Duke Announces Class of 2016 Baldwin Scholars

Eighteen first-year women at Duke University have been selected to participate in the Alice M. Baldwin Scholars Program for undergraduate women and leadership."As usual, we had an excellent group of applicants and many hard choices to make," said Donna Lisker, co-director of the Baldwin Scholars program.  "The women we selected have excellent records as change agents in their schools and communities. They are a diverse and remarkable group, and we believe they will be leaders both at Duke and in their future lives."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 2016 participants, who hail from 10 states and three foreign countries, will enroll in the first academic seminar, "Perceptions of Self, Society and the Natural World" in January.Duke created the Baldwin Scholars program 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 succeed in their academic, career and social endeavors while hiding the effort involved. The participants were selected from a pool of 141 applications after two rounds of interviews by program staff and current Baldwin Scholars.The Class of 2016 participants, by state or country, are:ARIZONAKimberly Farmer of GilbertArianna Price of TucsonCALIFORNIARebecca Bauer of OrindaKatherine Fernelius of Rancho Santa MargaritaGloria Tomlinson of EscondidoCatherine White of DavisCONNECTICUTGayle Powell of EastonFLORIDANourhan Elsayed of St. PetersburgGEORGIAMaurlia Upchurch of DecaturILLINOISKalifa Wright of AuroraMARYLANDChandra Christmas-Rouse of Temple HillsNORTH CAROLINAAarti Asrani of Chapel HillAudra Bass of Winston-SalemTEXAS Sarah Urdahl of HoustonVIRGINIAHanan Awel of SpringfieldINDIASuhani Jalota of MumbaiKENYADaisy Mepukori of NakuruSWITZERLANDCaroline Steiblin of RiehenFor more information on the Baldwin Scholars program, visit http://baldwinscholars.duke.edu.