Layla Mahoney
Project:
The Gender Health Gap: Healthcare Disparities Faced by Women in the U.S.
Education:
Senior at Middle College High School at Durham Technical Community College
Education
Hank & Billye Suber Aaron Young Scholars Summer Research Institute
Program Description
The Aaron Young Scholars Summer Research Institute is a program that provides high school students enrolled in Durham Public Schools (DPS) with training to enhance their writing, research, and presentation skills. The program is sponsored by the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University in partnership with Durham Public Schools (DPS). In keeping with the Samuel DuBois Cook Center’s central mission as a community of scholars engaged in the study of the causes and consequences of inequality, program participants explore curriculum related to the economic, social, and political dimensions of inequality.
Goals
- Enhance student research, writing, and presentation skills within an academically high-achieving environment
- Facilitate student ownership of learning and develop tools for critical inquiry
- Foster collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to the study of the causes and consequences of inequality
- Enable student production of individual research related to the varied causes and consequences of inequality and possible remedies for achieving equity and social justice (involving the intersections of class, income, wealth, gender, race, health, law, employment, and education)
- Identify and recruit the next generation of scholars engaged in the study of inequality and design of remedies for addressing group-based disparities and conflicts.
Details
- Programming: TBD for 2025
- Location: TBD for 2025
- Food: Breakfast and lunch are provided while on site.
- Cost: Free.
- Requirement: Aaron Young Scholars Summer Research Institute participants must be currently enrolled in Durham Public Schools and the ninth, tenth, or eleventh grade.
Administration
Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity
- William A. Darity, Program Founder
- Gwendolyn Wright, Program Administrator
- Kennedy Ruff, Program Coordinator
- JoAnn O’Neal, Business Manager
Durham Public Schools
- Keaundra Robinson, Co-Program Liaison; Equity Leadership and Strategy Coordinator with Durham Public Schools
- Iwinosa Idahor, Co-Program Liaison; Student Equity, Engagement and Opportunity Coordinator with Durham Public Schools
Application & Deadline
We will be accepting and reviewing applications in 2025.
Please fill out the link below, and if you have any questions, please email Program Coordinator Ms. Kennedy Ruff at kennedy.ruff@duke.edu.
2024 Hank and Billye Suber Aaron Young Scholars
Cohort 1
Lila Phillips
Project:
It’s UterUS: Rural Urban Disparities in Maternal Health Outcomes
Education:
Senior at Riverside High School
London Saxton
Project:
Mental Health in Higher Ed
Education:
Junior at Charles E. Jordan High School
Lyn Jebiwott
Project:
Discrimination and PTSD: Barriers faced by African American Veterans with PTSD
Education:
Senior at Riverside High School
Madeline Fuentes Velasquez
Project:
Effects of Poor Air Quality in Low Income Rural Communities
Education:
Junior at Northern High School
Rosemary Graysmith
Project:
The Impact of Anti-Trans Legislation on Transgender Youth
Education:
Senior at Middle College High School at Durham Technical Community College
Sofia Lamas
Project:
Migration & Identity in the US
Education:
Junior at Durham School of Technology
Yaretza Pulido-Zepeda
Project:
Health Disparities in American Indians Across the U.S.
Education:
Senior at Charles E. Jordan High School
Cohort 2
Aliani Alvarez Alcantara
Project:
The Disparities of Socioeconomic Status & Its Effects on Mental Development in Children
Education:
Senior at Durham School of the Arts
Alina Mina Azhar
Project:
As the STEAM Rises: How the Downfall of Arts Education in the U.S. Impacts the Field of Engineering
Education:
Senior at Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College High School
Aniah Satterfield
Project:
Stereotypes and Authenticity in Black Cinema: Analyzing Representation Through Historical and Contemporary Lenses
Education:
Junior at Durham School of the Arts
Hana Sato (Visiting Scholar)
Project:
Prescription for Prejudice: How Health Care Bias and Discrimination Affect LGBTQ+ and BIPOC Individuals
Education:
Senior at Insight Colearning Center
Kailia Kissi
Project:
Racial Disparities in Maternal Health: How Can Medical Training and Racial Awareness Create Change for Black Women Experiencing
Education:
Sophomore at City of Medicine Academy
Kalia West
Project:
Differences in Lifetime Income for Post-Secondary Education Attainment by Race
Education:
Senior at Northern Durham High School
Maira Magwene Muñiz
Project:
Cultural Sovereignty: How Artifact Repatriation Policies Affect Indigenous Communities in the U.S.
Education:
Senior at Charles E. Jordan High School
Olaitan Ajasa
Project:
Listen to our Black Mothers: Social Stigmas in African American Maternal Health
Education:
Sophomore at Durham School of the Arts
Program Personnel
Catherine Kiplagat
Role:
Cohort 1 Intern
Institution:
Duke University
Genevieve Furges
Role:
Cohort 2 Intern
Institution:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Iwinosa Idahor
Role:
Co-Program Liaison
Institution:
Student Equity, Engagement and Opportunity Coordinator with Durham Public Schools
Jaelyn Nixon
Jaelyn Nixon is a Teaching Assistant for the Spring 2024 Global Inequality Research Initiative (GIRI) course, “Gender and Development”. Nixon is a 4th year PhD candidate in the joint Public Policy and Psychology Program. She is particularly interested in the covert ways that discriminatory practices evolve and produce racial inequities in education. More specifically, she is interested in the social and academic costs that K-12 students are burdened with as a result of biased education policies and larger societal norms.
Additionally, she participated in the 2024 Hank & Billye Suber Aaron Young Scholars Research Institute as a Cohort 2 Instructor.
Jahara Davis
Durham Public Schools
Cohort 1 Instructor
Jenny Uba
Role:
Cohort 1 Teaching Assistant
“It was a total success and I know that the Young Scholars are motivated to become activist and change agents for social justice. Thank you again for this amazing program.”
Aaron Young Scholar Parent
“I enjoyed being in the 3rd year cohort and digging deeper into my topic. I also appreciate working with all of the teachers and staff of the institute."
Aaron Young Scholar
“Keep up the great work. You are creating future leaders who will understand the key issues impacting our community.”
Aaron Young Scholar Parent
“Although hesitant at first, my student thoroughly enjoyed himself, and he was excited to tell us about his daily work and learned information that is helpful to him. He was nervous about presenting, however he became more confident and did well.”
Aaron Young Scholar Parent
“My favorite part of the institute was watching the change in the depth of conversation with my student.”
Aaron Young Scholar Parent
It was really important to me that I finished the Social Equity Program and through your help, I was able to do so. This program has taught me so much and has even played a major impact on my future career goals.
Aaron Young Scholar
“I enjoyed hearing from everyone [at the Capstone] and the topics are all relevant and timely.”
Aaron Young Scholar Parent
“The teachers and staff are supportive and transparent. The village concept is working!”
Aaron Young Scholar Parent
My student blossomed under tutelage received. The boost to their confidence and ability to work with like minded young people has made for a wondrous experience. Thank you, for your efforts and commitment. These students benefited and our community will continue to benefit.
Aaron Young Scholar Parent
