New Devils Emberleigh Pauley-Brown

Where Starting College Also Means Learning a New Language

Where Starting College Also Means Learning a New Language

Imagine traveling to a foreign country more than 7,600 miles away from home and not speaking a lick of the language. 

Emberleigh Pauley-Brown doesn’t have to imagine it, she’s doing it this fall. A graduate of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, Pauley-Brown said she heard of Duke Kunshan University (DKU) in Kunshan, China, during a college fair at her high school.

“I honestly applied on a whim,” she says. But as she learned more about DKU and the hands-on learning it provides, she says “it sounded like the perfect place.”

Pauley-Brown has always been on the move. She began running at an early age with her parents – first in a stroller and then on her own. She continued to run competitively during high school.

Not even a diagnosis of juvenile arthritis in high school could keep her down – though she took a break for a while she continued to cheer on her fellow runners.

“I love running. I love the feeling it gives you of being free,” she says. It’s something she plans to continue doing while in China and has already connected with others who are going to DKU and who love to run.

Her medical diagnosis led to her decision to become a pediatric rheumatologist, with plans to study global health while at DKU. And Pauley-Brown is looking forward to learning Mandarin.

“I like learning languages because it allows you to connect with all the people around you,” says Pauley-Brown, who took four years of Spanish in high school. “Especially wanting to be a physician, being able to speak multiple languages and talk to different types of people that come in is so important,” she says.

What is she most looking forward to seeing once in China?

“I am excited to see all of it. I wanted to travel the world since I was little.”

For more stories of new Duke and DKU students, read the profiles in this Duke Today series.

Baseball card style poster, with title of "New Devils" in bright collage of letters. Lower left features the word "Duke" and an image of Emberleigh smiling, inset into an image of Emberleigh with other smiling students, in an art room. The main card is blue with fun abstract designs and the text, "STATS. Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina. Pets: I have four cats and three dogs, as well as one betta fish! DKU Club/Activity I'm Excited For: Everything! The new experiences, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, seeing a new place, being around others who love learning, absolutely all of it!" The bottom of the card says, "Global Health." just above "Emberleigh Pauley-Brown"