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Hi! My name is Emma Wright. I’m from Arlington, Virginia and have lived there my whole life. Although my true home will always be in the mountains of Virginia. My close friends might describe me as a “church nerd” because I love engaging in thoughtful and questioning conversations about God. I’m also known to spend endless hours sitting on my bed playing guitar and singing. I love adventuring in all shapes and forms, especially backpacking, biking, or anything outdoors.

At Duke I play on the Women’s Club Ultimate Frisbee team and travel around North Carolina and Virginia competing against other collegiate teams. I also tutor children daily at a transitional housing shelter in Durham. I love working with youth, so finding a way to get off campus and build relationships with people outside of the 18-22 year old demographic was really important to me.

I entered Duke planning to be a mechanical engineer because I wanted to design devices to help people, but now I have decided that I am more interested in the underlying social issues that affect the global population. Therefore, I'm now majoring in Cultural Anthropology with minors in Global Health and Chemistry. I am definitely in the process of exploring my passions, and it will be interesting to see where I land.

Last summer I lived in a rural Ugandan village for two months through DukeEngage and taught music and math at a primary school. This summer I am living in the San Francisco Bay Area and working at a digital health startup called Kurbo that provides health coaching for kids and teens. 

Thus far, the Baldwin Scholars program has definitely been my biggest adventure at Duke. I have learned so much about myself and how I perceive the world around me. For example, I realized during my freshman year that I rarely was asserting what I want because it has always been easier to fulfill everyone else’s desires. I am now practicing the discipline of stating my opinions and asking for things. My Baldwin sisters are the best support network I could ask for, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this community of inspiring women. Feel free to contact me (emma.wright@duke.edu) if you have any questions about Baldwin or Duke in general!