Hi! I’m Samantha, and I love to do anything outdoors like surfing, backpacking, and diving. I also like space, the fact that time is relative, and that more colors exist than we can see. At Duke, I studied Biology and Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. I spent two semesters and a summer at the Duke Marine lab (DUML) taking marine biology classes and doing research on the population genomics of summer flounder and the resilience of salt marsh ecosystems. After graduating, I returned to DUML and worked for a year in the Coasts and Commons Colaboratory. As a research analyst, I spent my time cleaning, analyzing, modeling and thinking about large social and ecological datasets. Next year I’ll be moving to San Francisco to teach high school math and biology at the Nueva School.
Outside of class, I am really interested in STEM outreach. At the marine lab, I organized and participated in a science and math club for elementary school girls. On main campus, I volunteered with FEMMES, and as their outreach coordinator, I started the high school mentorship branch of the program, FEMMES Connect.
I'd like to end by just saying that the Baldwin program has met and surpassed all my expectations. Going into the program I was excited to engage with others in dialogue about the experience of women at Duke. While that occurred, by the end of just the first semester I had also learned so much about how I view myself and others. Furthermore, I have a community of amazing peers and friends who continue to inspire me even after graduation. I am so thankful for the Baldwin Scholars program and how it shaped my time at Duke and beyond. Feel free to email me (sah65@duke.edu/samhuff1113@gmail.com) if you have any questions about the program or what I was involved with while at Duke!