Hi! My name is Michelle Giffoni-Albor and I am honored to be part of the Baldwin community! I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and immigrated to Orlando, Florida with my family in 2014. I have an older sister who is my biggest role model, cheerleader, and companion, as well as a younger brother who reminds me of the importance of adding a little bit of silliness into everyday moments while still becoming an example for him to follow. Therefore, yes, I am the middle child, but being in the middle has shown me the benefits of having an in-between perspective in other aspects of my life.
For instance, while I have a deep love for the structure and exactness of mathematics, I also share a profound interest in the creativity found in the humanities. At Duke, I plan to double major in Mathematics and Spanish, to show the connection and beauty between the two fields. I have always seen mathematics itself as an art form, thus, I aim to illustrate how it is not only a tool but also a form of expression. Furthermore, as a native Spanish speaker, I find it vital to expand my education in my native tongue as it urges me to develop a second perspective to look at the world around me. While these subjects are my main area of interest, overall, I share a passion for education and would love to continue to be a part of this curious, wonderful area in the future.
Outside of my professional and academic passions, I love reading, pottery, swimming, going on walks, spending time with my friends and family, and tutoring. During my last two years of high school, I was a Mathematics and English tutor at Valencia College, and that experience fortified my academic interests, alongside my passion of becoming an educator myself in the future. At Duke, I have continued to explore these interests as a member of GANO (Gente Aprendiendo para Nuevas Oportunidades) and the Association of Women in Mathematics. Being a Hispanic young woman, I want to share the same support I was lucky to have through my educational experience with others in my community. Ultimately, in the same way in which I was born in the middle, my goal is to become a bridge in the academic and social aspects of my life.