Jameson Blount, a second year student in Duke's Computational Biology & Bioinformatics program, got the chance to share his research with state legislators at the North Carolina General Assembly on Graduate Education Day. It took place on May 23rd as part of North Carolina's Graduate Education Week.
The day featured a briefing on some legislative actions like the biennial budget process, and learned why it's important to facilitate conversations between legislators and constituents. Blount presented his findings to Senator Natalie Murdock and the staff of Representative Vernetta Alston. The day ended with an informal ice cream social.
Blount was selected to join the North Carolina Council of Graduate Schools in May. The council advocates for graduate education across the state, not only for advancement of students, but to also foster economic and societal growth. Duke is just one of 22 participating campuses.