Most middle school leadership programs don’t culminate with a trip to Uganda. But when Michael Haglund, distinguished professor of neurosurgery, neurobiology and global health at Duke, conceptualized a leadership initiative for eight middle school boys at the Durham Nativity School, taking them on a trip to the country where he’s realized his global health passion just made sense to him.
Oddly enough, this plan began to unfold when Haglund was tasked with leading the diversity and inclusion efforts in Duke’s Department of Neurosurgery last year.
Haglund took the long view of increasing diversity. He wanted to incorporate a “pipeline” program for minority students to build their awareness and understanding of the medical field, help them envision medicine as a potential future career and give them some tools to succeed on that path.
“The question for me,” said Haglund, “was, ‘How far down can you push that pipeline? Is it medical school? College? High school? Middle school?’”
Around that time, he heard about the Durham Nativity School (DNS), a local tuition-free, independent middle school that provides a rigorous academic and social development program for boys who have high potential for academic achievement but limited financial resources. With this discovery, Haglund saw an opportunity to bring his middle school pipeline idea to fruition.