Three Trinity Scholars graduated in the May 13th Commencement Ceremony at Duke University. All three graduates were recognized by donors, Duke University and their families, a few days later at the Annual Scholarship Recognition Evening in Greensboro.
Graduating Trinity Scholars Nancy Yang, Ross Taggart and Noelle Kelly at the 2012 Trinity Dinner
Please congratulate Noelle Kelly, Ross Taggart and Nancy Yang on their accomplishments. Here’s more on their undergraduate years at Duke and their plans for the future:
Noelle Kelly
Born in raised in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Noelle Kelly graduated with a S.B. in biomedical engineering and a certificate in markets and management studies. Noelle spent the summer of 2009 in Marion, South Carolina, with the B.N. Duke Scholarship Program as an intern for two local childcare facilities. The following summer she traveled to Accra, Ghana, to work with Unite for Sight, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending preventable blindness in the developing world. Noelle studied abroad during the fall 2010 semester at Queen Mary University of London where she completed coursework in engineering and business. During her time at Duke, Noelle served on the executive boards of the National Society of Black Engineers and the First-Year Advisory Council. She was also president of the Career Center’s Diversity Team. As an undergraduate, Noelle visited ten countries, built an electric guitar in an engineering class, posed for Duke’s fashion magazine, taught a house course on leadership and community service, and completed her first half-marathon. She will join Deloitte Consulting in the Washington, D.C. area this fall and hopes to one day pursue graduate degrees in business administration and public health.
Ross Taggart
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Ross Taggart graduated with a S.B. in engineering from the Pratt School of Engineering, a S.B. in civil and environmental engineering, and a minor in chemistry. Ross studied abroad for a semester at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. As a Trinity Scholar, Ross worked as a volunteer ranger at Cheraw State Park in South Carolina for one summer and spent seven weeks in Iceland helping to prevent soil erosion on the volcano Eldfell. He also spent a summer studying and researching marine invertebrates at the Duke University Marine Lab. Ross is a dedicated triathlete and served as an officer for the Duke Triathlon Club. As an undergraduate, he was involved as an active staff member and leader with Project WILD (Wilderness Initiatives for Learning at Duke), a student-run backpacking and experiential education group. Next year Ross will attend graduate school at Duke University as a Pratt-Gardner Fellow and pursue his Ph.D. in environmental engineering under Dr. Helen Hsu-Kim.
Nancy Yang
Greensboro, North Carolina, native Nancy Yang graduated with an A.B. in public policy studies and a minor in chemistry. Nancy spent her Carolina summer of service in Cheraw, South Carolina, where she worked with a network of health care providers to develop programs to improve and increase access to health care in the area. For her international summer of service, she travelled to Uganda with Project Naama, where she taught science and nutrition, organized a health fair, and conducted research on solar water disinfection. In summer 2011, Nancy completed a public policy internship at Avalere Health where she worked in the evidence-based medicine practice. As an undergraduate, Nancy deepened her passion for service as chief of member outreach for the Duke Partnership for Service, co-director of ScienceDays, and active member of the Duke Splash and Droplets team. In addition, she served as the co-president of the Duke Prospective Health Care Club, conducted research at the Duke Center for Research on Prospective Health Care, played soccer on the women’s club soccer team, and was an active member of the Round Table selective living group. In the coming year, Nancy plans to continue her research endeavors at the Duke Center for Research on Prospective Health Care and apply to medical school for matriculation in fall 2013.