Selam! My name is Linda Mazengia, and I’m grateful to be one of the Baldwin Scholars. I was born and raised in Ethiopia. I studied in a small private school until 10th grade and then received a scholarship to attend United World Colleges in the UK. This has been a turning point in my life. Being surrounded by students from over 90 countries changed how I see education and community impact. I was able to listen to stories of students who had different viewpoints and beliefs than me, and also share my own and become vulnerable. Since then, I became a strong believer in storytelling and its ability to change mindsets.
At UWC, I was one of the pioneers of a new IB curriculum called the Systems Transformation Pathway which taught me how to intervene in systems and support my community’s needs. This empowered me to work with the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute and conduct a project to preserve traditional medicinal knowledge in Ethiopia.
At Duke, I’m interested in computational neuroscience, especially how technology can help us better understand the brain. I’m involved in Duke Neurotech and the Help Desk. I’m also part of African Women in STEM because I highly believe in the empowerment of underrepresented women in STEM. In my free time, I love playing the kirar which is a traditional Ethiopian string instrument.
Even since I first heard of Baldwin, I felt like it is the community I want to surround myself with, centered on authenticity and being true to myself. I know that it will be a big part of my journey at Duke and can’t wait to see what it will bring.