Undergraduate Student Resource: What to Expect

The college experience is full of exploration of the unknown. It’s about identifying who you are now, and who you want to be.

Just who are these faculty members?
Personal attention is synonymous with Peabody faculty. Perennial favorites:

• Ann Neely directs the Ingram Scholars Program, a University-wide scholarship for undergraduates who are leaders in the world of service. A specialist in children’s literature, she received the Chancellor’s Cup for contributions outside the classroom to undergraduate student-faculty relationships.
• Bob Innes founded the Human and Organizational Development major (Vanderbilt’s most popular) and teaches organizational principles that apply to practically any field. With this foundation, HOD graduates can make decisions with less information in more high-risk situations—conditions typical of the global marketplace, from dot coms to worldwide systems management.
• Sharon Shields teaches service learning programs that connect in-depth awareness of civic and social issues with real-world experience. Her research focuses on community health and human issues.
• Kathy Hoover-Dempsey, an award-winning teacher, loves teaching at Peabody because she can involve students in research. She also enjoys the “invigorating mix” they bring to her classroom. Read her full article from the summer 2004 Reflector magazine.

I thought Peabody was just for teachers. What’s this HOD thing about?
Many students are attracted to the Human and Organizational Development major because of the HOD internship. It involves an actual work experience, reflection papers, a learning contract, and a senior project. Student make formal presentations of their projects, which range from developing a glossary of Spanish legal terms for the public defender’s office to marketing proposals or redesigns of Web sites. Students meet prospective employers at an internship fair on campus in February, and Peabody selects opportunities based on what the locations have to offer.

Where does life after Peabody take me?
Our graduates make their mark in a variety of ways. Three examples:

• Chris Barbic ’92 founded YES schools in Houston for at-risk Latino students and is a national leader in the charter school movement.
• Zachia Smith ’06, president of the Black Student Alliance, has gone on to graduate school at Harvard University.
• Hunter Hillenmeyer ’03, an HOD/economics major, is pursuing a career as a Chicago Bears linebacker and part-time MBA student at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.