The Fuqua Show

Mitchell Woodruff (Class of 2024) grew up in the small town of Crestwood, Kentucky. After earning a degree in psychology from Xavier University, Mitchell pursued nursing at Bellarmine University and worked as a pediatric ICU travel nurse across the U.S. and abroad. He spent time providing care on a ship off the coast of Africa, helping children with cleft lip and palate repairs, and eventually decided to switch careers, enrolling i...

Dr. Ronnie Chatterji returned to Fuqua in 2023, after serving in the White House as implementation lead for the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act. He thrives at the intersection of academia, public policy, and business, working as a professor and researcher at Fuqua for the past 18 years. He has co-authored 2 books, published over 30 peer-reviewed articles, and written op-eds in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard ...

Dr. Veronica Valencia Victoria (Class of 2024) is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and could also be considered a doctor of reinventing herself. Originally from a small town in Colombia, she moved to the U.S. when she was 12 years old, ultimately becoming the valedictorian of her high school. Inspired by her family, she became a physical therapist and supported patients over 4 years. After the loss of a friend and fellow healthcare wor...

Kandasi Griffiths (Class of 2024) had a goal to see the world. And after living in 17 places on 4 continents, she is certainly on her way! After college, she taught English in Paris, organized conferences in the UK, and learned jewelry making in Italy, before pivoting to international development. She worked in Afghanistan, Jordan, Tanzania, Guinea, Benin, and Togo, learning about global health and seeing how she could best contrib...

Annie Forrest (Class of 2024) grew up in a small Appalachian town called Richlands, Virginia, where her family has lived for 8 generations. She left home for the University of Virginia, where she became an advocate for sexual assault and relationship abuse prevention. She then moved to New York City to continue this work full time at the One Love Foundation. And after 9 years away, she came back to Richlands and became inspired to ...

Dr. John M. de Figueiredo (Faculty Director, Duke Center for Institutional and Organizational Performance) has taught strategy, law, and economics at Duke for more than 14 years and has received 8 teaching awards. However, when trying to start his career in academia, he was rejected from every PhD program he applied for, all because someone lost his GRE answer sheet! In this episode, John discusses how rejections, constant setbacks...

Queen Nwokonneya (Class of 2024) has big ambitions to improve people's lives in developing countries. Originally from Abuja, Nigeria, she discovered a passion for international and economic development, which brought her to the UK for school and back to Africa for work. Through her pre-MBA career, Queen advised the Lagos government on urban renewal policy, worked with her hometown community to plant 5,000 trees, helped vaccina...

Erin Worsham spends her days helping people create positive impact in the world. She has been at Duke for a total of 19 years, first as an undergrad music major and now as the leader of Fuqua's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE), Erin has developed a rich understanding of social impact, from her time as a Stanford MBA student to her jobs at the World Bank, USAID, Booz Allen Hamilton, and now Fuqua.

Happy (?) Tax Day! To celebrate, we're bringing you a special episode with our professor and resident tax guru Scott Dyreng - featuring advice on taxes, life, and everything in between.

Scott Dyreng grew up on a turkey farm in rural Utah and made his way to writing op-eds for the Wall Street Journal. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Scott has seen the world (Chile, UK), started a family (wi...

Kanchan Nebhwani (Class of 2024) comes from an Indian family, but grew up in South America and the Caribbean. She learned about entrepreneurship from her family's furniture business and she eventually came to the U.S. to become a founder herself. Kanchan and her brother co-founded Drūmi, a premium mattress company with a mission to protect coral reefs and clean up the oceans they grew up swimming in. In this episode, Kanchan s...

Kelsey Worsham and Rhea Philip (Class of 2025) join us for this episode in honor of Women’s History Month. The newly elected co-presidents of the Association of Women in Business (AWIB), Kelsey and Rhea share a passion for female empowerment and supporting other women, as well as pride in being a successful woman in business themselves. In this episode, we discuss a range of topics, including advocating for yourself and others, the...

Louis Wu (Class of 2024) left China at the age of four with his mom to pursue the American dream without speaking a word of English and with no support system. Lost in the hustle and bustle of New York, Louis found comfort in books, becoming a lifelong learner. Always putting others first, he  often put his life on 'hold' to help the people he loved. Later in life, Louis broke free from conventional expectations of an imm...

Steve Misuraca (MBA '09) has served the Fuqua community for nearly 17 years. His MBA experience was likely similar to yours - living in Station Nine, overcommitting, early rejections, pivoting his career path, and questioning what he wanted to do with his life. Since 2009, Steve has worked on staff and has supported over 5,000 students, through roles in Admissions and Student Life. In this episode, Steve reflects on his journe...

Tara Coley, founder of BE Bakery (one of Fuqua's new community partners), is the final guest in our "Black Entrepreneurs" series for Black History Month 2024.

With host Janice Cater (Class of 2024), Tara covers the origins of her baking career - dropping out of college, enrolling in pastry school, and making 500 donuts per night. She discusses her entrepreneurial journey, from the challenges to the rewards t...

In collaboration with Black Business Students Association (BBSA) and Business in Africa (BiA), we are excited to bring everyone a special episode in honor of Black History Month. Joy Akinfenwa, Kwabena Anim, and Abimbola Olurotimi (all Class of 2025) are shining examples of innovation, resilience, and creativity in the business world.

First, we have Joy Akinfenwa, who not only created her own co-working space in Nigeria but also pen...

It's our 2nd annual Valentine's Day episode! Hear about first dates and soul mates from four Fuqua couples.

First, we have Audrey Lopez (Class of 2024) and Vijay Kailash. Audrey moved from Colombia to a random Airbnb in Charlotte, North Carolina...and ended up getting engaged to her host.

Second, we have Vanessa Solórzano Alvarez and Guillermo Alvarez (both Class of 2024). They started with an awkward co...

Saki Kudo (Class of 2024) grew up in a small town in northern Japan, with a population of 5,000. Since then, her world has gotten much bigger, living in Tokyo, Philadelphia, Michigan, Alabama, and now North Carolina. In this episode, Saki shares about expanding her horizons and connecting with others - picking up ballroom dancing, working for Toyota in the U.S. Deep South, and becoming a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Saki shows us that ...

Alleah Salone's (Class of 2025) first job was in the McDonald's drive through. Her most recent job before coming to Fuqua was at Silicon Valley Bank, where she experienced what was, at the time, the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. In this episode, Alleah shares about getting into finance, leaning on her family and her faith, and dealing with surprises when things don't go according to plan.

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Alyssa Barnea (Class of 2024) was a corporate event planner, or in other words, a professional problem solver. She has solved problems with celebrity chefs. She has solved problems in Barcelona. She has even solved problems for Ukrainians unable to return home at the start of the war! In this episode, Alyssa tells her wildest event stories and shares lessons learned, to help us create better and more special experiences for others....