Class of 2024
A.B. Duke Scholar
Hometown: Ames, Iowa
Majors: Biophysics and Biochemistry
Hobbies: Biochemistry, both physical and chemical. Interested more casually in world history, other scientific subjects and mathematics.
Tell us about your Duke experience:
Despite being a small city, I am proud to call myself a citizen of Ames, which nurtured me into who I am today with its intelligent people with kind ways (Iowa Nice!). With what we have, I am proud to say that the grade I was part of was full of driven people who pushed each other up and pushed me to my current situation at Duke. In addition to being a native of Iowa, my roots stem back to Colombia, where my parents grew up and most of my family lives. I take great pride in my cultural roots and constantly relish in the history and music around them as their wonderful labors and works inspire me to succeed. As for my interests they are as diverse as my childhood curiosity regarding the world. Although I am currently planning on majoring and later becoming a professional researcher in biochemical and biophysical sciences, my fascination and learning often spans far beyond to other fields. In particular I am often drawn to CS, math and physics, sub-interests of mine that have empowered my knowledge of the world. With Duke’s interdisciplinary feel and variety of people, I was only further motivated to choose Duke, and hope to pursue a variety of research topics during my time here.
In what little time I have had at Duke I have had great success in adapting to the greatly in-depth coursework and pursued tough classes at high levels that I have strived to have the background for throughout high school. With ample opportunities I hope to be engaging in research in the coming months and participating more in research and tutoring groups at Duke.
The A.B. Duke program itself has impacted me in a variety of ways, granting me a community of driven scholars that motivate me towards greater goals. Meetings with OUSF help further my interest and keep me connected to the broader scholar community from which I have learned about a great deal of opportunities. Finally, with the aid of the scholarship, I have been kept away from financial worries and have been allowed to focus far more in what I wish to study.