Dear Vanderbilt families,
My name is Natalee Erb, and I serve as the director of the First-Year Experience for Residential Colleges. I coordinate and oversee initiatives across The Ingram Commons, including student leadership development, learning outcomes, first-year seminars and orientation programming for incoming undergraduates.
The Residential Colleges team offers several programs throughout the academic year, including International Student Orientation for international students and CommonVU Orientation and Vanderbilt Visions for all first-year students. Our orientation programming is designed to introduce incoming students to a variety of communities on campus and beyond, including those within their residences, academic classes and extracurricular interest areas. The required Vanderbilt Visions orientation program allows small groups of first-year students to discover college life together through weekly meetings during the fall semester and through connections to VUceptors, the faculty and upper-division student mentors who facilitate the program. We are thrilled to welcome your students to Vanderbilt through these activities that will allow them to ask questions, express ideas and learn alongside each other.
Parents and families are integral to students’ success and an essential part of the Vanderbilt family, which is why our team also offers an orientation specifically designed for you. Parents and Family Orientation will be on Saturday, Aug. 17, 5:30–7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a special reception from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. We hope you will join us, though the program will be livestreamed and recorded as well.
As you and your students prepare for your arrival in Nashville, please see below for important information about campus and move-in. For a hub of all information relating to your student’s first few days on campus, visit the Welcome website. A warm Vanderbilt welcome to each of you as you embark on this exciting next step!
Sincerely,
Natalee Erb
Director of the First-Year Experience