Emma Glenn

Academic Interests

I'm planning on majoring in biology and earth and ocean sciences, with a minor in Japanese.

Fun Fact

I used to Irish dance competitively.

My name is Emma Glenn, and I have never tried something I didn’t like. My past hobbies include horseback riding, Irish dance, Poetry Out Loud, set design and construction, FIRST robotics (I stuck to the mechanical and electrical stuff), marching and concert band, writing, traveling, and cooking. You could say I have a hard time narrowing down my interests. I prefer to say that I love learning.

Here at Duke, I am a member of NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), I work on the build crew for our musical theater group Hoof ‘n’ Horn, and I play mellophone in Duke’s marching band. Last year, I also volunteered for Duke Puppy Kindergarten, where I got to care for two future service dogs.

Currently, I plan to major in Biology and Earth and Ocean Sciences. Ever since AP Bio in high school, I loved learning about the mechanisms that create and sustain life. I’m particularly interested in genetics and the evolution of early life on Earth. I suppose it was either my love of travel or being raised by an aerospace engineer, but somewhere along my academic journey I started looking to the stars. In the future, I hope to be an astrobiologist. Now, I spend way too much time thinking about Mars and Enceladus, and how life could evolve in such hostile environments.

One area I am particularly passionate about is mental health. Although this does not directly tie in to my major, I think it is an incredibly important topic that needs to be addressed, especially in modern society. This summer, I was fortunate enough to work in a lab where we inventoried samples from various studies on stress and trauma related disorders. While the work was just inventory, I was still glad to do something that contributed to research in this area.

Whatever my future holds, I know I will continue to learn and discover new things, and I am honored the SPIRE will be there to help me do it.

What do you like about being a SPIRE Fellow?

I like that SPIRE really goes out of its way to find new opportunities, experiences, and connections for us.