Simon Brown is a Public Policy Major and MMS Certificate student graduating in Spring of 2022. He will begin working in Sales Technology for Amazon Web Services in Washington, DC in August.
During his time at Duke, Simon participated in many curricular and co-curricular activities including two Bass Connections projects and two semesters as an MMS Student Ambassador.
Simon shared about two professors who will have lasting impacts on his Duke experience.
The first was Cultural Anthropology’s Ed Timke who taught Advertising and Society: Global Perspective. Simon remembers that in addition to teaching the history and role of advertising on society, Professor Timke also emphasized the role ethics and responsibility in modern day advertising and how advertising needs to reflect what is going on in society.
Another memorable professor was Abdullah Antepli in the Sanford School of Public Policy who taught Religion and Policy. Simon shared that he was the first of his professors to show immense interest in his students, providing an environment for students to engage in difficult concepts and conversations.
“A lot of the topics we talked about within the course are hard topics and he made sure that it was a safe and comfortable space to have meaningful conversations,” Simon shared. “It sparked a lot of really meaningful conversations that I will definitely take with me for a long time after school.”
Like many students, Simon came to Duke not completely sure what he wanted to study at all. He eventually landed on a Public Policy major with the original plan to focus on government work. Simon described a kind of “watershed” moment during his junior year and taking MMS courses when he saw his various interests come together.
“I really wish I had more time with the MMS courses because I love the professors of each and every one of my MMS courses, and I just love the material,” he shared.
The MMS Certificate allowed him to explore multiple areas of focus and interests. Not only was he exposed to the organizational structure of business and business management, but he also was able to take courses in advertising, visual studies and sports business, all topics he is interested in and says he benefited from greatly.
Simon noted many things that make Duke special to him, the diversity on campus which allowed him to meet, and study with a diverse group of peers. He also liked that Duke’s size allowed for a type of intimacy of small universities, while still offering all the necessary benefits of a larger institution. But one thing he will remember most is the special relationship between Duke and Durham.
“Durham actually has become a really big part of the lives of people who go to Duke. When you miss Duke, you miss Durham.”
Markets Management Studies
