Deondra Rose has always been 10 steps ahead of her peers.
She took an interest in government and politics in first grade while running for student council and says that many of her most vivid memories about growing up revolve around electoral politics—like when she lost her first election in4th grade because she refused to vote for herself.
Rose made the cheerleading squad in high school despite her peers’ comments that “black girls don’t do cheerleading,” and she became a campaign manager for a state-wide political race before she finished high school.
Rose attended the University of Georgia and was the second black woman in the university’s history to win the Miss UGA pageant.
Deondra won the Leonard D. White award for her dissertation in public administration at the American Political Science Association annual meeting. Deondra also won the Walter Dean Burnham award for her dissertation in politics and history.
Deondra Rose /
Deondra graduated from the University of Georgia in three years. She graduated summa cum laude in political science and Phi Beta Kappa. Deondra (middle) is with (l-r) her cousins Di Yonna and Tiffany and her sisters Brandy and Mercedes.
Deondra Rose /
Deondra Rose has always been interested in politics and government and now teaches at Duke as a professor in public policy.
Deondra Rose /
As Miss University of Georgia 2005, Deondra's final official duty was to crown her successor. This photo was taken just moments after crowning the next Miss UGA.
Deondra Rose /
Deondra Rose with Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., in January 2006. She was chosen as one of 10 young people nationally to participate in then-Senator Obama's 'Yes We Can' campaign and political training program.
Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
