Junior Kaitlyn Williams hopes to strengthen Duke’s relationship with the Durham community and encourage students across class years to engage more with Duke University Union during her upcoming year-long tenure as president of the organization.
Williams was selected through an internal application process overseen by DUU’s current president and executive vice president, and was later voted for by the organization’s executive board. She will serve alongside incoming Executive Vice President Jaden Rodriguez, a junior, starting April 23.
“This organization, throughout the last three years, has truly become my home on campus,” Williams said. “[DUU] has brought me so many incredible people into my life, both as friends, but also as mentors who’ve been such an invaluable part of my Duke experience.”
DUU is Duke’s largest student-led programming and media organization with 18 committees. Williams helped establish its most recent addition, (DUU)rham, which is aimed at fostering relationships “between Duke students and Durham’s vendors, landmarks and rich history.”
For Williams, the relationships she has built throughout her time on DUU made running for president a “no brainer.” These strong connections with her team members are what she believes define her leadership style.
“Personal connection is really important to me,” Williams said, adding that she thinks teams are most successful when tasks are assigned according to members’ personal strengths, “allow[ing] everyone to shine.”
Junior Ana Martinez served alongside Williams as co-chair of Duke@Nite, which offers night programming such as trivia and karaoke.
“She is definitely very, very attentive,” Martinez said. “I think one of her biggest strengths is noticing if somebody is … not feeling their best,” she added, noting that Williams often makes “a point” of reaching out to ensure that team members “[feel] comfortable about the work [they] were doing.”
Williams initially joined DUU as a Duke@Nite committee member, shortly after becoming a first-year intern on the same committee. That experience, she said, initially informed her goal of serving as the organization’s president.
Williams was Duke@Nite’s co-chair during her sophomore year. As a junior, she pivoted to the role of vice president of recurring events, where she now oversees five committees: Duke@Nite, Coffeehouse, Jazz@, VisArts and Freewater Presentations.
In her campaign platform, Williams honed in on her work developing DUU’s relationship with Durham and establishing the (DUU)rham committee this spring. With (DUU)rham, the incoming president said she hopes to help Duke students connect with the local community and “take a breath from the Duke bubble.”
Over the past academic year, Williams organized eight DUU events in Durham, including a café hop and a hike at Eno River.
Outside of expanding (DUU)rham, Williams wants to ensure that “everyone understands the breadth of DUU,” noting that the organization is “a lot more than just LDOC and campus concerts.”
To achieve this goal, she highlighted plans to engage a wider array of students and promote events in “untraditional ways,” crediting DUU’s new marketing chair for “some really phenomenal ideas.” Williams also mentioned that DUU hopes to run additional recruitment next spring, as opposed to the current approach of one main push in the fall.
“A big thing for us for visibility next year is ensuring that students know that you can join DUU at any point in your Duke career,” she said.
Sophomore Jocelyn May, who worked with Williams last year as a first-year intern, emphasized Williams’ “hand-on” approach to supporting her peers.
“[She] wants to make sure [she is] supporting the person, not just the role or capacity that [they’re] working in,” May said. “… She’s very personable in that way.”
Helping more Duke students find community through DUU — the way she was able to throughout her three years on campus — is Williams’ driving passion for her upcoming presidential tenure, which she characterized as “a love letter to DUU and everything that it’s done” for her.
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Claire Chen is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.