Students at Duke & Beyond

Focus alumni participate in Frosh Life

Alumni from four Focus clusters participate in the latest edition of Frosh Life! Ryan Brown and Andrew O’Rourke, both of Visions of Freedom in Wilson, were awarded the distinction of Best Editors. Sandeep Prasanna of Evolution & Humankind and Eric Jain of Prospective Health Care tied with fellow student, Pronoy Sarkar, for Best Story. Read more.

Andy Cunningham

During the spring 2007 semester, Andy and fellow student, Laura Heeter, launched a new Duke Study In China program in Kunming, China. Read more in their co-written article.

Lee Pearson

Focus Program alumni, Lee Pearson, is Duke’s newest recipient of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship.  Lee is a double major in civil and environmental engineering and biomedical engineering. Lee is also a campus leader for Engineerings Without Borders.  Read more.

Sarah Wallace

Meet Sarah Wallace – a Changing Faces of Russia alumna in Chernobyl.
Sarah blogged about her summer experience in Chernobyl. Sarah is a senior at Duke University, majoring in public policy and global health. She created the blog so colleagues at Duke will be able to follow her research in Chernobyl, Ukraine, during the summer of 2007.

Benjamin Abram

“Focus is the singular program at Duke that jump-started my experience, to make it as intellectually and socially invigorating as it has been. Even though the major I finally landed on — Envionrmental Engineering — is totally different than the topic of the Focus cluster I was in — Humanitarian Challenges — the program gave me a base of knowledge and learning that pushed me to take upper-level classes much faster than I would have thought I could... to great results.”

“What Focus did was show me all the resources the University has to offer, and to help me more quickly define how my true interests could be funneled into action at Duke, through increased confidence in my ‘college-level’ academic skills and close relationships with my professors.”

“As part of my Focus experience, I had an internship at the Interfaith Hospitality Network where I spent a lot of time with a second-grader: hanging out at the park, playing ball, and working on homework. One Friday when I came, he wouldn't come to the park with me and his siblings because his father had promised to come pick him up for the weekend. He was excited; however, when we returned to the shelter later that afternoon, tears were streaming down his face as he slammed down the ringing phone one final time. The next week I promised to mentor him for all four years I would be here in Durham; of all the relationships I've made at Duke this one is by far the most important, and I have the Focus Program to thank for the introduction.”

“Memo to first year students: you spent the time filling out all those college applications — now that you've decided on Duke, take the extra hour to fill out the most important application yet: the Focus Program application. If you apply for a topic that interests you, and you are truly passionate for learning, it is one hour you will never regret.”

Eric Oberstein

Meet EricOberstein – a Focus Program alumnus who co-founded Arts Connect, a program for the Durham West End Community Center which teaches children about the arts. Eric says his experience in the Arts in Contemporary Society Focus cluster allowed him to explore his passion for the arts and interact with students who had similar interests. “ I was immersed in all areas of the arts, and given the unique opportunity to study the role of arts in our society as well as the ways in which the different art forms interact.” This experience helped put him on the path for a career in arts management. His Focus experience also inspired him to start ArtsConnect, an arts engagement program that gives Duke student artists the opportunity to expose Durham children to all areas of the arts through weekly sessions at local community centers and schools. Eric’s advice? “I highly recommend the Focus Program becuase it allows students to approach an area of study in an interdisciplinary manner, facilitating ongoing, engaging dialogue between students and faculty.”