Class of 2025
Nakayama Scholar
Hometown: Big Timber, Montana
Major: Public Policy
Tom Newberry came to Duke after spending four years working on a cattle ranch in Big Timber, Montana. His time out west spawned a love for agriculture and rural communities, which has become his area of interest. Tom transferred from Montana State University where he studied agricultural economics and geography. He is primarily interested in how using data to make management decisions can benefit small-holder farms and how better understanding human behavior can drive policies to increase rural resiliency. Heavily influenced by writers like Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouac, he believes there is no better way to really understand the country than to get out on the road and make some friends. In his free time Tom is an avid mountain biker, ruckus causer, and concert-goer. He was born in Virginia and graduated from the Salisbury School in 2019. Tom is studying Public Policy and interned with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture during the summer of 2024.