This summer, I did Duke Engage through the Kenan Institute of Ethics in Chicago. The theme was connecting hip hop to community activism. Hip hop is critical for the Black and Brown movement and a way they're able to overcome social political issues. It was transformative experience for me because Read more
I’m a Visual Media Studies major going into my senior year of undergrad, so I'll graduate this spring. I've taken a bunch of classes through the DeWitt Wallace center, and I spend a lot of time in the hallways of the Sanford building. The summer after my freshman year I Read more
I'm currently interning in Washington, D.C., with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) and with Rep. Yadira Caraveo from Colorado District eight. I spend 4 days a week with the representative and one day with CHCI doing activities like leadership development. The cohort is amazing. We have individuals from Dominican Read more
I went to an event hosted by the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy when Ambassador Katherine Tai came to campus. (She serves in President Biden’s cabinet as the United States Trade Representative.) I loved the event, loved the dinner afterwards. She spoke so candidly, and I really admire that. Read more
I was born in California, but I spent most of my life living in China, in a city called Dalian. I moved there when I was about six. I went to an American school, and I was surrounded by American, Canadian, and English-speaking friends, which is why I don't have Read more
I always had a passion for policy, but Sanford has really helped me like hone in. Like -- I know in theory something's right, but I’ve learned to be able to back my beliefs. This summer I wanted to do something a little bit different. I’m interested in immigration policy, Read more
I was born and raised in Murphy, N.C. Being from North Carolina, Duke was always a sort of school that was very elite and academically rigorous. I had the chance to tour Duke the summer before my junior year school, when I went to a couple other schools in the Read more
I coached basketball for 5-6 year old kids in Durham as a part of Coach2Inspire. It was the most fun I have had in such a long time. Watching them play is the best feeling in the world. Coming in to Duke, I wanted to major in economics, but I Read more
I was working for the migrant education program in my county where there was this little boy, and he shaped my entire life. He was an immigrant from Guatemala and when he first came to the US, he was living in a shed, sleeping on the ground, in a very Read more
When my mother, a librarian, discovered my queerness through reading a Duke entry essay, she was concerned with the essay’s structure errors, rather than the revelation within the content. Out of mutual respect, she viewed me as an adult, which made the unintentional coming out so easy. My mother also Read more
It always felt like national politics were local politics. I felt surrounded by it growing up in the DC area... it was always kind of in the background. And then, too, my parents are avid readers of The New Yorker, so that was always on the kitchen table, and I Read more
I crossed the border when I was three years old - involuntarily and unconsciously. I am undocumented, illegal, an alien. Yet, I have been made American in the fullest sense. I pledged allegiance to the US flag from kindergarten to my senior year in high school - more than a decade Read more
"I’m actually writing my Undergrad Senior thesis right now, and I’m trying to figure how to intersect my experience at Sanford and my internship experience with finance. I feel like finance and public policy are so often at odds and one feels like they have to control or fight the Read more
@Z.j.bryant will be singing with @DukeUniversity’s premiere African Chorus, @amandla.duke, to introduce the former Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa Justice Dikgang Moseneke on January 21st. . “I went to Morocco and Tunisia with Duke in the Arab World. But then we studied Arabic in Rabat and we took a Read more
“My sophomore year, Barney Frank, a former congressperson and a pretty notable one at that [was here]. If I’m not mistaken he championed a lot of LGBTQ rights policies and was also just outspoken for his support for disenfranchised persons. . After a class he came out and sat at Read more
“Professor Ken Rogerson was like, ‘This is something that might interest you.’ I was like, ‘Well, I don’t know 100% what I am going to do after graduation, and it doesn’t hurt to have an advanced degree.’ So [the 4+1 program] seemed to make sense for me. I always took Read more
“Public Policy was a great foundation and really fit my interests well. On the team we definitely emphasize public service, and community service. One of the sayings that Coach Cut has is, ‘Leave the place better than you found it.’ So, when we do our community service activities, we think Read more
“I am currently taking a course through the Hart Leadership Program, “Border Crossing: Leadership, Value Conflicts & Public Life,” focused on leadership through reflective practices, such as thinking about why we make the decisions we do and what motivates us. The class involves a lot of self-reflection, including discussions of Read more
“So I’m currently enrolled in PubPol 301, one of the core classes for the undergraduate major. It’s taught by Deondra Rose, and specifically connects politics with policy. I think one of the most interesting points in this class is our memo assignments. Throughout the course, we have a few memos Read more
“I’ve never been subjected to this level of affluence before coming to Duke. I’m a lower-income first generation college student, so my public school education has really impacted my experiences at Duke socially and academically. I think a lot about how and why I’m here, and educational background really seems Read more