Duke Delta Sigma Pi

***Starring: Rachael Nedrow***
Q: How have you changed since coming to Duke?
A: I hope to have remained true to who I am and my values, but have hopefully developed and improved as a person during my time here by focusing on my development in those areas of my life I consider most important. I've tried to become more mindful of how I spend my time, so that I can try to make the most out of every moment by making sure I'm spending my time doing things that contribute to the kind of person I want to be--just building out that consistency every single day has been really helpful for me. Anyone who thinks, “I’m going to make this huge change right now” might be setting themselves up for failure and disappointment. It’s helped me to take everything step by step, not let myself get discouraged, and to avoid a black-and-white mentality. You can’t expect yourself to be perfect, and you’re doing better than you think. Have I figured out what I want to do with my life? No, but I’ve made some lifelong friends, developed perseverance and a stronger work ethic, and become a kinder, more open individual that tries hard to show respect to every person I interact with.

Q: Where do you hope to see yourself in the next five years?
A:
I want to be working for a company that does work I’m passionate about--one that has a mission of benefiting or empowering others and one that I feel that I have the unique abilities or knowledge to contribute to. Ideally, I would be in a role that is a well-balanced combination of the skills I have while being a part of a great culture of intelligent and driven people. Right now, I am really passionate about product management: figuring out what consumers need and creating a solution to fulfill those needs. Honestly though, life is confusing. I think people think that as a senior you have everything figured out, but no one is finished developing. As a senior, you realize there is a lot of stuff left. Like, I’m leaving but I haven’t done all the stuff that I want to do, or taken all the classes that I want, or met all the people I want. I love this place.

Q: What’s your fondest memory at Duke?
A:
Cup stacking at Countdown with Amile Jefferson in Cameron Indoor Stadium was really exciting because to me it epitomized my love for this school and my experience here. Just being on that legendary court, doing the thing that I love the most with people cheering me on--it’s a moment that’s almost surreal to me when I reflect on my Duke experience. People came up to me afterwards, telling me that they really liked it, and that was just amazing to me - it’s an honor that people would appreciate a crazy hobby of mine that’s such an important part of my identity. I had the entire Duke community behind my back and had never felt so connected to this school and the incredible people here.

Q: Who is someone you’re very close to within DSP?
A:
There are a few brothers in DSP that I’ve become close to, but Diana and I’ve really become great friends because we were in PUBPOL302 together with Charney as well as a History elective. My first impression of Diana was in our discussion section--I thought she was a really amazing and candid individual that seemed to truly care about making a positive difference. She made an announcement to our class about a philanthropic cause that she was really passionate about and you could just tell she really meant it--it wasn’t just another plug for her and I really respected that. And later on, Diana and I just really grinded together for all the quizzes and essay assignments that we had in Charney’s class.

Q: What does DSP mean to you?
A: DSP really helped me become closer to figuring out what I’ve wanted career-wise. I love how we created the sphere system because you’re really able to explore opportunities and learn from other brothers that have real experience. You can dabble in and learn about whatever business career you’re interested in. As a friend group, DSP has been an awesome pool of people to be around and be connected with. Even as a senior now, I look at certain freshmen, thinking about how they are already so talented, and how they will just go so far and accomplish so much. I love that our brothers in DSP are amazingly successful yet everyone is just really genuine and humble: no one takes themselves too seriously, no one actually thinks they’re the s**t. I think DSP represents the best of the best of those qualities that make Duke students great, and I’m really proud and grateful to have taken part in it.

***Starring: Michael Lee***
Q: How have you changed since coming to Duke?
A: I’ve changed a lot the past four years. For one, I’ve ditched the cargo shorts. [light laughter] In all seriousness though, I think I’ve become a lot more responsible. My email doesn’t build up anymore because by the end of the day, I usually manage to sift through them all. [smiles] However, over the course of a night, I somehow wake up to twenty new messages in my inbox again!

Anyhow, I’m also able to process stressful things in my life better; sudden shocks don’t disrupt me as much anymore.

In the end, I’ve realize how much I’ve grown as a person, especially when I go back home to Boise. So I feel extremely fortunate to be here at Duke.

Q: Where do you hope to see yourself in the next five years?
A: I could envision myself as someone out of the Urban Nomad Movement. Being self-employed, working freelance, starting my own company where I could work from anywhere. I would work out of a cafe and stay somewhere for a month. And my response is “maybe” to an MBA.

Q: What’s your fondest memory at Duke?
A: I really enjoyed throwing frisbees in the hall of my freshman dorm, but my favorite singular memory was actually meeting my girlfriend, Jeannie Chung. It started really organically--actually, it just started from a simply interaction, a “hello” or “hi”, something of that sort--we were at a beach retreat with Asian Students Association (ASA). Jeannie wasn’t even socializing. She was just sitting back reading some comic-type book. At the time, I was thinking to myself that was kinda weird, but I went on to ask her how she was doing.

To this day, I am really thankful that we had that interaction. She’s given me a lot of knowledge and insight because she’s two years older than me.

Oh! I just thought of another favorite memory. Another highlight would also have to be when I was a freshman. I was getting dinner with a friend of mine in the same FOCUS program and our professor. As we were coming back, my friend texted me that Brown dorm was on fire. Because of that incident, we lived in the really nice Fuqua dorms for a week and stole all their grapefruit drinks from their refrigerators and used their thousand dollar coffee machine.

Q: Who is someone you’re very close to within DSP?
A: I’m pretty close to Diana Ye. We became workout buddies this year but when I first met her I was a sophomore, and she was a freshman. We met through ASA because I was her “dad” in our ASA family. [laughter] And then my second memory of her was when she rushed DSP! I had totally forgot that she was in my ASA family, but then it hit me again when she rushed.

Q: What does DSP mean to you?
A: When I first joined DSP it was so small and barely had a presence on campus. Today, it feels like DSP is a brainchild of mine, of ours. It really exceeded my expectations and grew faster than I ever thought it would. When I initially joined, I actually felt a real urge to be in another professional association at the time, but the culture within DSP just seemed more authentic. Now, seeing that culture continue to persist and grow even more, I am so happy that I made the decision to be join DSP.

Speed Dating this evening at 7:00pm! Come to the second floor of Marketplace and meet the brothers.