Duke University Top Questions

It has made me realize that it's a completely new world compared to high school. In college, they don't care if you show up and they don't strive to get you your work you may have missed. One is completely responsible for their actions in college and it's given me a new sense of adulthood and responsibility. It's been valuable for me to attend because it has made me snap into focus and growup so to speak. I now realize that I can't just sit around and expect everything to be easy as cake. College is hard work and that's why it's so beneficial because it pushes you to your limits to help you succeed.

I am a Freshman at Duke University. My first semester has been challenging as well as amazing. My first couple of weeks as a Freshman, I felt as though I was thrown out by my parents to the wolves without a safety net to catch me. This was my first time ever away from home, struggling to learn the social and education system. After the first couple of weeks, I was able to make meaningful connections with the faculty and staff who took the time to make me aware of Duke University resources available. I saw myself mature and learn how to function independently in a very short time frame. Once I got my feet grounded, I begin to enjoy my professors and their interesting approach to learning. I also enjoyed the diversity Duke has to offer in the class setting. I look forward to Duke "tenting experience" to obtain season basketball tickets, because after all, we do have the National basketball title. I am early in my second freshmen semester now and plan to take advantage of many of the social and educational events Duke has to offer.

I am an International Student attending college in Florida. My college experience has enabled me to be more focus about my future and has driven me to be more diligent in my studies. I had to take remedial class to improve my grades. College is more of a personal experience to me than high school in Jamaica. The services like special tutoring was very instrumental in helping me score a B on my exams. College has many resources that students can utilize. College has given me the advantage of been a better student. I have made great improvement in maintaining my grades. The academic environment of college exposes me to positive thinking associates, with dreams of making a change in the world. Influences me in maintaining my goals. My grandmother said this, "Birds of the same feather flock together” My own personal observation is that the momentum created by flocks of birds flying in formation help the whole flock to stay on course, therefore reaching their destination. Education on a whole is not only about oneself or making a living. It’s about understanding people and the world we live in, improving our communities through knowledge gain by college experience.

I recently completed a program in Tampa, FL to become a Medical Assistant and I have a great part time job which I love. I have a long term plan of becoming a Registered Nurse which I am pursuing now at SPC. My career is very important to me. I devote a lot of time studying and focusing on my education. I believe that this area needs good nurses and people like myself with exceptional people skills and customer satisfaction. One of the most important issues facing the nursing field is a shortage of nurses. I want to help reduce the shortage of nurses in this area. A scholarship will help me to pay for my education as I continue to stay focused on the most important phase of my life which is my education. I would encourage more people to go to school and further their education and their lives and families in a more positive direction. I believe that some students have no one to help support them or guide them in a positive way and we should have more clubs or social activities that would help the less fortunate in a powerful and encouraging way.

College has really been both a freeing and a confining experience. On the one hand, the parents are no longer around, at least most of the time, to tell you when to do your homework, go to bed, get up, and go to school. And you can arrange your schedule yourself, take the classes you want, and even get away with not going to class--sometimes. However, college life isn't just about late-night partying and no classes on Mondays and Fridays. You find out that you are responsible for your actions or inactions. If you didn't turn in that paper, well, maybe your professor didn't call you out on it, but you still got a C in the class. And it's not just the academics, it's everything. You manage your own money, budget your own time, and if you're not careful you could end up with everything down the drain. It's an uphill climb, learning to make it on your own in the adult world. It's a challenge. College is a time of discovery, and I've discovered that you need discipline and maturity to make the most of it.

To those of you on the scholarship committee, My name is John L. Flynn. I am a disabled American Veteran and a recent graduate with an AS in Business Administration; I am presently enrolled at the University of Central Florida (UCF) to complete a A.S.to B.S in Business Administration and doing quite well academically. First, I have acquired from my college experience the unique experience of those of us older candidates out there in the workforce that now find themselves having to go back to school to make themselves more employable in this economy, and/or a better more viable candidate for hire, a raise, or promotion for companies looking for the more (IT) savvy employee. Next, my college experience I feel has been worth the expense in helping to make myself a successful graduate. Finally, the higher learning program of the BS in Business Administration would greatly increase my future chances for hire and also increase opportunity for higher wages/promotion! I am serious about my studies; I can promise you no regrets, if you can honor this humble request for the scholarship. Thank you for your consideration in this matter! Sincerely, Mr. John L. Flynn

Duke offers a diverse and vibrant student population and a plethra of opportunities. I have grown tremendously over the past year in this environment, and become more confident and comfortable with myself and secure in my future goals: to practice neurosurgery, research health disparities of the effectiveness of HIV/AIDs retrovirals in Tanzania, and make an impact on the achievement gap between blacks and whites. Utimately, attending Duke has helped me to grow-up and realize that financial success or stabiliy is important, but building and fostering our human community and giving back are essential to progress of the the human race.

My first semester has turned my life around. I used to be a fairly tame person: I got outstanding grades in high school, I took lots of AP classes, got a decent score on the SAT, and I had a strong passion for dance. The only reason I thought I could get into a school like Duke was my appearance on a teenage reality show, Endurance. However, once I stepped on campus I was involved in a Salsa Dance company, I was going to intense Crew workouts, and I was soliciting for the Duke Annual Fund. Campus life leaves me with little time to catch my breath, yet all the time in the world to soak up all of my surroundings with my new friends. I seriously considered attending a dance conservatory before choosing Duke, but I realized that I did not want to be stuck doing one thing for the next 4 years. I still dance at Duke, the ballet class is amazing and I am thinking about taking modern next semester, and I am still taking philosophy and neuroscience courses alongside my dancing. I never gave up academics or dance, and I am gaining new experiences as well.

I have never had more fun in the past year and a half, while being challenged like I never have before. Duke forces me to strive for my grades and earn them through dedication and half living in the library, rather than what I did in high school, which was relatively breeze by. Even though I work hard in the week, having an amazing basketball team (National Champions 2010!) and having the social/Greek culture that Duke does, I've been able to relax and have fun to reward myself for working so hard too. I know that Duke has given me many opportunities with extracurricular activities and will be able to better my search for a career in two years as a senior. Going to college and graduating with a degree is something my parents never did and I know the importance of an education for someone and how much it means to take full advantage of being at an excellent institution.

So far, I have a better understanding of what it takes for me to learn something. I also have a better sense of who I am, I had thought that being in a different environment around different people would change the way I acted around/interacted with people but have found that it doesn't. I learned that I want to have a job that allows me to both interact with a wide range of people and observe/evalutate their feelings and behaviors. I'm still unsure as to what it is I want to do as far as being a Psychologist or Counselor, etc., but I know it'll be in the Psychology field, deal with children, and allow me to utilize my Spanish skills. I guess the most valuable thing I've learned that I could have only learned at a place like Duke, is that I have to and how to be myself when others around me are different. I suppose I've learned how to be around other people I disagree with yet, not lose my character and at the same time let them hear a differing opinion.