pruett said genetic research around stuttering is an area that receives significantly less attention. Pruett also has served as a tutor at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development and as a volunteer at Camp T.A.L.K.S., a special summer camp for children who stutter. MORE
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Class of 2022: Double ’Dore Emily Burgess uses law school experience to expand advocacy work
Whether giving legal support to survivors of sexual assault, immigrants or inmates on Tennessee’s death row, Emily Burgess is on a mission to be an advocate for those in need. Burgess started collaborating with Nashville-area organizations in advocacy work while double-majoring in human and organizational development, and history and economics at Vanderbilt. Her internship with the Jean Crow Advocacy Center, serving survivors of domestic violence, inspired her plan for law school. Burgess has received multiple Vanderbilt Scholastic Excellence Awards at the law school for having the top grades in courses on immigration law, juvenile justice, actual innocence and mass incarceration. She also has completed several public interest internships. MORE
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Next Steps at Vanderbilt graduates to join their peers at Commencement
For the first time, graduates from the Next Steps at Vanderbilt program for students with developmental disabilities will walk in the full campus Commencement ceremony. The eight Next Steps graduates who are a part of the program’s Class of 2022 will share in the ceremony that many of their peer mentors will participate in at Vanderbilt Stadium on May 13. Housed in Peabody College of education and human development’s Department of Special Education, Next Steps at Vanderbilt provides students with intellectual disabilities an inclusive, transformational higher education experience that embodies the values of belonging, compassion and excellence in all endeavors. While in the program, students work with Next Steps at Vanderbilt staff to create a self-directed program of study that allows for a unique and customized path for achievement in academic areas, independent living skills, career development and university life. Students also have the opportunity to participate in up to two Vanderbilt courses per semester . . . . MORE
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