Alumni

Many Duke alumni continue working on issues they began tackling through Bass Connections. In some cases, Bass Connections projects have affirmed or inspired future plans. The following are just a few examples of former students who are pursuing further studies or working in a field related to their Bass Connections projects. These stories are supported by the findings of our alumni survey and alumni focus groups. We invite alumni to reach out to us with their stories and connect with us on LinkedIn

The information below each name includes major/program, school (Trinity is indicated by T and Pratt by P), graduation year, Bass Connections project and current position.

Lindsay Hirschhorn.

Mechanical Engineering P'17
Data+ (2016)
Business Insights & Strategy Manager, Editorial Team, The Wall Street Journal

I was really nervous about finding a summer job after junior year because I knew it was the last chance I’d have to try something out before applying for full-time jobs the next year, and I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was in Pratt and loved the engineering classes, but didn’t love the... read more »
Prathibha Juturu.
Currently, I am a fellow in the Donald M. Payne International Development program, a USAID fellowship that provides funding for a two-year master’s program and entry into the USAID Foreign Service. I will join the foreign service as an environment officer after my master’s studies in environmental... read more »
Katie Kanter headshot
After graduating from Duke University, I worked as a clinical research coordinator (CRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital for two years, and I am currently going into my second year of medical school at the Perelman School of Medicine. I worked on the “Stemming the Opioid Epidemic Through... read more »
Vinesh Kapil.

International Comparative Studies T'14
North Carolina Latino Health Project (2013-2014)
MBA Student, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

I had a fantastic experience participating in the Bass Connections program. As an undergrad, it was my first chance to really step out of the Trinity bubble and have truly interdisciplinary working relationships. My project gave me a fantastic opportunity to observe the ways that different types of... read more »
Julia Kaufman.

Global Health and International Comparative Studies T'18
Global Mental Health Program (2017-2018)
Responding to the Educational and Psychological Needs of Children and Families in Durham's Transitional Housing (2015-2016)
Program Coordinator, Center for Global Development

I lead program development for a new Hope Initiative for mothers with HIV and their frontline health workers to promote hope and improve quality of care and health outcomes. I create and manage the research protocol, ethical clearances, data collection tools, work plans and research reports and... read more »
Cassidee Kido headshot.
How did you get involved in Bass Connections? I was an engineering major, and my mentor, Stacy Peterson, encouraged me to pursue the Certificate in Energy & Environment. When I learned that Bass Connections had an energy-focused theme, I wanted to get involved and reached out to one of the... read more »
Shweta Lodha.

Chemistry and Neuroscience T'19
Patients' Journey to Medication Adherence (2017-2018)
M.D. Student, Duke University School of Medicine

I am an incoming MS1 at Duke University School of Medicine. Since graduating, I have been conducting research in genetic engineering at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine. Bass Connections provided me foundational skills to excel in my work as a researcher... read more »
Katharyn Loweth headshot.

International Comparative Studies T'19
STEM for All (2016-2017)
STEM for All (2017-2018)
Data Science and Public Policy Master’s Student, Georgetown University

While I was in high school, I did a research project on girls in STEM and I was looking for a way to continue in that realm of research at Duke, so I was really excited when I found the STEM for All team. Our team... read more »
Danielle Mayorga Young.

French Studies and Neuroscience T'19
Addressing Global Health Needs among Refugee Children and Families in Durham County (2017-2018)
M.D. Student, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

The year I first walked onto Duke campus, 2015, was also the year that more than a million migrants applied for asylum in Europe. I dedicated myself to learning more: What led people to undertake these difficult journeys, who were the people leaving, what were their stories, where were they going,... read more »
Margaret Morrison headshot.
What did you do on your research team? Our team was multifaceted: one subteam was assessing plastic pollution in the ocean, while another investigated potential ways for bacteria to break down that plastic. I was more focused on the “why” of our work — what are the impacts of plastic pollution and... read more »
Alex Oprea.

Political Science T'17
Citizenship Lab: Civic Participation of Refugee Youth in Durham (2015-2016)
Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations, Australia National University

My research interests include public education, the moral and political status of children and institutional design. I am currently working on a series of articles investigating the appropriate distribution of education power among local and state governments, teachers’ unions, parents’... read more »
Taylor Panzer headshot.
My time with Bass Connections during my sophomore year at Duke University was the catalyst that ignited my passion for educational equity and has led me to pursue education policy as a career. I always knew I cared about public education, as my public school teachers in rural North Carolina always... read more »
Sam Pickerill Headshot.

Environmental Sciences & Policy N'18
History and Future of Ocean Energy (2016-2017)
Energy and the Environment: Design and Innovation (2017-2018)
Associate at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Across my four years at Duke, I participated in three Bass Connections projects within the Energy theme: History and Future of Ocean Energy (2016), Energy and the Environment: Design and Innovation (2017-18), and Duke to the UNFCCC (2017). Each... read more »
Xiao Recio-Blanco.

Law L'15
Exploring the Intersection of Energy and Peace-building through Film (2013-2014)
Director of Ocean Program, Environmental Law Institute

This was a fun and challenging project. Professor Erika Weinthal did a terrific job managing the project. We had the chance to meet with highly specialized practitioners that have been doing fascinating work on environmental peace-building. The project team was multidisciplinary, with students from... read more »
Matthew Ross.

Ecology T'17
Data+ (2017)
Data+ (2015)
Assistant Professor of Water Quality, Colorado State University

I started as a graduate student at Duke in the Fall of 2011, graduating in the summer of 2017 with a degree in Ecology advised by Drs. Martin Doyle and Emily Bernhardt. My... read more »

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