Meet Duke Fuqua’s MBA Class Of 2025

P&Q: What are some key elements in your teaching of leadership? What types of options does your school offer that deepens student experience with leadership and makes them more competitive in the marketplace?

Morgan: “We are intentional about how we teach leadership, which starts with fostering a true appreciation for diverse perspectives. Our students are thoughtfully placed on diverse teams and must complete assignments together. This allows students to develop an appreciation for the value difference can bring to a team. They quickly learn that the strengths of others complement their own and sharpen the ability of the team to complete its best work. This is core to becoming a “triple threat” leader in understanding how to harness difference and really appreciate and value the strengths of other people.

The Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE) also helps shape our curriculum and exposes students to leadership visionaries, including General Martin Dempsey, the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the all-time winningest coach in Division 1 men’s college basketball. In addition, students hear from some of the most relevant business leadership today in our Distinguished Speakers Series.

Finally, I’ve often heard Fuqua referred to as a “Leadership Lab” because our students have so many options to practice their leadership learnings outside the classroom. Students lead a wide variety of clubs at Fuqua, with opportunities to organize conferences and events. Students often tell me how much personal growth they experienced through these efforts—and how much they appreciated the freedom to start new things if they didn’t exist at Fuqua. For example, one student started an alternative proteins club last year, and other students started a club for first-generation and low-income students.”

P&Q: How many courses outside the business school can MBAs take during your program? To what extent has your business school embraced coursework from other schools and departments at your university? Are students from other schools and departments at the university allowed to take MBA electives?

Morgan: “Our students have extensive opportunities to take courses outside of Fuqua and can pursue that breadth in a more or less structured manner. We offer five dual degree programs, which allow MBA students to pursue law, medical, or master’s degrees in environmental management, forestry, or public policy. These are more structured opportunities for our students to take classes as part of full degree programs with both Fuqua and other schools or departments, but we also welcome and encourage students to explore their other interests by taking non-Fuqua courses. Fuqua students can count up to four non-Fuqua classes toward graduation and can take additional classes above the four that will not end up counting toward degree fulfillment at Fuqua. Duke graduate and professional students outside of Fuqua are also welcome to take Fuqua MBA electives.

One example of collaboration across campus is the Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship effort which is housed at Fuqua. This center brings students from across Duke together to work on their business ideas to gain perspective from a variety of disciplines. For example, the engineering student with a great scientific idea needs the expertise of the business school student to grow and scale and vice versa. It’s really exciting to see the collaboration (and companies!) that come out of this effort.”

P&Q: What is your biggest student-run event of the year and what does it reflect about your school?

Morgan: “There are so many amazing events run by our students that it is difficult to pick just one. However, I will mention Orientation, as it is top of mind since we are in the process of welcoming our new first-year class and it touches every single MBA student who comes to Fuqua. The Orientation committee, led by two second-year students, begins planning the three-day welcome event for the incoming class in the proceeding spring. Students have the opportunity to create the theme, delegate tasks to committee members, and track the event planning process through a busy spring course load and their summer internships. Many of them return to Durham from their internships to see Orientation through its final phase: successful execution.

I think Orientation is a good example of just how hard students work to maintain our culture. Orientation sets the tone for the new students in appreciating the differences in each other—and working toward the common goal of bettering Team Fuqua. I think this is one reason our culture remains so strong year-to-year because there is such intentionality in fostering it among the student body. Orientation always makes me proud to be a part of this community and fills me with hope of not only what these newest students will accomplish at Fuqua, but ultimately what they will do to improve their communities and society through business.”

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER FUQUA

1) Family Life: “The rigor of the curriculum in the STEM field really impressed me. Beyond my courses, I was also really looking for the right location for my family of five—my husband, three kids, and a dog. I am not coming to Fuqua as many students, single and ready to mingle. So, as a family, we have different needs. I didn’t want to be in a big fast-paced city and have my kids live in an apartment. We wanted an outdoorsy life in a tranquil city. We wanted a backyard to let the kids run around safely. We wanted to have a community. I am not the only parent in the class, I’m not even the only mother. There are quite a few of us. For me, choosing Fuqua meant I didn’t have to sacrifice anything or anyone in my family. Fuqua is very good at making sure everyone has a community.”
Elsa Victoria Treviño García (’25)

