Gechi Nzewi, T'11

Ogechi “Gechi” Nzewi is a senior and Public Policy major from Kernersville, North Carolina.  Gechi is particularly interested in the nexus between law and health and economic disparities and plans to attend law school after graduation. Gechi is one of the co-presidents of the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholar student group and has been on the executive board of the Future Is Now, a mentoring group for 5th to 6th grade African-American girls from Durham, for the past three school years. In the past year, Gechi has also been involved with the Health Inequities Program at the Duke Center for Health Policy. During her Junior year, she worked as student research assistant on a study called Positive Outcomes For Orphans (POFO). POFO is part of an ongoing initiative to identify living situations and caregiver arrangements that contribute to successful futures for orphaned children across five different countries and six cultures. As a rising Senior, Gechi interned at the Center for Health Policy as part of Duke Addictions Program, a resource for individuals with serious chronic illnesses, mental health disorders, and drug abuse issues.
As a public policy major at Duke, Gechi has been given the opportunity to explore the depth and breadth of her intellectual interests. As a freshman, she went to Costa Rica with the Duke Global Health Focus program to research the impact of intellectual property laws on international health outcomes through Costa Rica’s ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. During her junior year she engaged in a semester-long policy analysis and recommendation project centering on the economic benefits of providing permanent housing and mental health care for Chicago’s chronically homeless population. Finally, as a senior, Gechi is writing an honors thesis on the impact of rising incarceration rates on the African American family.
The Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship has made all the difference for Gechi; without it, she would not have been able to attend Duke and could not have explored her academic interests in college as freely. In addition, the Reggies have provided a close network of experienced faculty, upper-classmen, and like-minded students of African-descent that comprise the “Reggie Family.” Gechi’s roommate and best friends at Duke are Reggies. Gechi’s experience as a Reggie has been truly invaluable and she is forever grateful to those that envisioned and continue to support the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship.

Feel free to email Gechi with any questions at gechi.nzewi@duke.edu.