Hi! I’m Nora, and I am so excited to be part of this amazing class of Baldwin Scholars.
I’m from Champaign, Illinois, a small university town in central Illinois, south of Chicago. Living in a small town but growing up in a multicultural household has deeply shaped how I view the world. My mom is from Taiwan and my dad is from Morocco. I have family members from different linguistic and religious backgrounds, and I have been enriched by the diversity of cultures and traditions around me, including the different cuisines and music styles. I am grateful for the inclusive worldview that my background has instilled in me, and I hope to share that with others and learn from the people around me during my time at Duke.
In high school, I was involved in improving my school’s admission’s process. My high school didn’t include many students from diverse social and economic backgrounds, which went against my belief that everyone should have the opportunity to get a quality education. I focused on reforms related to the school’s outreach and admissions process, but also the environment in my high school that was not welcoming to all students. I also led a club that met every week to discuss social issues called Current Events club, and I would love to continue being involved in discussing social issues here at Duke.
At Duke, I’m interested in majoring in psychology and public policy and minoring in Asian and Middle Eastern studies. I’m currently involved in the Mastery tutoring program that is part of the Kenan Refugee Project, and I am a research assistant for the Duke Identity and Diversity Lab. I hope to further explore my interests in human rights and global health during my time at Duke. I also hope to graduate Duke with proficiency in both of my parents’ languages—Arabic and Chinese.
Outside of school, I love to read and write. My favorite genres are historical fiction and nonfiction, and my favorite book will always be The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
If you would like to talk to me about anything, please feel free to email me at nora.benmamoun@duke.edu!
I am so grateful to be part of Baldwin!