University Scholars Program

Professional School Scholars
Undergraduate Scholars | Graduate Scholars | Alumni

	Jamie B. Arton graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Journalism in 2003. After working in public relations with several healthcare clients, she decided to switch careers and become a physician assistant. She spent the last two years working at WakeMed in Raleigh, NC as a nursing aide, where she received the WakeMed Health & Hospitals Support Excellence Award this year. Jamie loves volunteering, reading and is thrilled to be a part of the Physician Assistant Class of 2012.
	Gregory Malik Burnett is originally from Montego Bay, Jamaica by way of Atlanta , Georgia. He is currently a third year, dual degree, medical student at the Fuqua School of Business. Malik is currently interested in the intersection of business and medicine in the service of society. On the medical side, he is interested in trauma surgery and disaster medicine, and on the business side, he is interested in health policy, health administration, strategy and operations. Malik served as president of the Duke School of Medicine Class of 2011 from 2007-2008, and currently serves on the Student National Medical Association's National Health Policy and Legislative Action Committee. He attended Duke University for undergrad and majored in Psychology and Philosophy.
	Beth Conlin graduated from Tufts University with degrees in Biology and Political Science. She then spent several years working at the crossroads of science, policy, educational, and community work. This included working in university community service and service learning, environmental programs at the municipal level, grant writing and management, and grassroots non-profit work. Most recently, she worked in interdisciplinary educational programs in energy and environment at MIT, focusing on academic and leadership opportunities for undergraduates and graduate students. She is pleased to have returned to school to focus on a new specialty - the use of science and policy to address the challenges of energy and climate change. She is pursuing dual Masters degrees at the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Sanford School of Public Policy.
	Gregory Michael Davies ( Divinity School ) graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA in 2007 where he double majored in Environmental Studies and Theater. He spent a year acting professionally in Pennsylvania and Delaware before deciding to come to Duke for the Master of Environmental Management program where he took a course in his first semester on “Spirituality and Ecology.” In spring 2008, he was accepted into the Master of Theological Studies program at Duke Divinity. Greg still spends a good deal of his spare time with theater, and is currently preparing to perform in Richard III and Stop Kiss.
	Anna MacDonald Dobbs is a 2006 graduate of UNC-CH with a BA degree in Journalism and Mass Communications – Visual Communications/ Photojournalism. She has been accepted into the Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work dual degree program with UNC-CH School of Social Work. She plans to use her photojournalism skills to tell the stories of the disenfranchised and marginalized to those who can offer spiritual, emotional, and tangible support.
	Nicole Feldman graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2005 with a degree in Psychology. As an undergraduate, she volunteered as a peer counselor and worked in several psychology laboratories. After graduating, Nicole worked at a marketing research company. She will be starting the ABSN program at Duke's School of Nursing in Fall 2009. Her interests include preventative healthcare and increasing access to quality healthcare in underserved communities. After completing the program, she plans to work in Pediatrics and ultimately plan to pursue a Master's Degree as a Pediatric or Family Nurse Practitioner.
	Carrie Gonnella graduated from Cornell University in 2004 with a degree in Human Development. She joined Teach For America in 2005 and worked in a low-income school district in East Palo Alto, CA where she taught middle school math. After four rewarding years of teaching, and after moving to Durham, she decided to make a career change. To that end, she is pursuing a dual degree at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Fuqua School of Business. She is interested in one day working on corporate sustainability.
	Lesley Hamming graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering as well as a PhD in materials science and engineering. She co-founded a nonprofit organization that immerses high school students in entrepreneurial experiences at emerging technology companies in nanotechnology and biotechnology. Lesley entered Duke Law School in order to study the changing legal implications of patents, intellectual property and technology transfer in the global economy. In her spare time, Lesley loves swimming, running and triathlon.
	Christine Mitchell Harris grew up in a small town in Western North Carolina. She received a bachelor in Interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in chemistry, biology, and psychology from Covenant College in 2004. Amidst her undergraduate career she took a year off, and worked in a hospital in Manama, Bahrain. After graduating, she moved to Atlanta, GA to pursue a Masters in Public Health at Emory. As an MPH candidate, Christine worked part time for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was a teaching assistant at Emory. After receiving her masters, she excitedly began in Duke's ABSN program and looks forward to the challenges of learning to provide quality health care. In her spare time she enjoys anything she does with her loving husband Andrew, hanging out with family, cooking, being outside, and contra dancing.
	Jade Jia-Tien Lamb graduated from Yale University in 2007 with a BA in political science. She has interned with the American Academy of HIV Medicine and the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, and served with the Peace Corps' Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Project in South Africa from 2008-2010. Her academic focus is in global policy, specifically international development and identity politics, and she hopes to spend the next stage of her career after Duke back in Africa working on issues of gender and development.
