Anya Dias-Hawkins

Why I Chose Duke Engineering

I chose Duke Engineering for three main reasons: interdisciplinary coursework, extracurriculars, and culture. I knew I wanted to study engineering because I liked working with my hands and brainstorming ideas, and I wanted to combine an engineering education with my other passions such as disaster resilience and climate adaptation. While engineering curriculums are often very rigid in order to complete required classes, Duke allowed me the flexibility to take courses outside of my major (undergraduate/graduate, social sciences/environment/global health) while still achieving all of my required classes. Second, Duke Engineering had clubs like Duke Engineers for International Development that not only had practical application of engineering concepts learned in class, but also focused on the importance of cultural relations and communication when working with communities on infrastructure projects. Lastly, the culture of Duke Engineering was so unlike what I was expecting. Upon touring the school, I had noticed people crowding around E-Quad and enjoying spending time together or working on labs or homework together. It felt so collaborative and welcoming that I knew this was a place I could see myself in.

Before Duke Engineering

I had taken some engineering courses in high school which focused on building a project and using machinery, but had not gone over any fundamental concepts. I knew from these experiences that I wanted to study engineering since I liked completing projects, but I had no idea what types of engineering existed. Coming from Georgia and experiencing a few hurricanes, I was interested in how disaster management and relief is managed in the US. With my other interests of climate change, I knew I wanted to study something related to civil or environmental engineering.

After Duke Engineering

Duke’s program has prepared me for my ultimate end goal, which is to study disaster resilient infrastructure and working with communities to implement these projects. My involvement with Duke Engineers for International Development (DEID) throughout all 4 years at Duke, especially with my two opportunities to travel and implement pedestrian footbridge builds with local communities in my freshman and sophomore summers, were key to my understanding and growing interest in global development work. Taking graduate courses with the new masters program for Duke Climate and Sustainability Engineering and courses in climate adaptation at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill were both instrumental in creating a foundation of what resilience means and how to think critically about project longevity and client/community engagement. All of these experiences and more have prepared me to apply and start a PhD program at the University of Colorado Boulder in Civil Systems Engineering, with a focus on equitable disaster resilient infrastructure.

5 Most Useful Resources I Took Advantage Of

1. Lean into the advising program. From the 360 coaches (first-year academic advisors) and the E-Teamers (upperclassmen mentors) to your major-specific advisor, all of these people were helpful in planning my degree track with outside courses that interested me.
2. Talking to professors after class, either in formal ways like FLUNCH (faculty lunch) or even just informal coffee chats, were useful for thinking about engineering as a career and getting connected to resources you wouldn’t have otherwise known about through the faculty’s past experiences.
3. Finding a community within a Duke Engineering club was key to me developing long-term friendships with people both inside and outside of my classes, since we all tied to a shared goal and interest.
4. Ask your engineering dean questions! I felt very confused about how to add certificate programs and take classes outside of Duke, and my dean took the time to meet with me and discuss my interests in order to provide me the resources I needed.
5. The Pratt Alumni Student Mentoring Program was extremely helpful to get connected to alumni and ask them questions about their Duke experiences and how that led them to their current careers. I had a different mentor all 4 years because my interests in engineering changed, so I was able to get a lot of different perspectives that were helpful in me deciding to continue with graduate school.