Literature exists without boundaries. Recognizing the limitlessness of language, the English Department Ambassadors are dedicated to showing Duke students the powerful manner in which studying English grants us access to a heightened understanding of our own selves and timeless truths of the human psyche. The English Department Ambassadors serve as liaisons for the greater Duke student body and the English Department, hosting campus outreach events to facilitate dialogue between current students, welcome new majors, and encourage prospective Duke students to explore the humanities.
Alexis Ashley
alexis.ashley@duke.edu
Alexis Ashley is a junior from Ocala, Florida majoring in Public Policy with minors in English and Theater Studies. She enjoys exploring the connections between writing, literature, history, and politics, and knows that minoring in English will allow her to continue to do so. Alexis believes that reading, understanding, and analyzing the lived experiences of other people, especially those in marginalized communities, can create the empathy necessary to move society towards greater equality. For this reason, she highly recommends that every student, regardless of their major, take an English course while at Duke. Alexis has loved all the English classes she’s taken here but particularly enjoyed Crime Literature taught by Professor Michael D’Alessando. One of Alexis’ goals in life is to read all of Jane Austen’s novels. On campus, you can find her listening to the piano while studying in the Wellness Center, working with the Duke Presidential Ambassadors, or reading on Main Quad when it’s sunny.
Sophia Berg
sophia.berg@duke.edu
Sophia Berg is a senior from Gilbert, AZ majoring in English with an interest in Political Science and Classics. Her favorite English course so far is The Legend of King Arthur taught by Dr. April Henry. Sophia believes that the English major serves to instruct on every facet of any potential career, from the development of essential writing techniques to the adoption of strong voice and choice rhetoric. After graduation, Sophia intends to attend law school with the hopes of pursuing a career in civil litigation. She hopes that the skills that she will acquire over her English major education will ensure a strong understanding of writing and research that will prepare her for a successful legal education.
On a given Friday night, Sophia can be found relaxing with a good book or some friends, and loves a good coffee chat or autumn stroll. Sophia is happy to answer any questions concerning English, Duke, or anything else that comes to mind!
Lily Egol
lily.egol@duke.edu
Lily Egol is a senior from Holmdel, NJ, pursuing an English major with minors in Music and French. She loves studying English because it enables her to participate in an incredible tradition of communicating complex ideas and experiences through writing. Every English course she has taken at Duke (highlights include Jane Austen, Shakespeare: On Nature, and Inventing Childhood in 18th and 19th Century Literature) has provided compelling, inspiring insights into the human condition and the power of the written word. Lily is especially interested in exploring women’s stories: just as she loves to incorporate works by women composers into her classical piano repertoire (she is preparing a recital entitled “Four Seasons of Women Composers” to take place during this year’s Women’s History Month), she hopes to study the works of recently rediscovered women writers. She is currently working on an independent study entitled “Galls, Grace, & Grief: Women in Shakespeare, Revisited,” a collection of poetic monologues exploring the voices of some of Shakespeare’s women characters. Lily believes in the interconnectedness of literature and the arts and brings an interdisciplinary approach to her studies. You might have seen her onstage as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in the Theater Studies Fall 2023 production of Twelfth Night, or at numerous Hoof ’n’ Horn musical theater events. She writes for The Muse feminist literary magazine, volunteers with Ballet & Books, and researches for Project Vox. She looks forward to continuing her exploration of the multifaceted, ever-expanding history of English literature, while also cultivating her own unique voice as a writer and artist.
Olivia Foster
olivia.foster@duke.edu
Olivia Foster is a freshman from London, England and is exploring the path towards an English major. She loves that studying English has allowed her to engage with nuanced literary meaning whilst enriching her study of other humanities, including Philosophy and Art History.
She is captivated by visual poetry, particularly that of E.E Cummings, as the reader is compelled to interact with written language as they would an artistic image. The intersection of literature and art is something she is interested to consider further, specifically when thinking about the depiction of female beauty. She has recently delved into this topic by reading Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, in which an enigmatic, androgynous beauty is created by the author.
Olivia hopes to study many more English courses in the future but is currently enjoying her ‘Dystopian Fiction’ writing course. She also volunteers for Ballet & Books, an organisation that promotes storytelling through both reading and dance. Over the next 4 years at Duke, she is looking forward to reading and writing creatively, while also inspiring others through shared literary passions.
