Durham, NC - Eighteen first-year women have been selected to participate in the Alice M. Baldwin Scholars program for undergraduate women and leadership at Duke University.

The Baldwin Scholars program was created in 2004 in response to the Women's Initiative research project, which investigated the quality of life for women at all levels of the institution. The researchers found among undergraduate women such trends as lower self-esteem, few women in top student leadership positions and the "effortless perfection" phenomenon, in which students reported pressure to be successful in their academic, career and social endeavors while hiding the effort involved.

"Once again, we had a large and outstanding group of applicants this year, which led to difficult choices," said Donna Lisker, co-director of the Baldwin Scholars program. "We selected women with high self-awareness and a record as agents of change in their schools and communities. They are a remarkable group by any measure."

The four-year experience incorporates academic seminars, a residential experience, an internship and mentoring opportunities. With 18 women in each class, the program is fully subscribed with 72 participants.

The Class of 2013 participants, who hail from nine states and four foreign countries, will enroll in the first academic seminar, "Perceptions of Self, Society and the Natural World," in January.

The participants were selected from a pool of 130 applications and were interviewed by program staff and current Baldwin Scholars.

The Class of 2013 participants are:

CALIFORNIA 

Nailah Waterfield of Long Beach

FLORIDA 

Alana Jackson of Pembroke Pines

GEORGIA 

Alexis Oparah of McDonough

ILLINOIS 

Kristen Lee of Arlington Heights

Estefany Noria of Evanston

NORTH CAROLINA 

Rajlakshmi De of Oak Ridge

Michaela Dwyer of Chapel Hill

Molly Superfine of Chapel Hill

OHIO 

Courtney Liu of Cincinnati

PENNSYLVANIA 

Elizabeth Clark of Pittsburgh

Beth Gordon of Pittsburgh

Emily McGinty of Pittsburgh

SOUTH CAROLINA 

Casey Edwards of Chapin

TEXAS 

Lauren Vernon of Sugar Land

BRAZIL

Vivian Lorencatto of Sao Paulo

CANADA

Samantha Lachman of Vancouver, British Columbia

ENGLAND

Sophie Throsby of London

SWITZERLAND

Andrea Mihic of Berne