With just days until graduation, senior Cate Schick has finally come clean about a big secret. For three years, she has been one of the students acting as the university鈥檚 No. 1 hype artist: the Duke Blue Devil.
The whiz doing the worm? Cate. The Blue Devil in the Marriott Bonvoy ad with Duke legend Grant Hill? That was Schick, shooting on location. As the Blue Devil, she has surfed on Cameron Crazies, gently poked rivals, and rallied fans鈥 spirits, even through the heartbreak of defeat.
Dozens vie for a shot at being the Blue Devil. Just a handful of students are chosen. Each takes a vow of secrecy until graduation. Having just completed a self-designed degree in 鈥淣eural Symbolic Reasoning鈥 combining computer science and neuroscience, it鈥檚 time for Schick to move to New York and begin her career as a software engineer. She has no plans to continue exploring her natural talent as a masked entertainer.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty set on my software career. Making my difference in the world by creating technology is an important cause,鈥 Schick said. 鈥淏ut, if Duke called me and asked me to fill in 鈥 I鈥檓 not going to say no.鈥