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A longer version of this story, with all winners, was originally posted on Duke Today.
Two members of the Duke Sanford community and a larger Duke cohort will be honored at the annual awards ceremony of the Samuel DuBois Cook Society on Monday, Feb. 9.
Each year, the Samuel DuBois Cook Society honors Duke staff, administrators, faculty and students (undergraduate, graduate, or professional) and local community members whose work, research and service reflect Cook’s social activism and leadership.
Members of the Duke and surrounding community are invited to attend the awards ceremony. Registration is required. Ticket pricing and more information can be found on the registration site. The deadline to register is February 2.
Samuel DuBois Cook Society Undergraduate Student Award
Michael Ramos
Michael “Mike” Ramos is a proud fronterizo, originally from the San Diego-Tijuana borderlands in Southern California. As the son of Mexican immigrants, Ramos has leaned into his identity while living in Durham and attending Duke, where he studies public policy and international comparative studies with a focus on Latin America. As co-president of the student immigrant advocacy group Beyond Borders, Ramos helped rebrand the organization, taking the initiative to connect with grassroots Durham-based immigrant organizations while striving toward coalition amongst immigrant and diaspora students. Ramos is constantly discovering and redefining what community means to him, and sees Durham as a second home where his activism has been nurtured.
Samuel DuBois Cook Society Staff Award
Whitney N. McCoy Hudson
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Whitney N. McCoy Hudson is a research scientist at Duke University’s Center for Child & Family Policy. She focuses on community-engaged STEM education and educational equity. Her work sits at the intersection of rigorous scholarship, transformative community partnership, and a steadfast commitment to social justice. Hudson’s leadership is most powerfully exemplified through the InventSTEM Institute, a multigenerational STEM learning community that brings together Duke undergraduate students, Durham caregivers, and their children in joyful, purposeful engineering exploration. Through deep listening, asset mapping, and ongoing dialogue with families, McCoy designed a program that dismantles participation barriers, cultivates belonging, and repositions community members as co-creators rather than recipients of university outreach. The relationships formed through InventSTEM extend beyond the classroom, building networks of support that uplift Durham families and prepare Duke students to engage with communities ethically, humbly, and effectively.