Click through the Instagram post below to hear from Vivek.
By Amy Wolf
Starting in middle school, family trips for Vivek Kumar meant donning scrubs with his physician mom, who traveled to provide much-needed medical care to low-income communities in Haiti, Brazil and Venezuela.
It was just where he wanted to be.
鈥淚 remember on the flight back from Haiti my freshman year in high school, I knew I needed to be in health care,鈥� said Kumar, a major from Portland, Oregon. 鈥淛ust to see their smiles when they received free medication and having someone care about them, outside of all the struggles that were going on in their lives, was just unbelievable.鈥�
HELP BEYOND HEALTH CARE
But Kumar said that during a medical outreach trip in Honduras for his project, he saw that providing medical services just wasn鈥檛 enough.
He sat down and connected with the Honduran families he met while helping visiting doctors provide primary care through the Clinica Esperanza NGO. He found the residents were often dependent on outside help for health care.
As part of his project, which was supported by the , Kumar created educational materials to help residents learn about nutrition and other vital preventive care issues. But that was just a starting point for tackling a bigger challenge.
鈥淚 want to see how we can work with residents to build a sustainable health care infrastructure and business model to help communities build themselves up, instead of people coming from the outside,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I really believe there鈥檚 possibility and hope for us to do that.鈥�
HEALTH + BUSINESS
Kumar said his MHS major and business minor are perfect for preparing him for a future in health care management.
鈥淚 feel like the interdisciplinary nature of the MHS classes on a daily basis鈥攃oupled with my business minor鈥攁re just so practical to the work I want to do down the road,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 think of a better combination.鈥�
CONNECTING WITH HIS CULTURE
The cultural diversity of Vanderbilt鈥檚 campus helped Kumar to connect more to his own Indian roots. Though he had no formal dancing experience, he knew he wanted to try out for the award-winning . He has been involved with the dance troupe since his first year on campus.
鈥淛oining BhangraDores was my opportunity to explore what it means to be Indian, what it means to be proud of my culture and heritage. And I just love the social family aspect,鈥� he said.
He also credits the student group, and his time as its president, with expanding his appreciation of his culture and creating a sense of community on campus and with alumni.
鈥淛oining SACE allowed me to find that place of calmness and peace in a time when I feel like I鈥檓 always going 100 miles per hour.鈥�
Kumar said he鈥檚 already holding his memories of Vanderbilt with gratitude.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be such a gratifying experience to be able to look back on my college experience and be like, wow, I鈥檝e grown so much and had such incredible experiences,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll those small interactions really add up over time, and I am so thankful.鈥�
THREE QUESTIONS鈥�
IF YOU COULD TALK TO YOUR TEENAGE SELF, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE?
鈥淚 think I will tell my younger self to just keep saying 鈥榶es.鈥� I think there are so many opportunities at Vanderbilt, and every time I鈥檝e said yes to an opportunity, I鈥檝e had so much growth.鈥�
WHAT DOES ‘DARE TO GROW’ MEAN TO YOU?
鈥淚 think 鈥榙are to grow鈥� is such a powerful testimony to Vanderbilt鈥檚 commitment to 鈥� the students, but also our success throughout the entire learning process.
鈥淔or me, personally, 鈥榙are to grow鈥� is that opportunity to come into college wanting to be pre-med and be a cardiologist and coming out of college having such a robust business knowledge and being able to apply that to my previous passions and interests. And just how having them help me walk through step by step, whether it be my immersion project, whether it be through the advisers, through my peers 鈥� seeing all of us come together for a greater goal of serving others is just exactly what 鈥榙are to grow鈥� empowers within me.鈥�
WHY VANDERBILT?
鈥淚 remember my parents were, like, 鈥楢re you sure you want to go to the South?鈥� Because we hadn鈥檛 visited Vanderbilt before. I remember watching Elliot Choy鈥檚 day-in-the-life videos on YouTube, and I was sold. Seeing the fall colors, being in a big city was important to me. And I love Nashville鈥檚 music and food scene.
鈥淚 can’t imagine anyone wouldn鈥檛 fall in love after four years here. It鈥檚 just 鈥� it鈥檚 such a great feeling to see Vanderbilt and Nashville grow and become better every day.鈥�
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