Professional School University Scholars

Year of Matriculation: 2022

Jonathan Acosta

• Hometown: Ladera Ranch, California
• Divinity School
• Degree: Master of Theological Studies
• School of Law
• Degree: Juris Doctor
• Jonathan Acosta is a dual degree student pursuing a JD at Duke Law School and a MTS at Duke Divinity School. Jonathan graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in History and a minor in Religion. While at USC, he conducted research on Just War Theory and International Law at the University of Cambridge. Jonathan is interested in the intersection of law and religion in the formation of the American legal tradition. At Duke Law, he is involved with the Latin American Law Student Association (LALSA) and the Christian Legal Society. When he is not in school, Jonathan likes to hike, play basketball and explore coffee shops around Durham.

Mutinta Chilala

• Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
• School of Medicine
• Degree: Master of Health Science – Physician Assistant
• Mutinta Chilala graduated from North Carolina Central University with a bachelor of science in biological sciences.  Mutinta’s passion for medicine began after losing a family member to cancer just prior to moving to the United States from Zambia. As an undergraduate, she accrued over 10,000 hours working as a nursing aide while pursuing her undergraduate and pre-requisite coursework in her journey toward a career as a health care provider. She continues to draws on her commitment to cultural humility in caring for underserved communities as she pursues a career as a physician assistant.

Taylor Dempsey

• Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
• School of Law
• Degree: Juris Doctor
• Taylor Dempsey (they/she) is a Mordecai Scholar in Duke Law’s J.D. Class of 2025. They graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a B.A. in Migration Studies in 2022 as a Torchbearer, College Scholar Baker Scholar, and Chancellor’s Honors Student. In undergrad, Taylor co-founded Students for Migrant Justice and worked on local campaigns fighting against police-ICE collaboration. At Duke, they are a 1L Representative for the Duke Immigrant and Refugee Project, a Research Assistant for the Just Sentencing Project, and a pro bono volunteer for the Clemency Project and Fair Chance Project. They hope to work in criminal defense in the future.

Year of Matriculation: 2023

Damon Daniels

• Hometown: New York, New York
• Sanford School of Public Policy
• Degree: Master of Public Policy
• Damon L. Daniels (he/him/his) was raised in New Jersey and North Carolina, and has spent his adult life in Harlem, New York. He has served in a variety of roles throughout his professional journey, beginning in public education and youth development before branching into experiences within media, policy advocacy and policy research. Damon’s interests involve utilizing real-world, on-the-ground public policy tools, practices and applications to explore questions around political economy, policy decision-making and design, economic stratification and social mobility, and determinants of well-being within and across communities. Damon holds dual undergraduate degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and graduate degrees from Mercy College and New York University.

John “Harper” Hornaday

• School of Nursing
• Degree: Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing
• Harper arrived at DUSON by way of a winding path: high school English teacher, wine importer, and nurse aide. He plans to be a psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner with a focus in pediatrics. His nursing interests include international work and exploring global perspectives, health equity, crisis intervention, and nursing innovation and entrepreneurship. Harper loves traveling, eating — and traveling to eat–, cooking, and spending time with his husband, pets and plants.

Gabrielle House

• Hometown: Waco, Texas
• Fuqua School of Business
• Degree: Master of Business Administration
• Gabrielle is a lifelong advocate for college access and educational equity. After undergrad, she joined AdviseTX as a College Advisor and AmeriCorps member. Although she “accidentally” fell into education, her passion for empowering students motivated her to dedicate the next decade to expanding college access. During this time, Gabrielle held various counseling roles across the Greater Houston area; most recently, she served as a Director at EMERGE Fellowship, an education non-profit that supports hundreds of underrepresented, high-achieving students in matriculating to selective colleges. Beyond the generational impact she created through EMERGE, her work inspired her to pursue her MBA, which she hopes to leverage in expanding opportunities for marginalized communities. She enjoys spending time with her family, mentoring youth, and traveling.

Jonathan Joyner

• Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
• Nicholas School of the Environment
• Degree: Master of Environmental Management
• Fuqua School of Business
• Degree: Master of Business Administration
• Jonathan Joyner is a MEM/MBA candidate studying for a future career in renewable energy development. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 2017 with a BA in international studies and completed a Fulbright Research Scholarship in Sri Lanka from 2017-18. Jonathan served as an Infantry Officer in the US Army from 2018-23 and most recently he worked at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors and collects coins.

Kate Redden

• Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
• Divinity School
• Degree: Master of Divinity
• Kate Redden is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Theological Studies degree at Duke. Her academic background is in psychology and political science, and during her undergraduate career she had the opportunity to employ qualitative and quantitative research methods in both fields. As she worked for organizations such as the CDC, NIOSH, and NICHD, she also completed an internship in international human rights. She hopes to combine her previous experiences with her current degree program to aid the integration of the Christian church with principles of psychology and human rights. In her free time, she loves playing with her two-year-old border collie and checking out local coffee shops.

