“I told my friends when I was leaving Jacksonville that I was going to take over the University of Florida,” said Bunduki Ramadan, a senior studying economics. “Once I convinced myself of that, I knew I had to make it happen.”
Four years later, Bunduki Ramadan, better known as Duke, has done just that. Duke, for those who don’t know, has a hand in just about everything campus has to offer. He was a former Retreat director for Savant Leadership Honorary, he was an RA (resident assistant) for one of the campus dorms, and a Preview Staffer in 2013. Currently, he is a Student Assistant at the Dean’s office, the Webmaster for the African Student Union, a University Ambassador for GRAMMY U, a Sales Associate at Finish Line, the Lead Marketing and Sales Manager for his company Hip Hop Duke (he is an aspiring music mogul) and he is the Mic Man Hype Man/Mr. Orange & Blue for the UF Football team.
WOW, that was a mouthful of Duke’s involvement. However, before all of Duke’s successes, there were some harder times. Duke was born in Cairo, Egypt and moved to the United States when he was 2 years old. His parents were from Sudan, but had him in Egypt because of a war in Sudan. Coming to America with parents that spoke minimal English, Duke was influenced by two entirely different cultures and said it was a “conflict of interest.” On one side, he was young enough to start picking up the American culture but on the other hand, his parents and older siblings were not quite used to the American ways.
Duke’s parents pushed him to be the best he could be and make the most of his opportunities presented. He always knew, both himself and by his parents, that he had to go to college. So, he worked hard and fell in love with the University of Florida. That said though, Duke is not afraid to mess up.
“I mess up a lot,” Duke said. “But every time I mess up I do that same thing better 1000%.”
This means of self-improvement is one of the reasons Duke is where he is today. When the opportunities to improve himself arose, Duke never looked these opportunities down. Starting as a student assistant, Duke heard about being an RA and decided to become one. From being an RA and working in the Dean’s office, he realized how fitting it could be for him to be a Preview Staffer and just like that, he was a Preview Staffer in 2013.
Rapping came to Duke at a young age. What began as poetry suddenly became hip-hop when one day, Duke decided, “I can do this,” and started recording cassettes on his dad’s cassette player. Now a senior at UF, Duke hopes to fuse his major (economics) with his passion for music to bring his own label to fruition and by doing so, give back to South Sudan when he will be able to.
Through rapping, Duke found himself. He can speak his mind, speak his problems and connect with just about anyone. That, that is how he became the UF hype man.
“My boy from freshman year summer B, four years later joins the spirit squad and they opened up the mic man to students,” Duke said. “Seeing me rap and watching me at shows, he told me to read his last tweet about a mic man position.”
Right after reading that tweet, Duke knew his time had come. He came to his mic man audition in a Gator onesie, knowing it would make him stand out. Pairing that with orange and blue socks, shoes, a hat and shades, he took the judges by surprise. Duke nailed the interview portion and that’s when they asked him to give a freestyle about the Gators and football. He simulated hyping up the crowd and the position was his. Two years later, Duke is not only the mic man hype man, but he just recently became Mr. Orange and Blue, as well, when he was handed the reigns by Richard Johnston Junior. Every game, he gets to be on the field and make people feel the way he used to feel, and still does feel, when watching the Gators play.
“Going from being a fan to being on the field, just having fun, is an amazing feeling to be in front of the entire Gator nation,” said Duke. “Being two positions in one is incredible to think about given where I came from to where I am now.”
Duke continues to chase his passions on a daily basis and will never let anyone take him down. After being bullied growing up for an array of things, it has only made Duke tougher as a person and more confident in himself. He’s had a target on his back for so long, due to his cultural background, his birth deformity, his height and more, but knows “you have to go hard no matter what.” Moving forward from the mic man hype man, Duke hopes to move to Atlanta to pursue his hip-hop dreams in the hip-hop hub of the United States.
“If people aren’t pushing you down; if people aren’t hating on you; if people aren’t trying to hold you back, then you aren’t doing something right,” Duke said. “If you’re on the path to success, people will always do that and you just have to learn how to beat it and use that as the fuel to your fire.”
