My name is Sarah Chang and I’m ecstatic to be apart of the Baldwin class of 2023. I’m excited to join such an incredibly close group of strong women.
I was born in Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love, which fits because I have three siblings. My siblings have helped develop me into who I am today, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be at Duke following my passions without them. My siblings have and continue to show me the importance of dreaming big and following your heart.
My parents have also instilled many important lessons in me. One of them was how a household can run happily without adhering to gender stereotypes. Despite having four kids, my mom continued to work full-time, while my dad only worked part-time and spent a lot of his days driving us around for our different sports and supporting us at every school event (I honestly think my dad missed less than five of my tennis matches throughout my high school career). My dad did the cooking and got us to and from school, while my mom showed us how to be a loving mother and a working woman. Having that strong female role model only encourages me to work hard and persevere, even into a field dominated by men.
Something I strongly believe in is living in the present and not living just for the future. That is why I choose to do what makes me happy instead of always preparing for a future career. This philosophy has led me to push myself out of my comfort zone when arriving at Duke. I auditioned for things that I had never done before, like dance and sketch comedy, because they were things I’d always wanted to do. And now, I am on Dhamaka and Inside Joke. I also applied for a work study that had to do with education inequality, a topic I could discuss for hours, and now, I go to elementary schools and teach “my kids”, who I could and do talk about for hours.
Pursuing my passions has led me to become a math major, despite the major and the field being mostly male. I am determined to pave my way doing what I love. I am also double minoring in visual arts and computer science, both of which foster my creativity and help me think outside the box.
Finally, I love Duke. I am so happy being here doing what I love while being surrounded by the most amazing people I have ever met. Go Blue Devils and go Class of 2023!