Laiza Smith

Chemistry & Biology

Coming from a small town in South Carolina, I’ve always felt a strong connection to my community. Everybody is connected to each other in some way, and we all share each other’s burdens when they arise. That strong sense of community is what I hope to find here at Duke, and here with Cardea Fellows. Having people to lean on when a course is particularly difficult, or when stress becomes too much, is when the power of connections starts to shine through. 

A big part of community is caring about others and knowing how to help. Personally, I’ve found that I have a strong pull towards helping others in a medical setting. For the duration of my academic career, I’ve always felt a strong connection to science. I love learning why things are, what they do, and how to change things for the better. I personally found that niche to be satisfied with the field of genetics, which I’ve found a lot of passion pursuing. I have received the experience of working hands-on with genetics laboratories and seeing how people can assist their communities in ways that are revolutionary, ways that our grandparents could never even dream of. The constant push for new technologies and exciting discoveries is what drives me, and the hope of giving back to the people who have helped me.

Aside from medicine, I am a baking enthusiast. I love making desserts and experimenting with flavor combinations (sometimes successfully). Since high school I had a deep love for experimenting in the kitchen, creating my own recipes, and then forcing the people around me to try what I created. I think that learning to experiment with your surroundings is one of the best ways to find something new and wonderful, and I strive to accomplish that ideal in my future work.