Kelsey Laura Lema Graywill
My life so far has been guided by a never-ending web of dichotomies: Born by the ocean and raised in the mountains, brought up by a computer technician and an artist, it seems natural that I would spend my time weaving together opposites. I believe that things we see as antithetical are normally one and the same, and in pursuit of my lifelong passion of understanding what it means to be human, I've found you need a little bit of science and art. My work as a creative, researcher, and entrepreneur lives at this intersection. In carving out my own unique spaces, I endeavor to do the same for others, and hope that in making connections and serving people, I can better understand how humans live and express themselves.
GET TO KNOW ME
Click a slice of my life, download my CV, or connect with me on LinkedIn!
ACADEMICS
& EDUCATION
University of London, Goldsmiths College
Master of Science, Classification: First Class Honors.
Received an MSc in Psychology of the Arts, Neuroaesthetics, and Creativity from what is currently the only institution in the world with a degree-granting program in neuroaesthetics, with a dissertation on empathy and the visual language of pain.
2019-20
Duke University, Trinity College of Arts & Science
Bachelor of Arts, Major GPA: 3.7.
Developed an institutionally approved degree program titled Human Creativity: Evolutionary Neuroaesthetics which explored the how and why of aesthetic emergence in humans and nature, through the lens of neuroscience, biology, anthropology, and philosophy.
2014-18
COVA High School
Rank 1 in 211, GPA: 4.33 (weighted), 3.98 (unweighted).
Student in the Gifted & Talented Program, and held multiple leadership positions in Student Government, National Honor Society.
2010-14
Following my valedictorian speech in 2014.
Grad festivities slightly different in 2020.
Research
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LEADERSHIP & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
With a knack for arts and crafts as a kid, I enjoyed sculpting miniatures inspired by food. At the same time, my family was reliant foodbanks while I was in high school, which led me to start selling my food-themed miniatures and jewelry and donating some of the profits to foodbanks through what would be my first leap into entrepreneurship: The Starving Artist, which raised thousands of dollars for local community resource centers and foodbanks.
A lover of card and board games, I created a Duke version of the popular card game "Cards Against Humanity" in the spring of 2016. I printed the cards for the new game, dubbed Cranes Assist Humility, myself and calibrated a paper cutter to chop each sheet of cards, and packaged each deck all from my dorm room. The game became popular with students and alumni alike.
Read more:
I started making my coloring books in my dorm room to help me study, and after receiving a Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurship grant, launched a series of fun, engaging coloring books as tools for learning: The Language Coloring Book for foreign language acquisition in 8 different languages, Brainability for cognitive training, and The Art Clinic to promote health literacy. The Kickstarter project funding goal was met in under 24 hours and reached 325% of its goal.
After growing a following of over 30k followers across TikTok, Youtube, Pinterest, and beyond by creating content around the creation of my fantasy webcomic, I developed a series of worldbuilding and storytelling resources for other fantasy creators: writers, artists, game designers, and RPGers alike. In 2024, 60+ backers pledged over $3,000 to fund the creation of The Worldbuilding Starter Pack, my second successful Kickstarter.
In 2018, Duke University established the Graywill Arts Leadership & Service Award. Every year starting in 2019, one or two graduating senior(s) from any major or arts discipline will be presented the Graywill Award for $1,000 at the annual Arts Award Ceremony. The award is endowed by the Duke University Union. I am not involved with award selection, and every year I am blown away by the incredibly accomplished and talented students who are selected.
Me (right) with Rebekah (left), first ever recipient!
[2021] Environmetal Science
[2021] History, Theater Studies
[2020] Mathematics, Economics
[2019] Political Science
Leadership Honors & Awards
CREATIVITY & THE ARTS
Arts News
Makings of a Mind: Connecting the Subjective to the Objective >>
Graywill Award established for campus arts leaders >>
Honoring Student Arts Leaders: Kelsey Graywill >>
Graphic Medicine Draws Together Health and Humanities >>
Demystifying Illness: Graphic Medicine Exhibition Review >>
Kelsey Graywill's Makings of a Mind Finishes Run in the Brown Gallery >>
For senior and self-taught artist Kelsey Graywill, art and science intersect >>
Six students to expand Duke Kunshan Univerisity arts community during 2016 Spring Break >>
I am a self-taught artist with interests spanning many mediums. Whether through acrylic painting, portrait photography, or piano composition, I have always enjoyed expressing myself creatively and hope that I can help others do the same.
SPORT
I started learning how to ride a bike in 2022 after moving back to Durham, NC. Having never owned a car, it became my primary form of transit and completely transformed my lifestyle. I quickly became an advocate for cycling as means of recreation, transit, and fitness. It is a cherished part of my life and work now.
Dose of Durham is a monthy zine (a short, self-circulated magazine) I create about exploring Durham by bicycle. It has 45 paid subscribers and over 150 Patreon members. Through Dose of Durham, I produce an illustrated guide every month around a different theme, lead bike tours of the city and curate seasonal bike routes related to Durham's history, culture, and current events.
I work at Bike Durham, a local nonprofit advocating for sustainable transit and improved infrastructure for buses, bikes, and pedestrians in Durham. Starting as bike riding and safety instructor for Durham Public Schools, I eventually moved into a communications position where I more than quadrupled our reach creating engaging content for the cause.
In 2023 I joined a local amateur cycling team, Rescue Racing, where I particpate in regular group road rides and (in the future!) hopefully represent the team in races. I picked up road cycling as hobby after becoming a bike commuter in 2022. Prior to that, I had no cycling experience and was a life-long, self-declared coach potato with no athletic background.
HEALTH
SCIENCE
My curiosity around human evolution and behavior steered me toward the natural sciences as a student, and eventually led me to explore health sciences through a number of initiatives spanning designing curriculum for a medical humanities program, creating a film and photo documentaries on Lyme disease and women in neurosurgery, becoming a Nationally Registered EMT, interning at the International Federation of the Red Cross & Red Crescent, and more. Today, much of my work is filtered through lens of health and healing, both individually and at a community level.
Learning about the Singapore health system and medical research at Duke-NUS Medical School.
Working at the neurocognitive mapping lab under Duke Neurosurgery, regularly assisting with patient language examinations during bedside eletrode grid and intraoperative awake brain surgeries, coding patient data, and following up with patients pre and post-operatively for assessment.
Becoming a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B)
Staffing the Apprentice Doctor programs around the USA, lecturing about biomedical principles behind patient examination and starting the first ever collegiate chapter of The Apprentice Doctor.
Captured the the ins and outs of the lives of women in neurosurgery, at a time when less than 5% of neurosurgeons were women, as a part of the ASCEND scholarship for the Penny Pilgram George Women in Leadership program.
Spending two years as student researcher with Duke Global Neurosurgery & Neuroscience on a funded fellowship conducting research on health behavior and hygiene practices at the Mulago Hospital neurosurgery ward.
Being the only undergraduate ever accepted to the Prague Selective to explore and learn about Czech healthcare from physicians, the Ministry of Health, and US Ambassador to the Czech Republic (pictured).
Working as a research and development intern for the International Federation of the Red Cross & Crescent Societies in Amman, Jordan on deployment of field hospitals and medical training reporting.
Part of a select group of artists exhibiting at Duke Hospital and hosting painting demos on the ward for patients and visitors.
Presenting and giving talks to alumni about field research to improve patient outcomes at the only public national referral neurosurgery ward in Uganda.
Participating in a rural clinic start-up along the Indravati River outside clinics in Kathmandu, Nepal and assisting local physicians to best manage hundreds of patients a day.
Creation of a mini documentary about traditional medicine and living with Lyme disease in Thailand.