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New exhibits in three campus locations celebrate the Immersion Vanderbilt program and highlight hands-on learning projects created by former undergraduate students in collaboration with the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries.
The exhibits showcase the ways students have connected classroom learning, faculty mentorship and Heard Libraries resources to produce original work across disciplines. By displaying the projects in prominent campus spaces, the series aims to celebrate student creativity while spotlighting the libraries’ role as a partner in experiential learning.
Immersion Vanderbilt is a degree requirement for all undergraduate students. The program consists of two parts. First, students participate in immersive experiences along one of six experiential pathways. In part two, they complete a culminating project that reflects their experiential learning journey. Final projects range from conference or community presentations to short films, senior theses, websites and podcasts.
“These standout projects are a testament to the students’ innovative thinking and the superb collaboration between students, faculty and library staff. They also demonstrate how the libraries are key partners in launching research, creativity and intellectual alliances,” said Tiffiny Tung, vice provost for undergraduate education. “Our goal in presenting these displays is to celebrate the extraordinary work of our students while also inspiring other students to pursue meaningful immersion projects of their own.”
Located at E. Bronson Ingram College outside the Immersion Vanderbilt office, Room 1003, The Tortured Poets Department: Vanderbilt’s Version is a multimedia virtual exhibit created by Stephanie Hicks, a member of the Class of 2025 who majored in medicine, health and society. As part of a Buchanan Library Fellowship guided by Curator of Community Histories Sarah Calise and Curator of Manuscripts Mary McSparran, Hicks explored how Taylor Swift’s lyrics resonate with the human stories and histories preserved in Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives.
Hicks curated three exhibits for her fellowship, which she ultimately used as her Immersion Vanderbilt culminating project. Sheri Shaneyfelt, assistant professor in the practice of history of art and architecture, served as Hicks’ Immersion Vanderbilt faculty adviser, as her courses inspired Hicks to combine what she learned in the classroom with her personal interests.
Daniel Gormezano, a member of the Class of 2024 who majored in molecular and cellular biology, completed an Immersion Vanderbilt project that analyzed an Edgar Allan Poe short story from a cybersecurity lens to map significant breaches in global data security. That project is presented in Buttrick Hall on the main floor. The digital project, Mapping Cybersecurity Issues Using ‘The Purloined Letter,’ grew out of Gormezano’s experience as a Buchanan Library Fellow under the guidance of Jeong-Oh Kim, senior lecturer of English, and Stacy Curry-Johnson, director of research strategy for the Heard Libraries and the GIS Lab.
Through his fellowship experience, Gormezano learned to use GIS mapping technology and explored connections between literature and data science. Building on that foundation and inspired by Kim’s classes, his Immersion Vanderbilt culminating project challenged him to think about research in new ways and inspired Gormezano to pursue a graduate degree in data science at Vanderbilt. Kim served as his Immersion Vanderbilt faculty adviser.
The third exhibit is on display at Garland Hall on the main floor. A Lens on the Libraries is an online photography exhibit created by Nikita Rohila, a member of the Class of 2025 who majored in medicine, health and society as well as psychology. Collaborating with the Heard Libraries’ Strategic Communications team, Rohila documented an academic year at the libraries and devised a visual narrative organized into three galleries: “Library Ecosystem,” “Student Features” and “Moments of Peace.”
The project not only sharpened Rohila’s photography skills, but also enabled her to engage in rich conversations with a wide range of community members—from faculty and librarians to students and staff—giving her a deeper perspective on campus life. Vesna Pavlović, professor of art and the Paul E. Shwab Chair in Fine Arts, served as her Immersion Vanderbilt faculty adviser.
The exhibits are on display in their respective locations now through the end of the fall 2025 semester.
“Student engagement and collaboration are at the heart of what we do at the Heard Libraries,” said Jon Shaw, university librarian. “Connecting students with our distinctive collections, unique resources, and the expertise of librarians and staff bolsters their opportunities for independent research and discovery. We’re proud to partner with Immersion Vanderbilt to amplify experiential learning on campus.”