Eighteen first-year women have been selected to participate in the Alice M. Baldwin Scholars program for undergraduate women and leadership at Duke University.

The Baldwin Scholars program was created in 2004 in response to the Women's Initiative research project, which investigated the quality of life for women at all levels of the institution. The researchers found among undergraduate women such trends as lower self-esteem, few women in top student leadership positions and the "effortless perfection" phenomenon, in which students reported pressure to be successful in their academic, career and social endeavors while hiding the effort involved.

"Once again, we had a large and outstanding group of applicants this year, which led to difficult choices," said Donna Lisker, co-director of the Baldwin Scholars program. "We selected women with high self-awareness and a record as agents of change in their schools and communities. They are a remarkable group by any measure."

The four-year experience incorporates academic seminars, a residential experience, an internship and mentoring opportunities. With 18 women in each class, the program is fully subscribed with 72 participants.

The Class of 2012 participants, who hail from 11 states and two foreign countries, will enroll in the first academic seminar, "Perceptions of Self, Society and the Natural World," in January.

The participants were selected from a pool of 112 applications and were interviewed by program staff and current Baldwin Scholars.

The Class of 2012 participants are:

CALIFORNIA
Ashley Terrell of Compton

FLORIDA
Jennifer Blocker of Orlando

Rewa Choudhary of Jacksonville

Nusaibah Kofar-Naisa of Tallahassee

ILLINOIS
Ellie Proussaloglou of Clarendon Hills

KENTUCKY
Nancy McKinstry of Lexington

MAINE
Catherine Joseph of Lewiston

MICHIGAN
Chantel Morey of Grosse Pointe Shores

MISSOURI
Cydney Ross of St. Louis

NEBRASKA
Chaele Arkfeld of Omaha

NORTH CAROLINA
Khadijah Bhatti of High Point

Lakia King of Indian Trail

Maria Suarez of Pineville

Dania Toth of Chapel Hill

SOUTH CAROLINA
Precious Graham of Myrtle Beach

VIRGINIA
Maab Ibrahim of Richmond

THAILAND
Bo Kyung Kim of Pak Kret, Nonthaburi, Thailand

COLOMBIA
Andrea Patiño of Bogota