Senior Devon MacWilliam had reasonable goals when she began her freshman year at Duke.
"I wanted to be happy. I wanted to be a student and a rower," she said. "I didn't expect anything like where I am right now."
Although MacWilliam stepped down from the women's varsity rowing team last week, she is still one of the busiest people on campus. As undergraduate representative to the Presidential Search Committee, co-chair of the first-year advisory counselor board, president of the Panhellenic Council and a member of the Curriculum 2000 Review Committee, MacWilliam is a leading undergraduate voice at Duke.
One of the most important ways her voice is being heard is as the undergraduate representative to the Presidential Search Committee, a 15-member board entrusted with selecting the successor to President Nan Keohane.
Since the committee was formed, MacWilliam has spent time gathering students' opinions on presidential criteria and relaying it to others involved in the search.
"The committee took our words very seriously and were very considerate of what we had to say," MacWilliam said. "Everyone who is a trustee either was at Duke or has children who are at Duke, and know that it is a place for undergraduate students, and want it to become an even better place for undergraduate students."
The effects of the search committee's efforts will not be felt for months. However, MacWilliam's other efforts to improve undergraduate life have already had an impact on many students.
As co-chair of the FAC board, MacWilliam said she was thrilled with this year's orientation program, citing the quality of the Class of 2007 as a big reason for its success.
"The Class of 2007 is so enthusiastic and so much fun and so ready to take on this University that it was cool to watch them," MacWilliam said.
She added that she, along with co-chair Scott Reed, will focus on increased training for members of the FAC board throughout the year, possibly through a house course like the one currently used by Project Wild. She said that too much of the training for board members happened right before orientation, limiting the preparation both for the board and for sophomore FACs.
Now that orientation is winding down, MacWilliam will have more time to lead the Panhellenic Council, the governing body for campus sororities. MacWilliam said her main goal is for the organization to become more responsive to campus issues and needs. She pointed to an upcoming professional development series with faculty and administration members that will offer graduating sorority members advice as they leave college.
Along with new programming, MacWilliam said that she wants to alter the image that freshman women have of both the Panhellenic Council and sorority life in general.
"We are working hard with the freshmen to show that sororities are more than just parties," MacWilliam said. "Because of our structures of secrecy and ritual, they aren't allowed to see the sisterhood. They aren't allowed to see the leadership and mentoring that goes on in sororities."
In an effort to rectify this problem, MacWilliam said she hopes to make the council more visible on East Campus earlier in the year.
MacWilliam, a public policy major, with a minor in biology and religion, is currently a part-time student; she is enrolled in two classes, while auditing two others. She will graduate in December and stay in Durham both to serve out her commitments and to train the people who will succeed her in her many posts.
While many would find such a range of responsibilities overwhelming, Assistant Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said he was confident about her ability to handle the load, based on his experience with her as the FAC board adviser.
"Her attitude just stands out," Lombardi said. "She is a very positive person with radiant energy. She is dynamic and upbeat-qualities essential for leadership-and can bring a room up just by coming into it based on her energy."
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