DGHI Honors Its Class of 2025

With applause, hugs and some tears, the Duke Global Health Institute celebrated 66 students earning their global health degrees as part of Duke’s Class of 2025. The graduates, including 32 undergraduate global health majors and 34 who completed the Master of Science in Global Health, were honored in two ceremonies in Paul M. Gross Hall on Duke’s campus on Friday, May 9.

At each ceremony, speakers reflected on the extraordinary talent and commitment the graduates displayed in earning their degrees, while acknowledging the uncertainty surrounding global health research and practice in the wake of funding cuts by the U.S. government. Several speakers noted that the resilience and flexibility they learned through global health courses and field experiences would help them find avenues to succeed despite challenges. 

“If there’s one thing Duke has taught us, it’s how to sit with that uncertainty and still move forward,” said Vaughn-Regan Bledsoe AB’25, a global health co-major who spoke during the undergraduate ceremony. “We’ve learned to ask hard questions, to care deeply, and to adapt when the world doesn’t give us easy answers. That same curiosity and resilience that got us through our time here will carry us through whatever comes next.”

Bledsoe shared how she struggled to find a place at Duke during her freshman year, but connecting with others through student organizations and classes helped her build community. She encouraged students to continue to seek out others who help them feel empowered to take on new challenges. 

At the master’s degree celebration, Ryan Parker MS’25 urged his classmates to “never stop fighting — for goodness, for compassion, for justice, for equity, and for health.”

“Underdogs win sometimes, and often, they lose,” Parker said. “Yet this fact should not prevent us from hoping for victory or striving for success. Though we may lament the losses, we do not despair. Because when global health does win, those victories will be all the sweeter.”

At the same ceremony, Duke alumna and global health professional Wendy Taylor, chair of the DGHI Board of Advisors, assured graduates that the world still needs their knowledge and skills.  

“The career pathways you envisioned may be less clear, but the challenges you seek to solve are not going away,” said Taylor, the president and CEO of the William Davidson Institute, a nonprofit affiliated with the University of Michigan. “As Albert Einstein once said, ‘In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.’ Now is no different… You are ready. You are the next generation of sensemakers.”

Speaking at the undergraduate ceremony, Gary Bennett, Ph.D., a global health professor and dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, reminded students of the accomplishments of another Duke graduate, the late Paul Farmer, who devoted his career to bringing healthcare to the world’s poorest communities. Farmer’s dogged pursuit of that ideal is a lesson that progress is achieved “through a thousand steady steps,” Bennett told graduates.

“You've grown up in a world of instant answers-where problems feel like they should have a fix, a hack or an app. But global health doesn't work like that. It takes time, patience, frustration and courage.” 

At receptions following the ceremonies, graduates celebrated with friends and family members, who greeted their graduates with hugs and bouquets of flowers. Dozens of DGHI faculty and staff came to honor students they had mentored, reminding them to keep in touch as they move on to their next adventures. 

Recordings of both ceremonies, as well as photo albums and profiles of graduates, can be found on the 2025 graduation page.

DGHI announced its annual awards for outstanding students and faculty during its graduation ceremonies on May 9. Winners are:

Madeline Boccuzzi Outstanding Graduate Student Award

The award is named in honor of Madeline Boccuzzi, a 2013 MS-GH graduate who passed away from cancer 11 years ago.  The award highlights a master’s degree student who not only excelled in the classroom but in research and in building the global health community at Duke and beyond.

This year’s recipient is Paul Ngangula. A native of Zambia, Ngangula’s research was based in Tanzania, which explored the possible integration of telehealth care into suicide prevention services in the East African country. Those who nominated Ngangula noted his deep care and compassion for his collaborators, subjects of his research and even his peers set him apart as a worthy recipient of this award. 

As a student, Ngangula served as a teaching assistant who went above and beyond to help students with their projects, wrote one professor. A second nominator noted the number of peers and Tanzanian collaborators who attended his thesis defense, which spoke to the respect and admiration he has earned across the community. 

Michael Merson Undergraduate Student Leadership Award

Named for DGHI’s founding director, Michael Merson, this award recognizes a graduating student for excelling in and outside of the classroom. Recipients in previous years have demonstrated a deep commitment to global health equity through leadership and extracurricular activities. 

This year’s recipient is Sydney Chen, a double major in global health and comparative studies, with a regional focus on Africa. In 2023, she was part of DGHI’s Student Research Training Program (SRT) in Kenya to improve access to screenings for human papillomavirus (HPV), a leading cause of cervical cancer. That experience inspired Chen and her SRT teammates to raise funds and establish a free childcare center at a local hospital so mothers could attend medical appointments without worry. The effort also earned a $10,000 grant from the Davis Projects for Peace to expand the childcare program this summer. Chen’s faculty mentor wrote the childcare center was an independent project that speaks to her initiative, which earned the trust and respect of the hospital’s administrators.

Outstanding Capstone Research Project

This award highlights a team of senior students for their outstanding project presented in the global health undergraduate capstone course. During the semester, they work in teams with outside experts to design a solution for a local or international health challenge.

This year’s winning project is “Collaboration with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO): Evaluating Integration of Hepatitis B Services in ANC Clinics” completed by Skylar Webb, Sydney Chen, Sophie Lair, and Elena Granowsky, who were part of the Fall 2024 capstone course. The students worked with TASO, a nongovernmental organization in Uganda, to reduce the spread of HIV and improve care for people living with the virus and its related conditions. The team also created educational materials used in clinics throughout the country’s Acholi region. Judges described the team’s work as “well-conceived and executed.” Dennis Clements, M.D., Ph.D., taught the course.

Global Health Undergraduate Professor of the Year 

This award recognizes a professor, nominated by students, for outstanding teaching and mentorship. This year’s recipient is Charmaine Royal, Ph.D., the Robert O. Keohane Professor of African and African American Studies who’s faculty at DGHI. Student nominators commended Royal for how she nurtures critical thinking skills while challenging them to examine their biases and assumptions. Another nominator praised Royal for pushing students to learn about things they may not have considered before. 

Global Health Graduate Professor of the Year

This award recognizes outstanding teaching and mentoring in the Master of Science in Global Health program. This year’s recipient is Aunchalee Palmquist, Ph.D., an associate professor of the practice of global health and DGHI’s director of graduate studies.

Palmquist’s recognition is an ideal example of DGHI’s interdisciplinary approach to global health that also highlights her kindness and commitment to help students find their path. Student nominators commended Palmquist for her thought-provoking and engaging course lessons. Another student praised Palmquist for providing a safe space to voice concerns with assurance that every student is supported in the degree program.