DURHAM, N.C. - Eighteen first-year women have been selected to participate in the Alice M. Baldwin Scholars Program for undergraduate women and leadership at Duke University.

"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 2014 participants, who hail from 13 states and one U.S. territory, will enroll in the first academic seminar, "Perceptions of Self, Society and the Natural World" in January.

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.

The participants were selected from a pool of 129 applications and were interviewed by program staff and current Baldwin Scholars.

The Class of 2014 participants, by state, are:

ARIZONA
Lauren Carroll of Phoenix

HAWAII
Leilani Doktor of Honolulu

MARYLAND
Shweta Shukla of Cockeysville

MASSACHUSETTS
Alexandria Lattimore of Chelmsford

MINNESOTA
Anna Koelsch of Mendota Heights

MISSISSIPPI
Devesha Solanki of Madison

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Emily Davis of Hollis

NEW YORK
Valentine Esposito of Saint James
Kamika Shaw of East Elmhurst
Jessye Waxman of Great Neck

NORTH CAROLINA
Audrey Adu-Appiah of Charlotte
Rebekah Johnston of Jacksonville
Xueyang Wang of Cary

OHIO
Amelia Wise of Powell

TENNESSEE
Andrea Lewis of Gallatin

VIRGINIA
Grace Benson of Blacksburg

VIRGIN ISLANDS
Elizabeth Tobierre of Kingshill

WASHINGTON
Flora Muglia of Mercer Island

For more information, visit the Baldwin Scholars website.