Seyward Darby

Communications Specialist

Seyward Darby became the communications specialist for the Hart Leadership Program in September 2006. She is a senior at Duke, majoring in English, minoring in political science, and pursuing a public policy certificate in policy journalism and mass media studies.

A native of Greenville, North Carolina, Seyward is a recipient of the Benjamin N. Duke Scholarship. Between her freshman and sophomore years, she lived with other B.N. Duke scholars and volunteered at the Center for Community Safety in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 2006, she traveled to Thailand to teach English in a rural southern province and backpacked across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos as a part of the B.N. Duke’s international summer program.

Prior to joining the Hart program, Seyward worked extensively at The Chronicle, Duke’s independent daily newspaper. She served as editor of the newspaper’s 101st volume. Currently, she is the editorial page managing editor for the organization and a senior writer for its magazine, Towerview. Seyward also tutored Durham elementary and high-school students for two years and volunteers at the Duke Eye Center.

A December 2005 inductee of Phi Beta Kappa, Seyward’s academic and professional interests include journalism, community development, international/comparative studies, and literature. Through the English department, Seyward is researching a senior thesis on how poetic expressions of grief and loss can promote healing.