Reflections
As part of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's 50th anniversary celebration, families, researchers, staff, trainees, and others shared their reflections. View a sample below, and select "more" to view additional comments.
| A reflection from a family |
 | It is through the VKC that I caught the vision and was inspired to follow my daughter with autism’s North Star—that of a life-long pursuit and successful career in art. Leisa Hammett - Parent See More... |
| A reflection from a professional |
| I was introduced to the Kennedy Center in 1975 when I was an undergraduate at Peabody College, now Vanderbilt University. It changed my life, and set me on my career path. I left as a graduate, and I came back for graduate studies. And I work in disability and I still count on the Kennedy Center every day. Carol Westlake - Tennessee Disability Public Policy Advocate See More... |
| A reflection from a trainee |
| As a UCEDD trainee, the VKC has been very important to me. I have learned so much from contributing to many of its self-advocacy projects for people with disabilities, and I am proud to be a part of all they do in the Nashville community. As a graduate student in Peabody College, I feel that working with the VKC UCEDD has helped me to mature in ways that will make me a successful special education teacher. Carrie Glover - Graduate student in Special Education and VKC UCEDD Trainee See More... |
| A reflection from a researcher |
 | In so many different ways, the VKC carries out the work near and dear to the Kennedy family, a family interested in disabilities long before such interest was popular. In particular, the Kennedy Center’s support of interdisciplinary collaborations has been crucial to my research as well as to that of many other VKC investigators. Indeed, the VKC has been a cornerstone in the development of Vanderbilt’s strong culture of collaboration. Specific to my work, for some time I have been convinced of the salience of emotional processes to a comprehensive understanding of childhood stuttering; however, we lacked the necessary expertise to launch a meaningful program of study of emotion. Through the VKC, however, the necessary expertise was found in the form of psychologist Tedra Walden. The resulting collaboration has led to an NIH-supported program of study. Without the VKC, this collaboration would not have occurred, a collaboration that has made a difference in my research that will, I believe, make a difference in the lives of people who stutter and their families Edward Conture, Ph.D. - Hearing and Speech Sciences See More... |
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