The University Scholars Program Congratulates the Class of 2017!
Above: Tina Davidson (PhD, History) shakes hands with Paula McClain, dean of the Graduate School at the PhD hooding ceremony.
The University Scholars Program is thankful for the many contributions the students graduating this year have contributed to the USP during their time at Duke. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
UNDERGRADUATE CLASS OF 2017:
Jennifer Minjia Chang
Hometown: Miller Place, NY
Degree: BSE in Biomedical Engineering with distinction
Senior Thesis: “Isolation and Imaging Cell Aggregates in Sickle Cell Disease,” Pratt School of Engineering
Honors/Awards: Gates Millenium Scholars, Dean’s List
Future Plans: working in Dr. Gowthami Morey Arepally’s lab in Hematology at Duke School of Medicine, then applying to medical school
Zachary Dean Heater
Hometown: Indianola, IA
Degree: AB in Classics with highest distinction, minors in Religion and History, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Thesis: “The Value of Polemarchus in Plato’s Republic”
Honors: Dean’s List with Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude
Future Plans: Working for a year in Rome as a teaching and research fellow with the Paideia Institute
Gregory Michael Lyons
Hometown: Medfield, MA
Degree: B.S. in Computer Science, minor in Philosophy, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Honors: Dean’s List, Dean’s List with Distinction, graduation cum laude
Future Plans: software engineer at Box
Ryan Christopher Meingasner
Hometown: Loxahatchee, FL
Degree: B.S. in Biology, concentration in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, minor in Chemistry, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Thesis: “The role of G9a in the recurrence of Her2+ breast cancer”
Honors: Dean’s List
Future Plans: working in the hotel industry in Palm Beach, then research position at the University of South Florida; volunteer work as a Guardian ad litum in the foster care system
Tamra Nebabu, B.S.E. Electrical and Computer Engineering and B.S. in Physics celebrates graduation in the Duke Gardens.
Tamra M. Nebabu
Hometown: Lorton, VA
Degree: BSE in Electrical and Computer Engineering, B.S. in Physics, Pratt School of Engineering
Thesis: “Towards Plasmonic Enhancement of Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion”
Awards/Honors: Smif Undergraduate User Award, Dean’s List
Future Plans: working in Dr. Maiken Mikkelsen’s lab, then applying to graduate school in physics
Muhammad Khizar Qazi
Hometown: Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Degree: B.S. in Computer Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Honors: Dean’s List
Future Plans: program manager at Microsoft
Sakura Takahashi
Hometown: Yokohama, Japan
Degree: B.S. Psychology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Thesis: “Explaining Your Lateness: Time Estimation, But Not Inhibition, May Affect Time Management”
Honors/Awards: Costanzo Fellow in Psychology, Dean’s List, Dean’s List with Distinction, magna cum laude
Future Plans: joint PhD in Social Work and Social Psychology at the University of Michigan
GRADUATE CLASS OF 2017:
Samuel Ely Bagg
Hometown: Durham, NC
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University
Degree: PhD in Political Science
Dissertation: “The Dispersion of Power: Thinking Democratically in the 21st Century”
Awards: four time recipient of the Kenan Fellowship; three time recipient of the Council for European Studies Fellowship, James B. Duke Fellowship
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Fellowship
Abishek (Bobo) Bose-Kolanu
Hometown: Jonesboro, GA
Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University
Degree: PhD in Literature, MS in Computer Science
Dissertation: “Hypervisor Theory: An Anti-Theory of the Media”
Awards: James B. Duke Fellowship
Christina C. Davidson
Hometown: Skokie, IL
Undergraduate Institution: Yale University
Degree: PhD in History
Dissertation: “Converting Spanish Hispaniola: Race, Nation, and the A.M.E. Church in the Dominican Republic, 1872-1904”
Awards: James B. Duke, FLAS – summer (Portuguese), FLAS – academic year (Portuguese), Duke Brazil Initiative, Graduate Administrative Fellowship, Dean’s Graduate Fellowship
Future Plans: Visiting Assistant Professor at Duke History
McKenzie F. Johnson
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Undergraduate Institution: Vassar College
Degree: PhD in Environmental Policy
Dissertation: “Strong Institutions in Weak States: Environment, Conflict, and Peacebuilding in Ghana and Sierra Leone”
Awards: James B. Duke Scholar, Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, United States Institute of Peace Scholar
Ying Shi (Public Policy) stands with her advisor, Seth Sanders.
Ying Shi
Undergraduate Institution: Rice University
Degree: PhD in Public Policy
Dissertation: “Essays in the Economics of Education”
Awards/Honors: James B. Duke Fellowship, AERA Minority Dissertation Fellow, Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy grant, Member of the United States delegation at the 2014 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS CLASS OF 2017:
Ashton Garner Carpenter
Hometown: Bremen, GA
Undergraduate Institution: University of Georgia
Degree: Juris Doctor, Duke School of Law
Awards: Bidlake Legal Writing Award, Duke Law Pro Bono Award
Future Plans: Clerk for Chief Justice Martin on the North Carolina Supreme Court
Lauren Chesson
Hometown: Knightdale, NC
Undergraduate Institution: Davidson College
Degree: Master of Divinity, Duke Divinity School
Future Plans: pursuing ordination in the United Methodist Church
Hannah DeWeese Cody
Hometown: Dunwoody, GA
Undergraduate Institution: Princeton University
Degree: Master of Health Sciences, Physician Assistant Program, Duke School of Medicine
Master’s Thesis: “The efficacy of acetaminophen as a treatment for refractory patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants”
Future Plans: employment as Physician Assistant
Zachary J. McDade
Hometown: Boulder, CO
Undergraduate Institution: Macalester College
Degree: Master of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy
Master’s Thesis: “What is the relationship between racial housing wealth disparities and violence in cities?”
Future Plans: Statistical researcher with the City and County of Denver
Jarrett Haywood Nobles
Hometown: Hyattsville, MD
Undergraduate Institution: Florida A&M University
Degree: MBA from Fuqua School of Business
Awards: Duke Alumni Association Forever Duke Award
Alex Treyz (far right) adjusts the hood of her fellow MPP graduate from the Sanford School of Public Policy.
Alexandra Scott Treyz
Hometown: Chappaqua, NY
Undergraduate Institution: Davidson College
Degrees: Master of Divinity, Duke Divinity School; Master of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy
Master’s Thesis: “Promoting Local, Small-Scale Economic Development Through Faith-Based Community Gardens and Farms in Rural North Carolina”
Future Plans: working with a local church as a Pastor for Congregational Care and with local non-profit as a Project Manager for a grant focused on faith-based community and economic development in Rural North Carolina; also continue working as a musician with her band, Hardworker.
Nathan James Walker
Hometown: Portland, OR
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Santa Cruz
Degree: Masters of Ecosystem Science and Conservation; Geospatial Analysis Certificate, Nicholas School of the Environment
Master’s Thesis: “Improved connectivity analysis using multiple low-cost paths to evaluate habitat for the endangered San Martin titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe) in north-central Peru
Awards: Alumni Council Fellowship
Future Plans: Web GIS Fellow, US Forest Service Office of Sustainability and Climate, Juneau, Alaska
Nathan Walker under the stone arch at the Nicholas School of the Environment
