Our 2019-2020 Mayfield Project, Healthy and Helpful, seeks to explore wellness at Vanderbilt University through spiritual, mental, and physical lenses. As a Mayfield project, each team member has chosen one specific aspect of wellness he intends to pursue over the course of the semester. Groups focused on one aspect of wellness meet to discuss progress in this area and together reflect and write about personal lessons learned on how to achieve wellness in this sphere at Vanderbilt.
Meet the Mayf
Aidan Pace
I’m a senior from Fayetteville, TN, in the School of Engineering majoring in biomedical engineering and pursuing a career in medicine. My project for the year in the Healthy and Helpful Mayfield Project will be to explore approaches to mental wellness in the context of Vanderbilt. In past semesters at Vanderbilt, I have found myself struggling with bouts of anxiety that lead to social isolation and a destructive cycle of worry that negatively impacts my ability to think and function as a student. This year, my goal will be to create a mental wellbeing plan that contributes to my mental wellbeing at Vanderbilt, execute my wellbeing plan, and provide where my approaches have succeeded and fallen short in stabilizing my mental state. I hope that these Vanderbilt- specific coping strategies and reflections will prove helpful to other students here struggling with similar issues.
Outside of academics, I engage in research at Vanderbilt University with the Gannon Lab in the Medical Center and have focused on stimulating beta-cell proliferation as a treatment to Type II Diabetes. In addition to research, I work on campus as a resident adviser, volunteer with a therapeutic tennis program in Nashville, and enjoy fitness and the outdoors. I am currently training for my first marathon and enjoy listening to the Hidden Brain and Marketplace podcasts while exercising.
Email: william.pace@vanderbilt.edu
Cullan Bedwell
PICTURE TO BE ADDED AT A LATER DATE
I’m a senior from Indianapolis, IN studying Mathematics and Computer Science. After graduating, I will be a Data Analyst for Capital One in their DC office, and I will continue my education online or part-time in Data Science to switch into being a Data Scientist. Let’s just say that machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data are not just buzzwords for me. For as long as I can remember, I have had unhealthy sleep habits, and I fear that it is taking a toll on my mental health. Before moving into full-time work, I will be spending this year reflecting on the sleeping habits of myself and others as well as attempting to chase after the “ideal” sleep schedule. This not only serves as preparation for having to be at work earlier than my earliest collegiate class but will also show the importance of prioritizing sleep in one’s schedule for health reasons.
On-campus, I’ve been involved in a number of organizations including BYX, Navs, RUF, VSVS, and ASB. Currently, I’m working through my Senior Bucket List, so catch me doing various shenanigans on campus and around Nashville including tearing it up at the cultural showcases: Diwali, Harambee, LNYF, and Café con Leche. I like to describe myself as an adult fish out of water, and my spirit animal definitely follows suit as a dolphin. In my free time, I enjoy going out with friends, having a beer, scuba diving, surfing, dancing, and binging TV.
Email: cullan.p.bedwell@vanderbilt.edu
Yuhang Zhang
Hi! My name is Yuhang, and I’m currently a junior studying Economics and Business. My project focuses on developing a proper understanding of wellness from a theoretical perspective, and working to not leave it there but to also integrate it into my life. A large part of this is critically examining the behaviors and rhetoric that I use to act upon and describe my personal wellbeing, and understanding the effects and ramifications that those may have. I believe that though it is a project specifically focused on me, that wellness has a level of universality to it and that my findings from this project will be able to serve the greater Vanderbilt community.
Outside of those, I have been involved in a variety of organizations around campus and Nashville. In my free time, I also work as a creative writing teacher, and have engaged with research throughout my time here so far. I aspire to work towards resolving the structural and particular instances of injustice involved in America’s criminal justice problem, and hope to one day attend law school.
Email: yuhang.zhang@vanderbilt.edu