Daniella Freedman
daniella.freedman@duke.edu
Natalia Harnisch
natalia.harnisch@duke.edu
Natalia Harnisch is a j from a junior suburb of Chicago called River Forest and is planning on double majoring in English and International Comparative Studies. Her favorite short story is Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”, and she enjoys writing poetry, as she sees it as a beautiful way to express oneself. She is loving her Spanish Global Humanities course taught by Professor Mulligan, in which she has been able to explore the complex philosophical, metaphorical, and symbolistic writing of such authors as Silvina Ocampo, Julio Cortázar, and Jorge Luis Borges.
Natalia sees English, in terms of writing and literature, as one of the most valuable art forms, and is excited for the English courses that await her at Duke. She has a love of all art forms, as she also does photography, music, dance, and painting. She is of Hispanic heritage and hopes to combine her love of literature and writing in both Spanish and English to become an immigration lawyer and help minorities fight for their rights.
William Herff
william.herff@duke.edu
William is a senior from San Antonio, TX studying English. He enjoys French cooking, opera, brisk walks, the art of canoeing, and the game of chess, which he often plays for money. He has a great deal of admiration for Professor Victor Strandberg and has enjoyed his lectures on T.S Elliot. In his free time, William is the fiction editor for The Lemur, Duke’s Big Idea Magazine, and dreams of writing for The Simpsons. His favorite book is Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse, though he’s never read it—he’s only tossed it up in the air and caught it, muttering “Ah, I love literature
Madison Mikayelyan
madison.mikayelyan@duke.edu
Sancia Milton
sancia.milton@duke.edu
Sancia Milton is a senior from San Diego, California pursuing a double major in English and Biology. She is particularly passionate about creative writing and poetry, and she loves any opportunity to dissect a poem, workshop a short story, or share writing with peers. She has enjoyed a wide range of English classes, but a particular favorite was Documentary Poetry with Professor Jaki Shelton Green. She is currently working on a creative writing independent study, through which she hopes to develop her creative writing skills and complete her first novella.
After graduation, Sancia is following her passion for healthcare and science and will be applying to medical school. There, and in the rest of her life, she is excited to carry with her the lessons in empathy, creativity, and storytelling that her time in the Allen building has taught her. She is a strong advocate for taking English classes, no matter your major or career goals, and she is more than happy to offer any advice or answer any questions about English offerings at Duke!
Trisha Santanam
trisha.santanam@duke.edu
Trisha Santanam is a senior from Greensboro, NC, majoring in English and minoring in Music. Being an English major has allowed Trisha to explore literature written by and about people who have been historically underrepresented and marginalized. She believes that studying English teaches us to be more articulate in our judgments of what it means to be human-- imperfect, messy, kind-- and to be more attentive to our ethical responsibilities in the journey of self-knowledge. Trisha’s favorite English course so far has been Southern Accents taught by Dr. Taylor Black and Dr. Sophia Enríquez.
On any given evening, you can find her practicing flute duets in Biddle, lounging in the gardens with a book, or on the hunt for Durham’s best sweet treat. Trisha is happy to answer questions about English, Creative Writing, or life at Duke, in general.
Kit Shauf
kit.shauf@duke.edu
Halle Vazquez
halle.vazquez@duke.edu
Halle is a junior from Hendersonville, NC majoring in English and minoring in Journalism and Media Studies and Spanish. She loves studying English because she enjoys writing as a medium for creativity and advocacy, and Duke’s English Department community has offered her a space to improve her craft, challenge her own ideas, and thrive among other writers. She is particularly interested in the intersections of democracy and art, and the ways in which writing can uplift the cultures and experiences of marginalized communities. Because of this, she hopes to use her experience as an English major to pursue a career in journalism. She has enjoyed a variety of English classes at Duke, but her particular favorites are Cathy Shuman’s “Intro to Creative Non-fiction” class and Dr. Sarah Beckwith’s “Shakespeare on Love” class. Her favorite novels are Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
Outside of the English Department, you can find Halle reporting for The 9th Street Journal, writing poetry, or weightlifting, and she loves coffee, baking, and anything to do with autumn. She’s happy to answer any questions about the English Department and journalism over a Bella Union coffee or a Duke Gardens stroll!
See Past English Department Ambassadors