What is Blue Devil Buddies?
Blue Devil Buddies (BDB) is a one-on-one mentorship program that matches incoming students with current Duke students based on similar hobbies, interests, and/or personality characteristics. The program — designed by the Duke Student Government — aims to help students navigate their transition to Duke by fostering a connection with a student who can provide support and advice for the fall semester. Whether it's picking classes and clubs or adjusting to the college environment, mentees can receive support from their mentor on a wide range of topics. We hope the BDB program will ease incoming students’ transition and allow mentees to jump-start some connections with their peers both before the fall semester starts and as we move into the academic year.
Timeline:
Overall
Over the summer, mentors and mentees fill out a survey to get matched. Once the pairings are released, the rest of the summer is spent flexibly getting to know ones Blue Devil Buddy. Come Fall, each mentee will have a one-on-one mentor!
Sign-up form
The matching survey will open on June 14th and remain open until June 24th at the link above.
pairings released
The mentor/mentee pairings will be released on July 4th.
coming soon
Mentor videos, graphics, testimonials, conversation starters, and more!
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
CONVERSATION STARTERS
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Meet the team
Project Leads
Heather Raslan
Class of 2025
Talia Granick
Class of 2025
Hey everyone! I am a rising Junior from Chicago, IL majoring in Neuroscience with Chemistry and Global Health minors. At Duke I enjoy spending my time serving as Vice President of Academic Affairs, facilitating a house course on transforming healthcare, and being involved in research with Bass Connections. Blue Devil Buddies is a great program that helps make the transition to Duke so much easier and I am excited to be a part of that process.
Hi! I am a rising Junior from Raleigh, NC. At Duke, I am majoring in Public Policy with a minor in Computer Science. When I am not leading Blue Devil Buddies, I am serving as a Senator of Campus Life, co-leading the Duke Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Education (SHAPE) greek life committee, or attending Business Oriented Women (BOW) events! I am so excited to be leading Blue Devil Buddies and truly hope that our program will help you find your new person.
Communication
Matthew Xu
Co-Lead; Class of 2026
Sophie Smith
Co-Lead; Class of 2024
Hi! I'm a rising sophomore planning to major in Economics and Public Policy from New Jersey. I love watching Duke basketball, going to the gym, and spending days at art museums. I'm a staunch supporter of Marketplace breakfast, Krafts, and all the food trucks that come on campus. Blue Devil Buddies is such a critical part of Duke's community and I'm super excited to be a part of it!!
I am rising senior from New York City, studying Health Policy via Program II with a certificate in Markets & Management Studies. At Duke, I serve as the Vice President of Campus Life, as well as sing with Deja Blue a cappella and conduct research through Bass Connections. This summer, I plan to work at a consulting firm while helping you all find your Blue Devil Buddy at Duke — like I did mine!
Comfort Markwei
Class of 2026
Sravya Yellapragada
Class of 2026
Hi! My name is Comfort Markwei. I’m a sophomore pursuing an International Comparative Studies degree…we’ll see if there’s more! I’m a part of Duke Africa Exec, and Wannamaker Quad Council to name a few. I hope that BDB gives you the chance to connect with upperclassmen and find mentorship here at Duke :) Reach our with any questions. Welcome to Duke !
Hi! My name is Sravya and I am a rising sophomore from around Chicago, IL. I'm majoring in Economics with a concentration in Finance with a minor in Statistical Science. Along with helping with Blue Devil Buddies, I serve as a Senator of Campus Life for Duke Student Government, volunteer for the Duke Puppy Kindergarten, and attend events for my sorority, Alpha Phi. I am looking forward to working on Blue Devil Buddies and making it successful for everyone involved!
Content
Chloe Field
Co-Lead; Class of 2026
Katie Kotler
Co-Lead; Class of 2025
Maya Alexander
Class of 2025
Viktoria Wulff-Andersen
Class of 2025
Hi! I am a rising sophomore from Boca Raton, FL majoring in Public Policy and working towards the Markets and Management Studies certificate. In addition to Blue Devil Buddies, on campus I am the co-director of Anglez within Campus Enterprises and a member of the Last Day of Classes (LDOC) Committee. I had such a positive experience with Blue Devil Buddies as a freshman and couldn’t be happier to be apart of the team!
Hi everyone! My name is Katie, and I am a rising junior from Seattle, WA. I am double majoring in Public Policy and Global Health with a minor in Computer Science. Outside of co-leading the content team for Blue Devil Buddies, I am a senator on the Academic Affairs committee as a part of Duke Student Government, I mentor youth refugees in the Durham community through a program called Citizenship Lab, I am a tour guide, and I do research on political polarization in the legislature at state level. Blue Devil Buddies was so helpful for me as an incoming first year, and I am so excited to continue to support the program.
Hi! My name is Maya, and I am a rising junior this year at Duke. I am originally from Atlanta, GA, and I'm studying Public Policy and Computer Science with a minor in Sociology. On campus, I research as part of Duke's Technology Policy Lab, I am the incoming president of Embodiment Contemporary Dance, and I work on content and media creation with the DukeStudents Instagram team. I am so excited to be part of the Blue Devil Buddies content team this year and help create graphics for this valuable program.
Hello! I am a rising junior from Danbury, CT studying Political Science, Sociology, and Policy Journalism and Media Studies. I'm so excited to be a part of Blue Devil Buddies' Content Team for a second consecutive year! When I'm not assisting this incredible initiative, I can be found serving as the Assistant Vice President of Duke Student Government's Equity and Outreach Committee, leading The Chronicle's Opinion Section, working as the Duke International Relations Association's treasurer, leading the Duke Justice Project as the co-president, and much more!
Implementation & Evaluation
Dillan Sant
Class of 2025
Thomas Barker
Class of 2025
I am a rising junior from St. Louis, MO studying Statistics and Economics. Outside of working on Implementation and Evaluation for Blue Devil Buddies, I serve as Co-President of the Duke Sports Analytics Club and work for Duke Field Hockey as a Data Analyst. In my free time, I enjoy playing basketball, going to games at Cameron, and hiking.
Hey everyone! I’m a rising Junior from Raleigh, NC. At Duke, I am majoring in Data Science with a minor in Finance. Outside of Blue Devil Buddies, I help conduct research for the Duke Economic Analytics Lab and am a member of Duke Applied Machine Learning. I am excited to help improve the pairing process with the Implementation & Evaluation team and hope you’ll be able to meet a lifelong friend in your Blue Devil Buddy.