Though K. Becky Zagor, BSN’80, RN, MN, decided very early to become a nurse, she says the decision to attend Duke wasn’t as clear-cut. First, she didn’t think she was strong enough academically to compete. And second, her father had been out of work for six months during a tough 1970s recession, meaning her family couldn’t afford Duke.

When Robert Yowell, MD’61, HS’64-’69, entered the Duke University School of Medicine in 1957, he was, by a pretty fair margin, the youngest student at the school.

Tedrick L. Vernon III first became a Duke nurse anesthesia student in 2015, but he says Duke helped him grow into his nursing career well be­fore that. He previously spent a few years working as a nurse in Duke’s emergency department, where he thrived on the challenge and gained confidence in his skills as a provider.

Kitty Hawk, located on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is known to many tourists as a great spot for a carefree beach getaway. Julia Martin gained a different perspective of the town while growing up there, par­ticularly when it comes to accessing health care.

Small vessel vasculitis—inflammation of the small blood vessels—appears as a stain of tiny, red dots covering the skin that, depending on the severity, can evolve into painful pustules or ulcers.  In some patients, it may even reflect inflammation in internal organs.

Peter Kohler, MD’63, HS’64, president emeritus of Oregon Health and Science University, traces many of the foundations of his life and career back to his time at Duke.

Norman C. Shealy, BSM’56, MD’56, HS’56-’57, PhD, wakes up at 5 a.m. every weekday for a workout before heading into the clinic. “A light day is an hour of exercise,” he says. “Ninety minutes is more typical.”

For Jane Trinh, MD’02, HS’02-’06, and her husband, Peter Grossi, MD’02, HS’02- ’08, Duke University School of Medicine was the place where they met in the middle.

Witnessing her mother battle cancer while going through a divorce was tough for Gabrielle Lasanta. A high school student at the time, she wasn’t sure if her newly single mother, burdened with the cost of cancer treatments, could afford to send her to college. But Lasanta’s mother wouldn’t hear of her forgoing a college education. They had come too far as a family.

Gabrielle Harris’s life was forever changed in November 2012. That was when her grandmother died suddenly from a stroke. It was also when she made an important career decision that she hopes will ulti­mately make lives better for stroke survivors and their families.