Four New Students, Four Distinct Journeys
All are beginning their Duke experiences with a shared desire to make a difference
Born in California and raised in Apex, N.C., Oldham attended Enloe High School, a magnet school in Raleigh, where she wrote for the student newspaper and immersed herself in the school community. Along the way, she studied French, explored Spanish and Mandarin, and maintained ties to her mother’s native Indo-Aryan language, Gujarati.
While completing her application to Duke, Oldham noticed an option to be considered for Duke-Kunshan University and decided to learn more.
“I was enthralled by the program,” she said. “I was like, this sounds like a cool opportunity and maybe a long shot, but I’m going to give it a shot to go there and get that international experience that I wanted.”
Oldham plans to pursue the humanities track and is interested in the translation pathway. She is especially excited to learn alongside students and faculty from around the world.
“The program attracts a specific kind of person who is interested in cross-cultural interaction,” she said. “I'm hoping that I'll be surrounded by other people who also want to be there and form those connections, and I'll learn not just from my classes, but also from the people around me.”
Matt Olson Brings the Broad Perspective
When Matt Olson arrives at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering this fall, he’ll bring experiences few of his classmates can match. The 45-year-old has served in the Army, worked as a commercial diver around the world, built a career in corporate management, and spent years as a firefighter and paramedic before deciding to pursue engineering.
Born in northern Minnesota, Olson, whose father was a Border Patrol agent, spent much of his childhood moving across the country with his family. He attended a tiny high school in northern North Dakota with only about 50 students and graduated in a class of 10. Growing up in a household with five children and limited financial resources, he worked full time while going to school.
After graduation, Olson joined the Army and deployed to Afghanistan in the years after Sept. 11. When his military service ended, he pursued a career as a commercial diver, involved in projects around the world before moving into corporate management.
Seeking a career with greater purpose, he later trained as an EMT, firefighter and paramedic. For the past 10 years, he has served communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and currently works with Duke Life Flight, transporting critically ill patients throughout North Carolina and beyond.
That work inspired a new goal.
“Working with Duke Life Flight has given me a close look at the kind of engineering that saves lives,” Olson said. “Every day I see technology in action.”
Inspired by the medical technologies he encountered on the job, Olson completed an associate degree in Emergency Medical Services from Weatherford College in 2023 and an associate degree in engineering from Durham Tech in May, tackling advanced calculus and physics courses before applying to Duke.
“Honestly, it was a long shot. I didn't think I was going to get into their engineering program, but I did,” he said.
As he begins his first year at Duke studying computer engineering, Olson hopes to combine his background in emergency medicine with new technical skills. He also looks forward to learning alongside students whose paths may differ from his own.
“Everybody has something they can put on the table,” he said. “Hopefully I can mentor some people along the way, too.”
Jane Curry Seeks Practical Solutions
As part of the inaugural class of Duke’s new Master in Business, Climate and Sustainability program, Jane Curry is learning how to turn environmental research into practical solutions. The joint program between the Fuqua School of Business and the Nicholas School of the Environment is helping her bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world implementation.
The Brooklyn native arrived at Duke unsure what she wanted to study. During her first years on campus, she explored courses across disciplines, following her curiosity wherever it led.
Her passion for ocean science began as an eighth grader living in Costa Rica for a year, where she spent countless hours in the water and became scuba certified.
At Duke, that interest evolved into hands-on research at the Marine Lab. Working in Professor Julie Wong’s lab, Curry joined a Bass Connections project investigating mysterious mass mortality events affecting North Carolina oyster farms. The work eventually became her undergraduate thesis.
“I would spawn larvae, and then I would heat them up to these different temperatures for two hours. And I did it for 24-hour larvae and 48-hour larvae, and then looked at how their behavior changed,” she said.
By exposing oyster larvae to periods of elevated temperatures, Curry found that while many survived conditions warmer than current ocean temperatures, they often stopped swimming at temperatures already being recorded in marine environments. Those findings could have important implications for oyster populations in a warming climate.
The experience also transformed her view of research. Once convinced it wasn’t the path for her, Curry discovered a passion for scientific investigation and found mentors who encouraged her work and helped her complete a thesis on a compressed timeline. She is now working to publish her findings.
Curry continues collaborating with Wong while studying business, economics and sustainability.
“I feel like I’m building the pieces together,” Curry said, “to be someone who can really go do meaningful things in the world.”
Elham Afzali Explores Emerging Technologies
At 17, Elham Afzali is preparing to begin his Duke education after a journey that spanned continents and required resilience far beyond his years. From Afghanistan to Pakistan and eventually Durham, he taught himself English, helped his family navigate immigration challenges and found ways to support other refugee students facing similar obstacles.
Originally from Afghanistan, Afzali said his family’s life was shaped by uncertainty and challenges. They faced ongoing threats as members of an ethnic minority and because of their ties to Americans during Afghanistan’s former government. When he was 15, his family left the country.
“We relocated to Pakistan, and with the limited time that I had there, I was able to teach myself English,” Afzali said.
After arriving in the United States, Afzali helped his family navigate resettlement and continue the immigration process.
“I remember there were nights when I stayed awake past midnight working through paperwork because I knew how important it could be for my family’s future and my own,” he said.
When he enrolled in Durham Public Schools, Afzali noticed many refugee students faced challenges similar to those he had experienced. Afzali, along with friends, helped create a multilingual community that connected students with resources and support.
“That’s how I found my interest in supporting immigrant communities and elevating youth voices,” he said.
That commitment has already led him beyond the classroom. During his senior year of high school, he worked with a professor at Indiana University Bloomington on a research project examining how religion is used to justify gender discrimination in Afghanistan.
At Duke, he plans to study economics and public policy while exploring how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence affect labor markets and communities. What excites him most are opportunities to work across disciplines and contribute to solutions with real-world impact.
“I love making an impact, and I think combining multiple disciplines to address issues is a really smart way to find solutions to ongoing problems around the world,” he said.