"I came into Duke with a strong interest in healthcare, biology, and the government and struggled to reconcile my seemingly disparate interests. The Science and the Public cluster helped me broaden my interests and celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of the relationship between science and society. In particular, our dinner course on communicating science helped me realize my interest in bridging the gap between the scientific community and the general population. FOCUS gave me the framework and a community of like-minded peers to celebrate my diverse interests and the confidence to take the path less taken. The intellectual vibrancy of the program and the mentorship from my peers and professors inspired me to pursue an internship at the British National Archives to conduct research on vaccine communication and policy in 19th Century Britain. In addition, my experience in the FOCUS inspired me to pursue the Science and Society certificate (with several of my FOCUS classmates) to further explore interdisciplinary questions about science and society. I could not be more grateful for FOCUS in helping me refine my guiding academic questions and in providing me with a cohort of other academics friends, mentors to guide me along the way.