2) Edge: “I was very interested in Fuqua’s Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE). EDGE offers extensive education, cutting-edge energy research, and invaluable resources, which drew me in. With the energy industry evolving and Africa’s reliance on fossil fuels, the challenge of transitioning to renewables and uplifting living standards for over a billion people demands the unique resources and thought leadership found only at EDGE.”
Papa Kwabena Anim (’25)

3) Health: “The ability to pursue the Health Sector Management (HSM) Certificate was the most significant factor in my decision to come to Fuqua. As a dual MD/MBA student, I yearned for a curriculum that would appeal to my dual interests in business and clinical medicine. Through my HSM Bootcamp experience this summer, I gained a first-hand glimpse into the learning possibilities out there in the health care sector. I’m looking forward to the interactions, discussions, and relationships I will build with core faculty and peers in this space, especially as I know it will inform my decision-making as a physician and how I deliver impactful change for the betterment of all patients.”
Christian L. Bailey-Burke (’25)

4) Flexibility: “If I were to choose one, the flexibility of the curriculum offered by Duke Fuqua was important to me. There are only 13 mandatory core classes while you will have the flexibility to choose from over a hundred elective courses. Because everyone’s background and future aspirations are unique, this flexibility will afford me to focus on the specific skills and knowledge that I want to develop in the coming two years.”
Suvd Tserenkhuu (’25)

5) Impact: “I knew when I was applying to MBA programs that I wanted a school that prioritized social and environmental impact and integrated it into the curriculum. Many top programs have one dedicated impact-focused concentration, but I was blown away that Duke Fuqua has multiple ones to choose from: Social Entrepreneurship, Energy & Environment, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. These areas also have programming and staff dedicated to providing students with experiential learning and career support. I feel very privileged to be part of a school environment that devotes real resources to positively shaping our collective future.”
Zelda Hart (’25)

ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS

“I will speak specifically here about my time on the waitlist at Fuqua. I think what gave me the edge is that I played to my strengths and not to what I thought admissions wanted. I would consider myself a creative person and tried to display that. As a waitlist candidate, for my update, I created a newspaper that detailed how I was working to improve called the “Waitlist Gazette!” I knew when I was creating it that there was no way they could turn me away. I played MY game and showed my personality which is what I feel Fuqua regards highly.”
Janhiah Olawale (’23)

“I made sure to take advantage of every opportunity that was in my control. I applied Early Decision and, as a result, secured a guaranteed interview. Although I applied early, I was waitlisted for the first two rounds. During that time, I spoke with the admissions team and attended their waitlisted candidate webinars. I scheduled phone calls with previously waitlisted students. I listened to all their advice and read between the lines as much as I could. I reflected, developed a plan tailored to their advice, and implemented it. Although an initial setback, I am proud to have showcased my resilience in the process.”
Jennifer Sibel (’23)

“As simple as it may sound, just DO it—even if you’re scared, you don’t feel impressive enough, or you have a thousand reasons not to. The only outcome that is certain is if you don’t apply, and we both know what the best outcome could be. Betting on yourself is one of the bravest things you can do, and I can’t think of a better bet to make than Fuqua. Trust yourself, the process and that you deserve opportunities like this… you just have to be brave enough to leap.”
Gabrielle House (’25)

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Christian L. Bailey-Burke	High Point, NC	Harvard University	Deloitte Consulting
Monserrat Etcheverry	Santiago, Chile	Pontificia universidad católica de Chile	Falabella Retail
Ross Fly	Jersey Village, TX	Texas A&M University	Development Dimensions International
Devanshu Ganatra	Somnath, India	Indian Institute of Technology, Patna	Dunzo
Rebecca (Becca) Grimesey	Colorado Springs, CO	University of North Carolina	US Air Force Special Operations Command
Zelda Hart	Austin, TX	University of Chicago	Daymaker
Gabrielle House	Waco, TX	Texas A&M University	EMERGE Fellowship
Papa Kwabena Anim	Accra, Ghana	Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology	K. Anim Inkumsah Petroleum
Stefan Nieuwoudt	Johannesburg, South Africa	University of South Africa	Linkup Youth and Re-Solve Consulting
Elsa Victoria Treviño García	Monterrey, Mexico	Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey	Toro Ventures
Suvd Tserenkhuu	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia	Kobe University	MUFG Bank
Henry White	Richmond, VA	United States Military Academy	U.S. Army

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