Stories of Graduates From the Class of 2026
Advice for a First-Year, Taken to Heart
Aisha Mane
After arriving at Duke, Aisha Mane asked one of her professors, Lee Baker, now vice provost for the Office of Undergraduate Education, what advice he had for first-years.
He told Mane that students have only eight semesters and three summers at Duke, so make them count. That window of time motivated Mane. She decided to pursue Program II, Trinity’s self-designed major, centering her course of studies around one guiding question: What systems shape health outcomes in Black communities?
Through Program II, Mane has examined gaps in the health care system from multiple perspectives: historical, political, and biological. “It’s helped me see how different systems can be combined,” she said. “I like solving puzzles — and this is a big one.”
Along the way, she participated in Duke in the Arab World; created community for antepartum patients (pregnant patients receiving medical care, often in a hospital) as part of a Bass Connections project; scored a virtual halftime layup in Cameron; and tented in K-Ville.
She’ll be pursuing a Master of Public Health at the “other blue school” down the road.
For more about Mane and other graduating students from Trinity, go to Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.
Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drum
Sarah Willmann
Sarah Willmann wears many hats.
She’s been a drumline captain for Duke Band, a percussionist with the Duke Wind Symphony and co-president of the American Society of Civil Engineers Duke chapter, among other things.
That mix of activity feels natural to Willmann, who came to Duke wanting to solve problems — something that mixed her interests in math, science and sustainability. But she wasn’t sure what that mightlook like in a career. So, she gave herself room to explore different civil engineering pathways.
It took some experimenting. After an internship in the transportation field, she knew she didn’t want to be put in a box shaped by deadlines and standards. She wanted more flexibility. Where did she find it? In the world of concrete and cement, as part of a research experience at the University of Colorado.
“You would not believe how much research there is to do in the realm of concrete and cement, and there’s a small but vibrant community of people who make it happen,” said Willmann. Upon returning to Duke, she continued the work in the lab of engineering professor Laura Dalton. There, she investigated the chemistry underlying sustainable cement replacements.
Willmann will be heading to Princeton for a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering.
For more about Willmann and other graduating Pratt students, visit the Pratt School of Engineering.
Speaking Up for Sea Creatures
Lizzy Glazer
By studying the sounds of the ocean, Lizzy Glazer has been speaking up for sea creatures whose lives and homes are under threat.
Glazer was attracted to Duke because of the university’s Marine Lab, a year-round laboratory in Beaufort.
She found her niche in what’s known as cetacean bioacoustics, studying the sounds of animals such as whales, dolphins and porpoises. However, she has also had a diverse array of experiences where she learned about other marine animals.
As a Rachel Carson Scholar, she received funding for independent study researching North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species. Glazer analyzed the call rates of right whales migrating along North Carolina’s coast, exploring the potential use of passive acoustic monitoring to detect nearby whales. She notes that this approach could alert vessels to slow down, helping to reduce the risk of boat strikes, a leading cause of whale mortality.
“Conservation involves all animals, and in order to focus on just one species, you have to appreciate the entire system,” Glazer said.
After her Duke graduation, Glazer will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Read more about Glazer in the Climate Pathfinder series and go to Nicholas School of the Environment to read about other graduates.
Math or Biology – Why Choose?
Qinyu Xu
One reason Qinyu Xu chose Duke Kunshan University (DKU) was that she found it gave her the time and space to explore before deciding what she wanted to do.
At DKU, she found herself with a newfound passion for math. She was no longer focused solely on getting the correct answer. For the first time, math felt like a way of thinking.
But biology had long interested her, too. During her junior year at Duke, a research opportunity with professor Veronica Ciocanel helped her bring together the two fields she cared about most.
At DKU, she continued to explore that intersection through research on tumor growth, using math and computational tools to study questions tied to health and disease. What seemed like a strange mix turned out to shape her future: She is headed to Harvard, where she will pursue a Master of Science in Computational Biology and Quantitative Genetics.
To read more about Xu and other DKU seniors, go to Duke Kunshan.
A Powerful Purpose in Nursing
Carolyn Raihala
Once at Duke, Carolyn Raihala, who will be earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, learned that the field was more demanding and more expansive than she had ever imagined, providing opportunities for advocacy and growth. “One of the things that really surprised me… is how much agency nurses have,” she said.
Raihala’s growing interest in gaps in health care led her to join the Mobile Prevention and Care Team, a two-semester program combining coursework, community clinical experiences, and a rural health immersion. For a project, students partnered with a rural hospital in eastern North Carolina to reach out to patients who missed appointments. Raihala said that this outreach shifted her perspective. “If we can’t reach them, we can’t understand their barriers… whether that’s transportation, resources, or something else.” The experience sharpened her understanding of how social determinants shape health outcomes, especially in rural settings.
The experience, Raihala said, heightened her appreciation for her peers and their focus on patient care and advocacy. “They’re so passionate about why we’re at Duke,” she said.
Looking beyond graduation, Raihala plans to gain extensive bedside experience before pursuing a nurse practitioner degree.
Read more about Raihala and School of Nursing programs.
Strategy of a Lifelong Duke Fan
Braxton Marcela
As a child Braxton Marcela visited Duke’s campus and imagined what it might be like to be a Blue Devil.
His path took him elsewhere: legal practice and a career in the U.S. Army. But during a deployment, he decided to make his old Duke dream a reality and pursue a Master of National Security Policy at Sanford.
By the time Marcela arrived at Duke, he brought a substantial professional background. As an Army judge advocate, his work covers everything from criminal cases to national security law, including deployments overseas.
“I saw the MNSP as an opportunity to deeply explore strategic level issues that are relevant to my field of work, but outside the scope of my day-to-day work,” said Marcela.
Marcela said he appreciated the diversity of his cohort. While his own experiences added depth to classroom discussions, he enjoyed listening to his peers. “So many of my classmates have been military or veterans — of various branches and all different backgrounds,” he said. “It has been informative … to get to take the ranks off and just talk about our views and perspectives on the various national security issues.”
Read more about Marcela and other Sanford graduates.
An Entrepreneur’s Journey
Ewan Bradley
A year ago, Ewan Bradley and his teammates Stuart Bladon and Michael Bennett were in a training room when they considered the gap in wearable tech.
Products currently available typically measure only heart rate, sleep and stress; they believed the gap exists in monitoring musculoskeletal health. Bradley, a track and field athlete, says, “there are not too many parts of my body that I’ve not injured.”
They developed “Jeani,” an AI platform that enhances movement, performance, and quality of life through personalized, real-time musculoskeletal monitoring, predictive analytics — which forecasts future outcomes, behaviors and trends.
Bradley, completing the Master of Science in global health, was a participant in the Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs program, which is open to students who are actively building ventures. The program guides the students as they seek to solve a problem with their startup.
“It was essentially something we needed in the early stages of our (athletic) careers ... we wanted to build something to help people like ourselves to be more active,” he said. “And then we realized that it expands beyond just athletes. It expands to anyone who wants to be physically active.”
The founders also worked with Duke Law’s Start-Up Ventures Clinic.
Read other stories about other Duke Global Health Institute graduating students.