First Global Health Majors Recognized at Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony

Global Health Graduates Class of 2014

Global Health Graduates Class of 2014

Published May 12, 2014, last updated on April 9, 2018 under Education News

On Friday, the Duke Global Health Institute honored 65 global health students as the newest graduates, including the first class of global health majors. The Class of 2014 includes ten global health majors, 32 minors, 16 certificate recipients, and seven graduates of a global health-related Program II.

The ceremony marked a historic occasion as this was the first year the global health major was offered at Duke through DGHI and the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.

"For the first time in Duke history and US history, we are graduating the first class of global health majors and minors. This is a really important in the history of our university and in the field of global health, and I'm really excited about it," said Gary Bennett, director undergraduate studies at DGHI. "This is a special group of students. You don't have to do very much imagining -- it's very clear these students will take on leadership positions at some of the most important institutions in the globe."

Graduates will go on to pursue graduate degrees and medical school. Others will work for social services, policy and nongovernmental organizations, as well as the PeaceCorps.

Global Health Major Ajay Parikh delivered the 2014 student commencement speech. He challenged his peers to continue to pursue global health with persistence and fervor, while keeping in the forefront the people around the world who have inspired their work to improve the health for all.  

During the ceremony, the Professor of the Year Award was presented to Dennis Clements. The Best Student Capstone Award went to Emily Foltz, Taylor Haynes, Radhika Patel, Camille Mathey-Andrews andBrittany Zulkiewicz. Read more about each of the awards.

Watch our latest video, highlighting the undergrad global health experience... from the student perspective.

 

Visit the 2014 Commencement Page for a full recap of the day.