Sophomore Corina Apostol, from Constanta, Romania, transferred to Duke from a renowned engineering university in her home country so she could include art, literature and history in her studies. Not content to keep what she’s learning to herself, Apostol sought out an internship course with the Nasher Museum of Art to help it reach out to schoolchildren and the growing Hispanic community in Durham.

Apostol, who speaks Spanish, helped organize the museum's first bilingual Family Day around the theme of "Myths and Storytelling." She created an art gallery scavenger hunt and a crafts project revolving around designing a vase with mythical animals -- all with bilingual explanations -- and publicized the event with bilingual flyers that she helped to distribute across Durham. She also identified bilingual Duke student volunteers for the event that attracted about 250 people.

"Corina personally welcomed some visitors who spoke considerably more Spanish than English and who were visiting the museum for the first time," said Juline Chevalier, the museum's curator of education. "It was hugely important to make a positive first impression and demonstrate this is a welcoming environment."

For another project, Chevalier asked Apostol to pick a particular intellectual interest of hers and use it to design a tour of the museum that ties directly to North Carolina school curriculum. "I integrated math curriculum -- algebra and geometry -- with sculpture," said Apostol of what has become a new program offering for area middle and high school groups.

Apostol devoted many more hours than her internship required, Chevalier said. "It's clear she's passionate about this work," Chevalier said.

The internship that helped Apostol link her classroom learning with public service should also prove helpful after graduation, whether she decides to pursue museum work or not, Chevalier said. "It will make her more competitive in the job market," she said. "Whether your audience is school children, the general public or funders, in life you're going to have to be able to interpret your specialty, edit lots of material and frame it in different ways."

Apostol said she thinks she would like to return to Romania, perhaps to pursue a political career. Whatever she decides, she said she will have more choices because of her experiences at Duke. Whether she's studying Durham history, doing legwork for an upcoming exhibit by Romanian artists, painting on her dorm wall with friends or sharing personal perspectives on living in a country that has emerged from a dictatorship, the young woman with the deep laugh is reveling in her college experience.

"Duke was kind of my dream school," she said. "Romania is very competitive. School there is less about service and doing things outside of school. It's being in a lab or doing homework the whole time. Duke encourages an atmosphere for learning collaboratively with your peers on projects. You can design your own major and take risks. This was more like me."