Name: Kate Tarne
Hometown: Shawnee, Kansas
Year: Junior
Major: Elementary Education and Natural Science Studies
Involvement: president of Alpha Delta Pi, Peabody Scholar, volunteer with Girls on the Run, Kappa Delta Pi
What is it like to be the president of a Greek chapter on campus? What would surprise people about what you do?
Being president so far has been a really rewarding experience. It’s fun to know everything that’s going on in the sorority and get to work with officers plan events and find way to improve, and I love being able to give back to my sorority because it’s been such an important part of my college experience so far. I think the thing that would surprise people is how much of a time commitment it really is- I probably spend 20-30 hours a week on sorority related things, depending on how much we have going on that week. From emails, meeting with officers, attending events, addressing concerns with sisters, etc., it’s a big time commitment but I love it.
What advice do you have for younger members of Greek life?
I think the most important thing is finding ways to get more involved, if that’s what you want from your experience. My first few semesters, I just tried to spend a lot of time at the house- cooking in the kitchen, studying at the house, or just hanging out with sisters and talking after chapter. That led to me getting more involved in the chapter, both because I knew more sisters and because I started taking on leadership positions. I know everyone wants something different from their experience, but I think trying to get to know as many sisters as you can is important- especially getting to know girls older or younger than you.
Tell me about your summer in Copenhagen.
I studied abroad in Copenhagen this past summer through a Peabody Scholars stipend and it was incredible. I was there for six weeks and took two classes- one was Design and Society in Denmark, and the other was Climate Change and Glacier Modeling (which included a week study tour to Iceland!!!). I loved living in Copenhagen. I lived in an apartment with nine other people in my program from schools throughout the country, and our building had a total of 60 people from our program. We lived about 20 minutes away from where our classes were, so one of my favorite parts was biking to and from class (usually with a stop at my favorite pastry shop on the way back from class for a giant flakey pastry covered in chocolate). I really liked getting to experience a different culture so fully. The Danes were really friendly and happy to share their culture with us, which led to lots of late night discussions about the differences between our two cultures. It’s also a culture of people who love the sun and the water, so I spent a lot of time outside and have a new appreciation for that. It sounds super cheesy to say that studying abroad was life changing, but it gave me a new perspective on who I am and what’s important and I’m really grateful for that. Also, Iceland is amazing and everyone should go there.
What is your favorite part of going to Vanderbilt?
Can I say everything? Like actually, I think this school is so incredible and I’m so happy to be here (happiest students in the country and all). I think the campus is beautiful; the professors I’ve had classes with are all so helpful and intelligent and really passionate about what they do; and the opportunities that I’ve had here (studying abroad, researching with professors both on campus and off, etc) are above and beyond what my friends at other schools experience. I also have so much respect for our student body, and I think the students are a big part of what I love about this school. We’re a school full of intelligent, involved students, but we’re also aware of the issues on our campus, and I think we’re willing to admit to these as we work to address them, which says a lot about the kinds of students we are and also the kinds of leaders we’ll grow to be.
What is your favorite thing about living in Nashville?
My favorite thing about Nashville is all the great places to run, probably. I was training for a marathon last semester and got the chance to explore a lot of Nashville, from Belle Meade to Shelby Bottoms in East Nashville. It feels like there’s a lot of life in this city and there’s always so many different things going on. It’s also a great city to live in if you like being outdoors- the parks are all wonderful and I love that on a nice day, they’re packed full of people enjoying them.