	Elise Leduc graduated from Williams College in 2006 with a degree in Biology. After college, Elise went to Zambia with the Peace Corps to do a rural aquaculture project. Upon returning, she taught at two different environmental education programs before beginning her two-year Masters degree in Environmental Management in 2009 at the Nicholas School of the Environment. After interning with a land trust in Alaska this summer, she will be continuing her work with them for her Master's Project using GIS to prioritize wetland mitigation lands needed to compensate for a large coastal development project in Anchorage.
	Mimi Moll (School of Law) is a native of Arkansas and graduated from The College of William and Mary in 2007 with a double major in Government and Science and Health Care Policy. After interning on Capitol Hill, Mimi accepted a position as a Government and Public Affairs Coordinator for the Society for Neuroscience in Washington , D.C., where she promoted policies that foster scientific research and ensure better health care for patients. Mimi is currently enrolled at Duke Law School and plans to use her legal expertise to continue the task of ensuring access to the best quality health care for all Americans.
	Ryan Brent Nilsen grew up in Raleigh, NC and is pursuing a Masters of Divinity, potentially as part of a dual degree program with a Masters of Social Work from UNC Chapel Hill. Currently, Ryan works at Duke as a Service Learning graduate assistant for Prof. Barbara Lau and Prof. Robin Kirk, both teaching courses related to Human Rights Activism with a focus on Durham. He graduated from North Carolina State University in '09 as a Park and Shelton Scholar with a bachelors degree in English and International Cultural Studies with a minor in Mathematics. After finishing undergrad, Ryan spent a year before coming to Duke serving as the Language Program Coordinator for a small nonprofit in Greensboro, NC called FaithAction International House through the AmeriCorps ACCESS Project. A large part of his job at FaithAction consisted of teaching ESOL to adult Mexican and Central American immigrants living in Guilford County and coordinating a language exchange program. While doing AmeriCorps, he also served as a live-in volunteer at Peacehaven Farm, a developing community farm project in Whitsett, NC (just east of Greensboro). Ryan is beginning the ordination process in the Presbyterian Church (USA) as an inquirer into ministry.
	Jason Sonnenschein Originally from Olney, Maryland, Jason graduated from the University of Virginia in 2006 with a concentration in Bioethics. An EMT and lifelong youthworker, he spent the last two years working as an HIV educator, tester, and counselor in Washington, DC. Jason is an AmeriCorps VISTA Alum with the National AIDS Fund Program, and is proud to be joining the Physician Assistant Class of 2011.
	Christopher Thompson completed his undergraduate degree at Long Island University where he excelled in accounting and finance. As an undergraduate, he was the recipient of the Thomas G. Labrecque Smart Start Program 4 year scholarship that was awarded to 20 NYC high school seniors out of 1000 applicants. He was also active in his community by serving as a volunteer tax preparer while in college and supporting a grant funded program aimed at providing computers in low-income communities. While in college Chris received the Most Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award. In 2008 Chris was recognized by the Long Island University Advisory Board for his continued involvement and community service to his alma mater. Chris has spent his professional career at JP Morgan Chase as a financial analyst for over 20 corporate clients. At JP Morgan Chase he volunteered his time to assist the company with their recruitment initiatives and served as co-chair of the Buddy Program, a career networking and career support group. He is a Management Leadership for Tomorrow Fellow, continues to serve as a volunteer tax preparer and is the co-Captain of a running team, A Running Start, which has raised $5500 for East Africa.
	Matthew Tynan is a 2006 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh , where he earned a B.S. in Engineering Physics. As an undergraduate, he studied for a summer at the University of New South Wales , investigating the development of renewable and sustainable energy technology from engineering and economic perspectives. Following his interest in energy, Matt joined the Nicholas School in the fall of 2009, and will complete a Master of Environmental Management degree along with his law degree. When he is not working, Matt can often be found running long distances outside.
	Charles Walters entered the Duke Divinity School in Fall 2008. He majored in political science and is a 2008 graduate of Huntingdon College ( Montgomery , Alabama ). Charles is passionate about exploring the intersection of theology and development/aid in underprivileged areas of the world.
	Melissa Winder joined the School of Nursing in Fall 2008 in the Pediatric Acute/Chronic Care Nurse Practitioner program. In 2005, she graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in Nursing. After graduation she worked at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she was a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and a charge nurse on the Infant Medical/Surgical Unit. Melissa is interested in improving the quality of life in patients with life-threatening illnesses. She is currently researching the effect of end-of-life care on healthcare providers and is an active member of Duke's Pediatric Quality of Life Taskforce. Melissa loves spending her free time with her husband James (a student at Fuqua) and her energetic daughter Hannah.