WKU News

Picture Note: 2nd from left - Evie Dukes; 4th from left - Dr. Chris Groves.

Evie Dukes from Paducah, Kentucky has always been captivated by languages and the natural world. Now a student at WKU, she is triple majoring in Environmental Sustainability and Geographic Studies, Spanish, and in Chinese as an active member of the Chinese Flagship Program. Evie’s journey reflects her wide-ranging passions and a commitment to exploration, whether it's studying languages or conducting field research in reforestation efforts.

Evie’s love for languages began early in her life, sparked by a seventh-grade Spanish class. “It was cool Spanish,” she recalls fondly. “We sang a bunch of songs, danced around—it was kind of crazy, fun, simple stuff. But I loved it. I really liked it. I loved learning Spanish.” As she continued studying, she noticed the number of students dwindling in higher-level language courses, but Evie relished the close-knit environment. “I really loved that environment of being with like-minded people, where you're all there to study the same thing, and you all want to be there,” she says.

While she initially considered a career in STEM, possibly in engineering or biology, her love for languages remained strong. This balance of interests led her to the Gatton Academy of Mathematics & Science (Gatton), where she embraced the opportunity to blend science and language through the STEM+ option. This program allowed her to study a critical language, and although she was torn between Arabic and Chinese, WKU’s Chinese Flagship Program made the decision clear. “I knew before I even got accepted that I wanted to do STEM plus. I was loving Spanish so much, so studying another language should be twice as fun, right?” she laughs. “The reason I went with Chinese was specifically because of the Flagship program.”

Evie’s first study abroad experience came while she was still in Gatton in collaboration with WKU Global to host a study abroad experience for their students as part of the Gatton experience. She traveled to Costa Rica where she got to combine her love for language with hands-on environmental work. “We visited the cloud forest, where a lot of the moisture comes down in the form of clouds. It was a private nature reserve,” she explains, impressed by the unique ecosystem. The reserve, initially a failed farmland project, became a reforestation site that welcomed researchers to restore its biodiversity. “I loved going out and doing fieldwork. I thought it was so cool. I asked a whole bunch of questions.”

Her passion for the environment led her to return to Costa Rica for an extended stay after graduating from Gatton in 2021. For eight months, she volunteered at the Cloudbridge Nature Reserve, maintaining trails and leading reforestation projects. “I lived at the nature reserve, and for the first four months, I worked as a volunteer, helping with trail maintenance and the welcome center. Then for the next four months, I led small groups of volunteers into the forest to tally the survival rates of tree species from a previous reforestation project.” All the while, Evie completed 12 hours of online coursework, using her scholarship funding to make this unique experience possible.

When she returned to WKU in 2022, Evie’s career goals had taken clearer shape. “I was firmly in the camp of, ‘I want to do research. I want a career where I can go play outside,’” she says. While she hadn’t initially declared her major, she found that environmental sustainability was the perfect fit. “It worked with the flexibility I wanted. When I started meeting some of the professors I’d be working with, I realized it reflected what I had already been doing, and it looked like it would give me the best opportunities to get out into the field.”

A serendipitous meeting with WKU professor Dr. Chris Groves, who researches karst landscapes, opened yet another door, leading to two separate, and highly transformative trips, to China. Their first trip was attending a training course organized by the International Research Center on Karst in Guilin, China. “It was a training course that lasted two weeks. I got to meet international researchers, go out into the field, and visit tourist spots. It was amazing,” Evie recalls.

The trip to China deepened Evie’s academic and professional connections, including with researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Reflecting on her experiences in Guilin, she describes visiting the Lee Jiang (jiang translates to river in English) and its magnificent karst formations. “We took a tour of the Lee Jiang, and the karst formations were stunning. We also visited a cave and explored a night market in Yangshuo, which was really exciting.”

Her second trip over the summer of 2024 with Dr. Groves focused on rebuilding the relationship between Mammoth Cave and South China Karst World Heritage Site (SCKWHS), which includes the Shilin (Stone Forest). Dr. Groves refers to the international collaboration between these parks as “scientific diplomacy,” emphasizing how research can bridge cultural and geographical divides. She even gave a presentation in both English and Chinese, which marked a milestone in her language studies.

While Evie is enthusiastic about the many paths her interests have taken her down, she is also realistic about the challenges of focusing her future career. “I’m at a crossroads where I’m having to actually focus on one thing. Because, I’ll be honest, I’ve spent so much time going here, and here, and here, kind of doing a little bit of everything,” she admits. “That’s not usually how careers work—you usually pick one thing and focus in on that, but I’m still trying to do multiple things.”

As she prepares for her Capstone experience with the Chinese Flagship Program, Evie is also working toward becoming a certified court interpreter for Spanish. She’s taking time to travel more before settling into a routine, knowing she’ll eventually want to be closer to her family. However, she’s driven by a deep desire not only to learn but also to create. “I’ve been getting so much education, and part of me loves learning, but at the same time, I don’t just want to study—I want to create.”

Evie credits the Chinese Flagship Program for providing flexibility and support throughout her academic journey. “Flagship really wants their students to succeed. They put a lot of effort, time, and energy into each student, and they’ll make sure you get where you need to be as long as you’re willing to put the effort in.”

Evie’s path has been shaped by her drive to learn and her commitment to connecting with the world on both scientific and cultural levels. Whether through her research in environmental sustainability or her linguistic pursuits, she exemplifies the power of curiosity and resilience. As Evie moves forward, she’s determined to make a difference not just by understanding the world but by actively engaging with it—turning her education and experiences into tangible contributions for global understanding and environmental stewardship.