New Award Honors Student Leaders Who Embody “Forever Duke”
The inaugural Forever Duke Student Leadership Award honors graduating students across Duke's undergraduate, graduate and professional schools who have exhibited extraordinary leadership during their time at Duke.
But it's a special kind of leadership DAA is recognizing, Inga Peterson, assistant vice president of alumni affairs, said about the awards.
"What makes these Forever Duke winners different is that they have been deeply affected by their time at the university, and they understand the role they can play in enhancing the relationship that other students and alumni have with Duke," Peterson said. "It's not that they're all the positional leaders on campus. Sometimes they're the ones that are quietly advocating for Duke and finding ways to connect others to Duke."
Through the awards, DAA is hoping to identify students who, because of the significant ways they have engaged with Duke as student leaders, are ready to take the next step to become alumni leaders in the cities where they will live after graduation.
"There is an opportunity to stay connected and to help others stay connected," Peterson said.
Faculty and staff from across campus nominated Duke graduating students, and a committee from the Duke Alumni Association selected the winners.
The accomplishments of honorees were diverse -- including a student who helped lead the first Fuqua student trip to visit Duke Kunshan University in China, a student who taught underwater acoustics at the Duke Marine Lab to fellow classmates, and students who created opportunities for the Duke community to strengthen professional development skills through new initiatives on campus.
Connie Chai '10, MBA'16, who spoke on a student panel during Women’s Weekend 2016 and led her class gift committee for the Annual Fund, said she never hesitates to give back to "a place that has continued to give me so much."
"To me, Forever Duke means contributing to and helping to build the Duke community on and off campus. It means supporting fellow Duke students and alumni," she said.
The Forever Duke award ceremony, which was held on May 4 at the Washington Duke Inn, also created an opportunity for students to connect with one another, faculty and staff and local alumni volunteers.
Libby MacFarlane, MS'16, MBA'16 won a Forever Duke award for co-founding HeartMind International, a non-profit that provides culturally appropriate mental health care to vulnerable populations in Nepal and around the world. At the awards ceremony, MacFarlane met alumni relations staff and discussed ways she can get involved with the alumni community in Minneapolis, where she will be moving after graduation.
"As I transition to Minneapolis after graduation, I look forward to organizing alumni events for Fuqua and the greater Duke community," MacFarlane said, "to come together, extend our network and together make a positive impact on our community and beyond."