“I was a first-generation college student and so my father worked in a factory and his brother worked in factories and they were in unions at one time. They felt like the unions were really giving them a voice. So I wanted to do something where I can help staff, help people, and help them navigate organizational politics and their day to day work. But, I didn’t know what that was called. There weren’t HR master’s programs when I went back and got my masters, so I kind of created a program with my advisor, taking classes in business school and in the school of psychology and creating my own curriculum…

My first job here was staff-labor relations, and I had to advise management on policies and procedures. At one point, I was working with the bargaining units, the unions here at Duke. That kind of took me back to things my family used to say. I could relate to both sides of the house, I could bring people to a comfortable mediation. That was very fulfilling.” – Sumetrice Porter, Human Resources Manager #HumansofDukeSanford #Staff