Name: Kat Gross
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Year: Senior (ahhh)
Major/Minor: Elem. Ed. & Child Studies double major
Campus Involvement: ΑΔΠ, Peabody Scholars, Peabody Academic Leaders, Children’s Learning Lab Research Assistant
Since you’re ADPi’s Scholarship Chair, what academic advice do you have for freshmen in their first year?
Definitely get to know your professors. Not only are you more likely to enjoy (and pay attention) in class if you know your professor, but he or she is also more willing to work with you (tutoring, extensions, missing class, etc.) if they know you personally or are more than just a face in their 100+ person lecture. Also, getting to know professors and their work can open really cool doors into research assistantships, job internships, or resume help! Additionally, I think it’s critically important to be organized and focus on time management. Having separate folders in your email to sort all incoming mail into is ideal to make sure that no important emails go unread or get lost.
In terms of time management, there are so many fun things to do on the weekend at college that it can be tricky to fit all of your work into Sunday evenings. A great piece of advice that I learned from a senior when I was a first-year was to work on Friday afternoons until 5. Typically, dinner plans/parties/games don’t start until after 5 so get a head start! That way you won’t hate your Sundays as much or get off to a rough start on Monday.
What do you plan to do when you graduate?
Hopefully, I will be attending graduate school. My ideal program is the Learning and Design program here at the Peabody College at Vandy! I just love my professors so much and the rigorous nature of the program. If I get accepted, I will start that next August and graduate with my master’s in May! After that, I’ll be in the classroom! (No idea where, though… figure that out when I get there).
Why did you decide to come to Vanderbilt instead of sticking with your hometown Tennessee Volunteers?
While I love UT (please don’t hate me), I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me. It’s a much larger school (and campus) than Vandy, and I wanted a more mid-sized feel. I also knew that many of the people I attended high school with would be going to UT, and I wanted to challenge myself to branch out and meet new people. Vanderbilt’s student body offers a level of diversity (racially, politically, geographically, religiously, etc.) that UT doesn’t have. I also knew the reputation that Vanderbilt and Peabody had, and academics are super important to me.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Nashville?
EAT! And see concerts! Ideally having dinner at a cool place before going to see a concert :) I love all types of food, particularly Mexican, and Nashville has SO many unique, local spots as well as the big chains that you just can’t go without (cough, cough, Chick Fil A). The concert situation is awesome as well because not many big name artists ever came to Knoxville on tours. I’ve seen OneRepublic, Taylor Swift, Ben Rector, Of Monsters and Men, OneDirection, Dierks Bentley, Imagine Dragons, and I’ll be seeing Beyonce and Adele this fall!