# @vanderbiltu on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/B6Lv_cIFAat
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/9038234-vanderbiltu-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/3d31dfe579.jpg
- **Posted:** 2019-12-17T18:28:06.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Vanderbilt University (@VanderbiltU) — https://gondola.cc/VanderbiltU

## Caption

Hidden ‘Dores President Ember Tharpe loves the sense of unity on campus. #HumansofVanderbilt #VU2021

Q: What do you love most about VU?
A: The people that go here. I think our uniting quality at Vandy is that we all really care about something, no matter how diverse. Everyone here has their heart really into something, and I think that creates a warmer, full, and more robust kind of environment where we all have something to contribute. I also love the community the people of color on campus has - we have a lot of unity, passion for our identities, and care for each other.

Q: What made you choose your major?
A: I recognize myself as being good at speaking and connecting with people, and I felt those qualities would be of better use in politics rather than Neuroscience, the major which I applied through. The Intro to African American Studies class was making me so excited and opening up my world views by illuminating topics that I switched my major. The open house for the new African American Studies department was the first time in an academic environment on Vanderbilt’s campus that I felt that I was at home. American Studies I chose because I am really interested in history, but also why people think the way they do, groupthink, and how culture impacts thought in society. American Studies isn’t just history, it also explains why and how things happened.

Q: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned here?
A: The value of believing in myself. College is a challenge, especially in understanding identity, my place, and my importance. I spent a lot of time looking for evidence and validation outside of myself that I belonged here. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the most power that I have comes from myself. I never thought that I could be someone who could read 400 pages in a week or be a leader. To see where I am now, acknowledge the way that I’ve grown because of my time here, and appreciate how the challenges have formed me into the person I am, makes me excited to keep learning. Vanderbilt really makes that a possibility.

Ember Tharpe
Class of 2021
Majors: American Studies and African American Studies
📸: Social 'Dore @allybireley 
#vandygram

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## Tags

humansofvanderbilt, vu2021, vandygram

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