Wambugu Finds Graduate School Options Plentiful
6 hours ago • April 23, 2021
By Larry Isch
Posted in About
When it came time earlier this spring for University of the Ozarks senior Vivien Wambugu to choose a graduate school in which to continue her education in the fall, she had an enviable problem.
The health science major from Tulsa, Okla., was accepted into four of the top global health graduate programs in the country — George Washington University, Vanderbilt University, Duke University and University of North Carolina. She eventually selected Duke’s Master of Science in Global Health Program.
“I was pretty torn between Vanderbilt and Duke because they both offer such great programs and opportunities,” Wambugu said. “My roommate, Crystal Oudomvilay, and I took a week-long trip to visit both schools, as well as the graduate school she got into. On a rainy day, Crystal and I walked to Duke West Campus, where we got to see Duke Global Health Institute, Duke Hospital, and the famous Duke Chapel. As we continued walking through the campus, getting rained on, I had this unexplainable feeling that this is where I was meant to be. The master’s program for Global Health at Duke differs from the other three that I applied to because it emphasizes research and science. The beauty of the campus, the unexplainable feeling and the academic challenge I will receive at Duke University are reasons for why I chose Duke.”