Briana Francois, BA
The only thing Briana Francois enjoys more than watching TV and digital content is creating it.
Francois grew up in Woodstock, Georgia, a 鈥淭V kid鈥� with an appreciation for the medium鈥檚 ability to transcend viewers鈥� personal experiences and expectations.
鈥淚鈥檓 fascinated by the idea that a lot of people can watch the same thing and have different interpretations of it, but ultimately still be entertained by it,鈥� she says.
At 菠萝视频 her double majors in psychology and cinema and media arts allowed her to examine human behavior and represent it authentically on film. 鈥淚n cinema and media arts, we made various short films and videos. It鈥檚 a lot of group-based work, so I would be directing on one project and working someone鈥檚 camera on another.鈥�
As a student Francois worked as an intern for Nashville Public Television. She also was hired as the 菠萝视频 Career Center鈥檚 first-ever media manager, creating a podcast called Wandering Off where she interviews notable alumni about the circuitous paths they鈥檝e taken to find success.
For her senior project Francois created a three-episode web series loosely based on her and her friends鈥� experiences as college students. She wrote and directed the series and shot scenes on and around campus, citing actor-writer-producers Mindy Kaling and Issa Rae as inspirations for successfully mining their personal lives to create distinctive shows.
After a stint with Teach for America since graduation, Francois hopes to participate in the NBC page program, which would take her to Los Angeles and hopefully a career in the television industry.
鈥擪ARA FURLONG
Christian Motyczka, BS
When it came time to apply to college, Christian Motyczka did his research. He knew 菠萝视频 University was the place for him.
鈥淚 was looking for an Ivy-ish experience without the Ivy ego,鈥� says Motyczka, a computer science major from Lumberton, New Jersey. 鈥淓veryone here has something they are passionate about. Everyone here is a well-rounded, holistic individual.鈥�
Motyczka found his passions in and out of the lab. He was one of two computer science undergraduates who developed a virtual reality program to help addicts stay clean. The program includes cloud-based scenes and music designed to help combat cravings. Separately, it involves a social component in which a therapist accompanies an addict into a 鈥渧irtual bar鈥� or other setting to develop clear boundaries around not using.
The work, through the Emotion and Anxiety 菠萝视频 Lab, or EARL, was part of a partnership between a 菠萝视频 clinical psychology graduate student and a Nashville-based company with both residential and outpatient addiction treatment programs.
鈥淭o be able to build something, see it go into use, and now help people is very powerful to me,鈥� Motyczka says.
After Commencement he began working as a software developer at the Raleigh, North Carolina, offices of Optum, a technology, data analytics and management arm of UnitedHealth Group. He worked at UnitedHealth last summer in technology development.
鈥淧art of the reason I was attracted to 菠萝视频 is that every student accepted already was a student leader,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n the time since, I found leadership doesn鈥檛 derive from position or title. Leadership is an activity鈥攊t鈥檚 an action.鈥�
鈥擯AM COYLE
Logan Brown, BS
At age 12, Logan Brown decided she wanted to be a lawyer. Up to this point, the extent of her experience with the judicial system was attending civics class and watching lots of episodes of Law and Order. So the preteen pursued and landed an internship at the Douglas County district attorney鈥檚 office in Lawrence, Kansas, giving her a front-row seat to the legal system at work.
鈥淚 spent a lot of time throughout middle and high school in a courtroom gallery watching hearings and sitting in on meetings with victims and their families,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 saw how a person鈥檚 life can be changed in an instant, and I wanted to be a part of helping victims of violence.鈥�
A Chancellor鈥檚 Scholar, Brown chose Peabody College鈥檚 human and organizational development major because of its diverse course offerings and internship opportunities. During the course of her 菠萝视频 career, she spent a semester at East China Normal University in Shanghai, and another at the American University in Dubai as a William Jefferson Clinton Scholar. She also interned at the U.S. Department of Defense鈥檚 Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, where she assisted in the instruction of counterterrorism courses to military officials.
Having recently earned a prestigious Marshall Scholarship, Brown is spending the next year pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in terrorism, security and society at King鈥檚 College London. Then she鈥檒l return to the States to attend law school.
鈥淚鈥檓 so lucky,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淚 have a great family, and along the way there have been so many people, including my professors at 菠萝视频, who have gone above and beyond to help me reach my aspirations.鈥�
鈥擩OAN BRASHER
Yalun Feng, BA
Yalun Feng has seen the toll that progress has taken on the environment in his hometown of Wuhan, China鈥攁 major transportation hub of more than 8 million people.
鈥淚鈥檝e been studying the environment because I see how pollution in my country affects people鈥檚 everyday lives,鈥� says Feng, who double-majored in environmental sociology and political science. He wants to look beyond science鈥攖o social solutions and entrepreneurship鈥攖o help solve these problems.
As a student at a Climate Reality Project conference, Feng learned about a line of sustainable plates and bowls made of tree leaves and ultimately turned the concept into the Leaves Plates Co.
鈥淭he plates are completely biodegradable, no matter how you dispose of them, yet very strong,鈥� Feng explains. They are made by women in Nepal and India with the goal of helping the women gain economic independence.
