This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Vanderbilt chapter.
Name: Laurel
Hometown: Western Springs, IL
Year: Senior
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Campus Involvement: Original Cast, Alpha Delta Pi, Alternative Spring Break, Tap That!
Since you recently ran the Chicago Marathon, can you describe why you made that decision and what it was like?
My entire immediate family runs marathons, so it runs (hehehe) in my genes. My family really emphasized fitness growing up, but I swore I would never run a marathon because it sounds terrible, right? Sophomore year of college I felt like I needed to get back in shape, so I signed up for the Columbus Marathon one day on a whim. Chicago was actually my second marathon. I wanted to run in my home city, and that way it was easy for my family and friends to come cheer me on. Marathons are great experiences. I highly recommend that everyone run one in their lifetime. If you train it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds. It’s just a very very long jog. The hard part is keeping your mind occupied for 3-4 hours. But during your long runs, you really get to know yourself. I know that sounds odd. Running for me is like yoga for other people. After a long run I feel very calm and very happy. But I won’t lie, it hurts…..a lot. I can’t walk down stairs for two days after a marathon.
How do you balance being an engineer and being in a performing arts group? Those two things are usually considered to be pretty different.
It’s not really a matter of balancing left brain and right brain, and more of mixing the two. Engineering can be very creative with design problems, so being involved in very “right brain” oriented activities like Original Cast can actually help me with engineering. It is difficult to balance the time commitments for each, so I end up spending a lot of late nights in Featheringill. But I’m glad that I take time to do something I really enjoy, even if that means getting a little less sleep.
Since you’re a senior, what is your favorite Vanderbilt memory from your time here?
My freshman year, when I first joined Cast, I lost my voice and went on vocal rest. I had to carry a white board around everywhere because I couldn’t talk. I remember going to my friend Jacqueline’s room and just goofing around and chatting with this stupid white board. I think that’s the definitive moment when she became one of my best friends. Also, because I can’t pick just one, my sophomore year I pulled an all-nighter in Featheringill to study for my biomaterials final. My friend Maddie was doing the same thing. “Rather Be” had just come out and so we played that song every hour on the hour to keep us from going crazy. She had come up with this little dance and we would just dance around for a few minutes before going back to studying. I wouldn’t say it’s the best memory, but I think those memories that are made up of good and bad are the ones that I will remember most. I love that Vanderbilt has this “collective struggle.” You know that everyone is going through the same stuff, and somehow that brings the student body together.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I am currently interviewing for a few jobs. I want to go into biomedical design of some sort. I am applying for jobs at various running shoe companies (New Balance, Brooks, etc.) because I saw some openings for biomechanical data analysts and I think those jobs would be a good mix of my interests and my degree. Honestly, I don’t know where I’ll end up at this point, and that’s a bit scary.