English DepartmentLiterature 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.
Sophia Berg
sophia.berg@duke.edu
Sophia Berg is a freshman 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!
Stephen Kim
stephen.kim@duke.edu
Stephen Kim is a senior from New York, New York majoring in English and minoring in VMS Cinematic Arts. He is on the Duke Division I Men’s Fencing Team and was an internationally ranked fencer in high school. Stephen chose the English major because he finds linguistics, literature, and writing fascinating. Stephen particularly likes the works of John Milton, but he enjoys a wide variety of literature spanning multiple centuries, including works from David Henry Thoreau, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Edgar Allen Poe, George Orwell, and Haruki Murakami. Stephen is currently writing his distinction thesis that will explore the origins and evolution of romance in Western literature, especially as they relate to modern perceptions of marriage.
After graduation, Stephen plans to pursue a career in the film & television industry, a field of great interest to him since childhood. He believes an English degree will strongly prepare him for the crucial communicational and writing skills required in the workforce. Stephen also loves learning languages and currently speaks three fluently: English, Korean, and Spanish. He enjoys traveling and living abroad, having spent extensive time in South Korea since the age of eleven, where he attended school. Recently, he began studying Levantine Arabic and hopes to visit Jordan sometime over the next few years.
Maddie Rubin
madeline.rubin@duke.edu
Maddie Rubin is a senior from New York, majoring in English and Risk, Data & Financial Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. Her first couple of years at Duke were spent coding away in electrical engineering labs, but, after enrolling in an English course on a whim, she has rediscovered her love for writing. Her favorite course so far has been Bob Dylan, and her favorite course right now is creative non-fiction. She also can’t have a conversation without mentioning she spent this past summer at the University of Oxford learning about Victorian Literature under the tutelage of a knight. On rare evenings, Maddie can be found in the back corner of comedy shows around Durham, and, for the past four years, she has been trying to teach herself a singular song on the guitar. She see’s a lot of potential in the intersection between literature and technology, and she would love the opportunity to convince fellow Pratt stars to come and join her over in the humanities.
Claire Wang
claire.wang609@duke.edu
Claire Wang is a senior from San Diego, CA majoring in English and Psychology with a minor in Biology. Claire’s favorite English class so far is Grimm’s Fairy Tales taught by Dr. April Henry. The English major has helped her explore her passion for storytelling and its potential to empower and empathize; it provides broader historical knowledge and explores various cultural and ethical perspectives through the discussion of a wide range of literature showcasing different forms of communication, expression, and representation.
In her free time, she loves baking, traveling, going on food crawls in big cities, taking long walks, or just curling up with a good book in bed. Claire would love to answer any questions, either related to the major or about anything else at Duke!
See Past English Department Ambassadors