Judith Rosales Valdes

• Hometown: Siler City, North Carolina
• School of Medicine
• Degree: Master of Health Science – Physician Assistant
• Judith Rosales Valdes graduated from Davidson College in 2017.  She completed a bachelor of science in neuroscience, whilst working multiple jobs to put herself through school as a first-generation college student. Since graduating from college, she worked for several years as a researcher in a neuroscience lab followed by a transition to patient care with roles as a bilingual scribe and medical assistant for a combined two years. She has volunteered an additional 500+ hours in a free medical clinic and has a clear passion for underserved populations, which she attributes to her own experiences after immigrating to the United States.

Nicholas Welch

• Hometown: Palo Alto, California
• School of Law
• Degree: Juris Doctor
• Nicholas Welch is a USP representative from Duke Law School. He graduated from Stanford in 2022 with a BA in East Asian Studies; he also studied at National Taiwan University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His work experience includes: editor for a China tech news outlet called ChinaTalk; open-source China analyst for the State Department; staffer for Senator Romney; RA to a military and foreign affairs professor; intern for various NGOs serving populations in Taiwan, Thailand, and North Korea; and The Stanford Daily’s head copy editor. Nicholas is a concert pianist and organist; his repertoire includes Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and all four Chopin Ballades.

Year of Matriculation: 2024

Sophie Burk

• Hometown: Mechanicsville, Virginia
• Divinity School
• Degree: Master of Theological Studies
• Bio

Sarrah Fanny

• Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
• Fuqua School of Business
• Degree: Master of Business Administration
• Sarrah, born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, has built a unique career spanning roles at Google, Spanx, and Tripadvisor, where she most recently served as a Product Manager. With expertise in growth marketing, digital analytics, and product management, she is passionate about leveraging technology to create personalized, inclusive experiences. Sarrah holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Florida A&M University. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring new cultures through travel, playing multiple New York Times games daily, and spending quality time with her family.

Graham Gaither

• Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
• Nicholas School of the Environment
• Degree: Master of Environmental Management
• Graham is pursuing a Masters in Environmental Management at the Nicholas School of the Environment with a focus on Coastal and Marine Science and Environmental Economics and Policy. He seeks to understand the impacts of anthropogenic noise from offshore energy production on marine mammal behavior.  Before attending Duke, Graham spent over four years at the Native American Agriculture Fund as a program officer and grant manager where he assisted in the development of its annual requests for funding, deliberating on hundreds of projects and facilitating the distribution of $68 million in grant funding. Prior, he worked with the Blackfeet Tribe to develop the nation’s first Tribally authored agriculture resource management plan. He adores his wife, dogs and rave/bass music.
  

Daniel Kim

• Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
• School of Medicine
• Degree:
• Degree: Master of Health Science – Physician Assistant
• Daniel graduated from Wheaton College in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in biology. During his undergraduate experience, Daniel spent six months serving in a rural hospital in Ghana where he first became exposed to the PA profession. As a child, he lived in Indonesia while his parents conducted missionary work. His experience living in Indonesia, Ghana, Korea, and the U.S. has made him keenly aware of the significance of cultural humility and the importance of access to quality healthcare. Since graduating from college, he has worked as a patient care assistant in a US hospital, and subsequently served his Korean compulsory military service as an army medic. Daniel joins the Physician Assistant Program at Duke University School of Medicine.

Yeeji Kim

• Hometown: Daegu, South Korea
• School of Nursing
• Degree
• Yeeji is pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia as part of the Class of 2027. Before joining Duke, she spent eight years serving her community as a registered nurse, working in critical care, oncology, nursing administration, and public health. Her research interests focus on pediatric health, with recognized contributions to published research on asthma management in children. Passionate about health equity and interdisciplinary healthcare solutions, Yeeji aims to leverage her education and experience to make a meaningful impact on healthcare policy and practice. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys nature walks, traveling, engaging in meaningful conversations, and paddleboarding, striving for a well-rounded and balanced life.

Mikala Parnell

• Hometown: Wilmington, North Carolina
• School of Law
• Degree: Juris Doctor and Master of Laws
• Mikala Parnell is a law student in the class of 2027, pursuing a joint JD/LLM in Entrepreneurship. She received her undergraduate degree in Public and International Policy from Princeton University in 2023. Prior to law school, she worked with the Rockefeller Foundation as an Innovation fellow. Her academic interests include innovation, technology justice, data analytics and research writing. Outside of school, she likes to read mystery novels, dance, and make jewelry.

Grace Ryan

• Hometown:
• Sanford School of Public Policy
• Degree: Master of Public Policy
• Grace Ryan (she/her) is a Master of Public Policy student at the Sanford School of Public Policy, focusing on social policy related to housing affordability and labor market institutions. Previously, Grace lived in Minnesota, where she most recently worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. There, Grace managed projects that furthered the Community Development and Engagement team’s efforts to identify policy solutions for issues affecting low-and-moderate-income communities. She has additional experience overseeing statewide executive appointments through her work at the Minnesota Governor’s Office. Grace received her B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in International & Regional Security studies, and hopes to continue her work identifying how to bolster resilient economies through improved resource access and allocation.