Public Policy, Computer Science, ECE, Health Policy, Economics, African/African American Studies
I've never seen White Chicks.
My name is Lamees Subeir, and I am an aspiring Public Policy and Computer Science major from Fairfax, Virginia. Growing up in the DMV, I was always exposed to a diverse range of cultures, foods, and traditions. However, when I moved to Wexford, PA in middle school, that was not the case. I found that many of my peers were indifferent to the struggles of minority communities because they didn’t have exposure to them. Therefore, some of my classmates and I founded NAForChange, an organization working to create cultural and curricular change within our school district. We worked with our school board to make changes to our curriculum and held annual rallies and caravans. I was also a Lincoln Douglas debater for five years in high school, and I got to study and debate policy issues ranging from fossil fuel subsidies to nuclear treaties to immigration law. As I was debating these issues, I was seeing the effects of complicated policy choices play out in real time in my home country of Sudan. The things I was involved in in high school as well as my cultural background both contributed to my passion for Public Policy.
I want to work on tangible policies that will create a world for the future generation that is as safe and inclusive as possible. However, I realized that I prefer approaching social change from a technological perspective. I’ve always been intrigued with the way that technology can play a force in our world in unexpected ways. Plus, I just like coding. I’m interested in studying racial profiling in artificial intelligence, especially in weapons systems and police profiling systems. I am so excited to be a SPIRE Fellow this year because I know I’ll get to work with people who share similar passions to myself. Hopefully with our new SPIRE community, we can all inspire change in our own ways.
I love that Duke is extremely well rounded. It feels like a place where I can truly do anything, from exploring academic interests to going to games to being involved in amazing affinity groups. A huge part of why I chose Duke was that I felt it had a vibrant Black community that was actually supported, unlike many other places I had visited.
