Sky Duke

Sky is a third-year doctoral student in the UW Educational Policy Studies Department. Using quantitative methods, Sky’s research explores the educational and economic marginalization experienced by students of Color, adult learners, and low-income students, as well as policy interventions that improve these students’ access to and success within postsecondary contexts. Her work is informed by her identities as a queer, disabled, low-income, and neurodivergent person.

Prior to her studies at UW, Sky earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Central Michigan University in 2023. Sky’s experiences there as a McNair Scholar, Honors student, and Online Learning and Accessibility Intern remain central to her identity as a researcher and advocate for educational justice.

Awards & Honors

Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) Summer Fellowship, 2025.

Education Graduate Research Fellowship (Ed-GRS), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023-2028

President’s Award for Undergraduate Research, Central Michigan University, 2023

Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors Grant, Central Michigan University, 2022

Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), University of Michigan, 2022

Selected Presentations

Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) CPPHE Pre-conference paper presentation, November 2024.

American Educational Research Association (AERA) paper presentation, April 2025.

Hornak, A., Duke, S., & Jonassen, B. (2023). What rurality means to me: Rural identities across educational contexts [Symposium presentation]. Central Michigan University Diversity Symposium, Mount Pleasant, MI, United States.

Hornak, A., Williams, S., Duke, S., & Ampaw, F. (2023). Formative influences: How capital shapes rural students’ college-going intentions [Roundtable discussion]. American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, United States.

Ampaw, F., Williams, S., Duke, S., & Hornak, A. (2023). Bounded by place: Rural students, college knowledge, educational motivation, and college-going [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, United States.

Williams, S., Duke, S., Ampaw, F., & Hornak, A. (2022). Rurality and Resources: Influence of High School and Individual Characteristics on Postsecondary Participation [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association, Virtual.

Ampaw, F., Hornak, A., Williams, S., & Duke, S. (2021). Connecting the dots: Rural students and college going intentions [Paper presentation]. National Forum to Advance Rural Education, Virtual.

Teaching

TA in Educational Policy Studies department (8/18/25-5/17/26).