Cecilia Gyamfi (she/her) is a senior from Columbus, Ohio double-majoring in African & African-American Studies and Political Science, while also attaining a certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
During her time at Duke, Gyamfi served in the Duke Student Government, Duke Project Justice and the Duke NAACP for four years, including as the president of the organization. She conducted interdisciplinary research related to generational shifts in the political motivations of Black youth and Black youth’s voter disenfranchisement.
Gyamfi’s academic achievements have been recognized outside of Duke, and she has received awards from Sidley Austin Law Firm as a Sidley Pre-Law Scholar. Following graduation from Duke, Gyamfi will work as a consultant at Microsoft.
In this first-person essay, Gyamfi reflects on the ways in which being a Duke student differed from what she imagined it would be when she first began her journey as a Blue Devil.
Prior to my matriculation at Duke, I thought that solely experiences make you who you are, and I deeply looked forward to becoming what I thought a “Duke student” was. I was under the impression that one’s surroundings — the people and the energy within these surroundings — are what create a person’s character. However, being fortunate enough to not only gain admittance to Duke but also study abroad at Oxford and the University of Venice in Italy, I soon experienced cognitive dissonance.
I began to realize that my experiences at Duke sharpened whom I already was, and, through this, I became what I envisioned a Duke student “should be.”
I learned that no matter where you go, there you are. There truly is no ideal “Duke student” — there’s just you! You are who you are, no matter where you are. Your experiences sharpen you, but they don’t make you who you are. At Duke, I’ve been challenged both inside and outside of the classroom, and I’ve grown into a better version of myself as a result of those experiences.
I couldn’t imagine being the version of myself that I am today without the experiences I’ve had at Duke. I’m proud to have grown into my own variation of a Duke student.