Senior Steven Soto described his campaign for undergraduate Young Trustee as having the ultimate goal of building a community inclusive of all students.
Soto is the current president of Blue Devils United—Duke’s LGBTQ+ student group—as well as a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar and a former Duke Student Government senator. He also participates in the Hart Leadership Program, is a member of Dukes and Duchesses and helped found the Washington Duke Scholars program and Project Arts, a pre-orientation program focused on Duke's art community.
“I’m the first person in my family to have gone to college, so for me, coming to Duke was less of a checklist and more of a chance for boundless opportunity for my family and me,” Soto said. “Becoming the Young Trustee is a way to begin a long process of showing my gratitude not only for my own benefit but for this place as a home.”
Soto’s campaign pushes diversity and inclusion not only for students but for faculty as well.
“I don’t think [diversity] should necessarily be a message conveyed,” Soto said. “I think it should be a message that’s at the foundation of everything that we do at Duke.”
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and the first Latinx finalist for Young Trustee, Soto said he believes his experience would bring a unique perspective.
“The Board should represent the community that it seeks to make better,” he said.
Although the Young Trustee is not meant to be a student advocate, the position is tasked with making Duke the best university it can be, not only for students now, but also in the future, Soto noted.
Additionally, Soto has focused on financial aid in his campaign.
“As a student who requires financial aid in order to stay at Duke, I can speak on it intimately and in an immersive way,” he said.
Soto explained that if selected as Young Trustee, he will continue moving forward with the strategic priorities and long-term goals of the Board of Trustees, including issues like campus construction and “building [Duke's] brand internationally.”
“A really important part of my campaign is the idea of thinking about Duke in the future,” Soto said. “This is an exciting time to get that right as we have a transition in administration—these people and hopefully myself will have the unique ability to set the new agenda for Duke.”
For Soto, the new agenda would first and foremost involve building a community beyond the classroom.
“I want to make sure that Duke isn’t only a place where we learn books and have knowledge, [but also] a place where we take our knowledge and build bridges around us,” Soto said.
Steve Schewel, visiting assistant professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, commended Soto’s goal of unification.
“Steven Soto is smart as a whip, highly principled, an energetic activist, a deep listener,” Schewel said. “He wants to make Duke a place where everyone feels the community’s embrace.”
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