Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Major: Public Policy with a focus in Policy Journalism
Minor: History
About Me: I would describe my leadership abilities as two personas- the passionate composer and the courageous dreamer. Over the last academic year, I have been able to see mere thoughts, formulated into ideas, created into dreams, and placed into reality. I am passionate about changing campus culture at Duke. And my passion leads to action. Freshman year I joined Baldwin, which promotes leadership and mentoring on campus. This year, with their help, I started the first “Duke Women’s Forum.”
Before I leave Duke, I desire to leave a legacy. This legacy will not be about me or the people I worked with. I want this legacy to be about the people whose lives have been changed by the programs I am creating. I believe a true leader does not concern herself with what the history books will say but cares more about the stories people will tell. I want women to be able to tell younger women who are interested in Duke that there is more here than academics. They will be able to tell them that Duke invests in female students and wants them to succeed.
Much Baldwin Love,
Amanda Renee
The Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1st verse)
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams
Wandering by lone sea-breakers, Sitting by desolate streams
World-losers and world-forsakers, On whom the pale moon gleams
Yet we are the movers and the shakers, Of the world for ever it seems
"The desires of my heart might ruin the ambitions of my life, which will I choose to sacrifice? The desires of my heart will fade and change but the ambitions of my life will continue to strive and mature. My ambitions are the desires of my heart that are imbedded in my soul. I refuse to sacrifice them for anyone..." -Amanda Renee Morrall