Duke President Richard H. Brodhead presided over the ceremony in the university’s Wallace Wade football stadium and General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner delivered the commencement address.

The following local student was among those to receive degrees:

Meenakshi V. Chivukula
Medfield, Massachusetts (USA)
Bachelor of Arts, International Comparative Studies

Daughter of Suresh and Lakhimi Chivukula of Medfield, Massachusetts.
Grand daughter of Smt. Komol Kumari Baruah (social worker) and the late Sri Hem Chandra Baruah of Jyotinagar, Guwahati.
Meenakshi attended Medfield High School until 11th grade before moving on to Armand Hammer United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico. Meenakshi received the prestigious Robertson Scholarship to attend Duke University. She played hockey (goal keeper\\'s position) at school and was awarded the Most Valuable Player award. She was also class president for three years in a row.

Here is a profile of Meenakshi Chivukula from the Robertson Scholars web-page:
http://www.robertsonscholars.org/index.php?type=dynamic&source=scholars…

Robertson Scholar: Meenakshi Chivukula
High School: Armand Hammer United World College Home Town: Medfield, Massachusetts Area of Study: Economics, Biology, Public Policy Summer 1: Breakthrough Collaborative, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA) Summer 2: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Summer 3: Understanding well-being as an outcome of culture Indian Sub-Continent

Meenakshi is a phenomenal woman. That is not just because she was one of the leaders of the Phenomenal Women community service project. For an hour once a week, Meenakshi met with twelve year old girls at a local middle school and talked about vital issues including self-respect, gender roles, and body image. They christened the club \\"Phenomenal Women\\" after the Maya Angelou poem of the same name. She also is a role model to her peers, serving as a resident assistant for a dorm of 50 girls at her residential high school. On a community service trip to the Chihuahua State of Mexico, Meenakshi did not allow her ignorance of the Spanish language to distance her from the Spanish-speaking native Tarhuamara children she encountered and instead communicated non-verbally with \\"giggles and smiles.\\" An esteemed leader, Meenakshi served as class president for three consecutive years at her former high school. Courageously, she left this familiar environment to spend two years at the United World College in New Mexico where she lived and studied with students from throughout the world. It is for all of these reasons and more that Meenakshi is a phenomenal woman.

Other activities and accomplishments: Davis International Scholarship to United World College, Amy Fiske Creative Writing Scholarship and Award, Head of Orientation, Varsity Field Hockey, Constructive Engagement of Conflict facilitator, Student Council North American Representative, Girls State participant