# @vanderbiltu on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/B37YH-ThQ7V
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/9038339-vanderbiltu-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/d485e6cad6.jpg
- **Posted:** 2019-10-22T16:48:55.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Vanderbilt University (@VanderbiltU) — https://gondola.cc/VanderbiltU

## Caption

Shun Ahmed found her passion in unexpected places at Vanderbilt. #HumansofVanderbilt #VU2022⁣
⁣
Q: Why VU?⁣
A: It was a place where I knew I was investing in myself. The money I spend on tuition here isn’t really just “Hey, I want to go to class and get a degree,” it’s being able to say I can also grow as a person in the sense of networking, meeting other like-minded and really strong students.⁣
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I had a fair share of options; however, both of my parents are refugees and were very dependent on me - I would help around the house, whether with chores or helping pay bills. I paid my own tuition because I don’t want that on them because they've been through enough. As much as I wanted that standardized, “Hey, I want to go to college somewhere else and explore the city,” it was also “I want to be here and make sure they’re okay.” Because as much as a cool job or a dream job would be fine, if I lose my parents, then none of that stuff matters.⁣
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Q: What’s been your favorite class?⁣
A: I came into college as pre-med, but I took one module with Professor Frampton, who is this wild engineering professor. And he goes, “Hey, you’re gonna build a ukulele. I’m not gonna tell you how, you’re gonna figure it out, and I’m just gonna show you where you can go figure it out.” This was out of my comfort zone - I was always taught This = That = That = Your Final Project - a very literal train of thought. He opened my mind up toward finding possibility. My first ukulele was bad, so I trashed it and tried again. Did that again - got the acoustics better, got the strings better, and he was just laughing the entire time basically. But he was slowly pushing us toward the direction and teaching us how to explore these wild, bigger engineering concepts.⁣
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In the end, I ended up making one with beautiful acoustics. It sounded exactly like one I had bought in a store. It opened me up from the pre-med “I need to go the standard way” to mechanical engineering. He helped me create a mindset that allowed me to explore more ideas. ⁣
⁣
Shun Ahmed⁣
Class of 2022⁣
Mechanical Engineering Major; Minors in Computer Science & Film⁣
Nashville, TN⁣
📸: @allybireley & @valerie_rk⁣
#vandygram

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## Tags

humansofvanderbilt, vu2022, vandygram

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