A Place in this World: Trinity Senior Finds Her Home at Duke

Faith Chong is a Trinity senior from Singapore majoring in Economics and Philosophy. 

What advice would you give to a first-year student just starting at Duke?

The biggest piece of advice I would give to a first-year is to jump at every opportunity. Duke is limitless, and you can really do virtually anything here. It was the most random things at Duke that turned out to be the most significant. For example, I signed up for a coffee chat just because I wanted to learn more, which sparked a domino effect that led to the job I will be working at after graduation. I also joined a World Philosophy class my freshman year purely because it sounded cool, and that ended up becoming my major. Even if an opportunity you say ‘yes’ to doesn’t lead to something bigger, it could still be a formative and memorable experience, so don’t forget to take advantage of all Duke has to offer. 

What is something that you love about Durham? 

I have been living on Ninth Street for a while now, and it is such a vibrant and fun place to live. I love to walk around and go into shops, or pop into the occasional exercise class. I feel like there is always something new to do. Beyond the street I live on, the food options are also diverse and delicious. I love to eat at M. Sushi and I even ran into J. Cole there once, which was cool. I also like that I am able to feed my sourdough addiction here, be it at the Farmers Market or getting bread from Ninth Street Bakery at Harris Teeter.

What is a challenge you faced at Duke, and how did you overcome it?

Culture shock. I had never stepped foot into the United States prior to starting at Duke, and it was such a huge change when I initially came here. Little things, such as saying “Hi, how are you?” would literally stun me; I would even answer the question in detail instead of just saying “Good, and you?”. Of course, it all seems rather silly now, but back then it was a big deal. I look back on who I was four years ago and see a completely different person. Then I experienced that all over again when I studied abroad in France, doing Duke in Aix-en-Provence — now it wasn’t “how are you,” but “bisous”! Naturally, I got quite acclimatized to that too, and also very tan (it was the summer). I’m much more adaptable and worldly now thanks to these experiences.

What is an example of when collaboration was critical to your success at Duke?

Classes really encourage collaboration here. There were two classes, Econometrics and History of Modern Philosophy, where I would treat office hours as an actual event to be attended and looked forward to. For Econometrics, we actually had to change office hours to a bigger classroom because of the overflow. Since we could work on problem sets together, I remember spending hours in the Link just discussing every minute detail and once we were done, standing at the printer outside Vondy so that we could have our hardcopy problem sets ready by 8:30 AM the next day. Without collaboration, I would never have felt so engaged and motivated in my classes.

Can you share a moment when you felt especially proud of something you accomplished at Duke?

I’m proud of the direction I took as vice-president and then president of the Singapore Student Association. Due to the pandemic, the club’s activities were quite muted and not many people knew about it. I hoped to make a change because I wanted everyone to feel like they had a built-in support system so they could branch out and discover all sorts of interests. To that end, I felt that the executive committees I was a part of did very well in revitalizing the club. Many people knew about the events and recognized my name from the listserv blasts I’d sent out. The club is still going strong now, two generations on. I hope that when I come back as an alum, they are still putting on events.

How has your time at Duke shaped your future goals?

Before college, I was relatively sheltered, and I was not really confident I could achieve much in life. Now as I am about to graduate, I view my future as boundless. I have transformed so much in just four years, that I now strongly believe in my capacity for change and improvement. I feel that I can do whatever I set my mind to. Although I am not 100% sure what the future may hold (I felt the same thing when I was waiting anxiously for college to start), I know that I will be able to rise above any challenges and continually surpass myself.