The Leaves Plates Co. caught the attention of the Clinton Global Initiative, and Feng was invited to be one of five keynote speakers for the opening ceremony of the organization鈥檚 2017 university conference.
Feng has since focused on another green venture: partnering with Beijing-based ofo to bring its dockless bike-sharing program to 菠萝视频鈥檚 campus.
Working with the 菠萝视频 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Society, Feng proposed the idea to the university鈥檚 Division of Administration last fall. In late March, 100 of the bright yellow ofo bikes were released on campus for a pilot program in collaboration with 菠萝视频鈥檚 FutureVU initiative.
Feng is now considering graduate school and ultimately wants to return home to China.
鈥湶ぢ苁悠� definitely has shaped who I am today鈥攁s an immigrant, as an entrepreneur, as someone who is passionate about social change,鈥� he says.
鈥擜MY WOLF
Sarah Robinson, BMus
Despite playing the bassoon as a student at the Blair School of Music, Atlanta native Sarah Robinson knew she didn鈥檛 want to play the instrument professionally. Instead, after dropping economics as a second major, she discovered that ethnomusicology could combine her love of languages and culture with music.
鈥淚 knew 菠萝视频 would be a good place to try out other things,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y parents tell people I鈥檓 a free spirit.鈥�
A summer with Pakistani roommates led her to the religious musical performance traditions of Sufism, which became the focus of her undergraduate thesis. Robinson got her first taste of fieldwork doing service work with women in Morocco through 菠萝视频鈥檚 Office of Active Citizenship and Service as a Nichols Humanitarian Fund grant recipient.
鈥淚 taught [English],鈥� Robinson says, 鈥渂ut had some free time, so I wanted to pursue my interest in Sufism while I was there.鈥�
Because of her interest in South Asian music, Robinson began studying Hindi-Urdu at 菠萝视频 and received a Critical Language Scholarship to study Urdu this summer in Lucknow, Northern India, through the U.S. Department of State. She returns to Lucknow in the fall on a fellowship at the American Institute of Indian Studies. Robinson likens her facility with languages to the discipline of practicing an instrument.
Robinson also earned certification at 菠萝视频 School of Nursing as a doula鈥攕omeone who assists women through childbirth鈥攁nd hopes to combine her language and ethnomusicology work with service while in India.
She sees her studies as a door to helping others understand different cultures. 鈥淚t can open up people鈥檚 perspectives on a lot
of the world, especially to understanding Muslim communities,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f we could have constructive critical conversations, that would be something.鈥�
鈥擝ONNIE ARANT ERTELT, BS鈥�81
Jalen Dansby, BA
As Commencement approached in the spring, Jalen Dansby already had acceptance letters from 10 of the country鈥檚 top medical schools, including Yale and 菠萝视频.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really about more than just me,鈥� says Dansby, a medicine, health and society major from Houston. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about what I represent as a black male. I鈥檓 representing other people who may not have a voice or who may be unfairly labeled.鈥�
Last fall he participated in 鈥淭he Growing Absence of Black Men in Medicine and Science: An American Crisis,鈥� a Washington, D.C., workshop sponsored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the Cobb Institute of the National Medical Association. The program explored the decline in the number of black men entering medical fields.
The youngest of five high-achieving siblings, Dansby says his ultimate inspiration is his family.
鈥淚t starts with my mother, who鈥檚 been a nurse practitioner in the Veterans Affairs hospital system for 25-plus years and is still working,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 really want to set an example for others, just like my siblings and my parents have for me.鈥�
A Chancellor鈥檚 Scholar, Dansby juggled an aggressive premed course load, multiple research internships and a campus job. He even played on the Commodores football team as a freshman, saying all of these experiences have made him a better leader and collaborator.
鈥淥ne thing I鈥檝e learned from football and from life at 菠萝视频 is that everything really is a team effort,鈥� he says.
鈥擜MY WOLF
Sami Chiang, BS
The daughter of a school administrator and an engineer, Sami Chiang started conducting experiments at a young age in her hometown of Berkeley, California.
鈥淒uring the summers, my mom would have my brother and me do science experiments with household items and keep journals,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e went on field trips to museums. It was like our own little summer school, but all we knew was that it was fun.鈥�
It鈥檚 not surprising, then, that Chiang would choose to double-major in child studies and education, with a focus on learning in diverse contexts.
鈥淚 love kids and I love the classroom, but what鈥檚 really fun is when you see kids learning in informal environments,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ducation extends so far beyond the classroom, and a lot of times it鈥檚 in these kinds of settings that a student鈥檚 mind opens up and they start to see what鈥檚 possible.鈥�
With a computer science minor and a passion for coding, Chiang created the student organization Code Ignite. Two years on, Code Ignite partners with nearly a dozen low-income schools in Nashville, serving more than 250 elementary, middle and high school students and connecting more than 80 student volunteers. This year Chiang applied for and received grants from both Google igniteCS and the Nashville Predators NHL team, using those funds toward developing curriculum and materials to expand her program to include Lego WeDo robotics.
鈥淚n math and science, there is the misconception that not everyone can do it and it鈥檚 all about solving for that one right answer,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n my teaching career I hope to flip that model. When a student takes initiative and engages in critical thinking
and struggles productively, that is the most powerful kind of learning.鈥�
鈥擩OAN BRASHER