DURHAM, N.C. -- In collaboration with Stanford University, and through generous gifts from David Rubenstein and Peter and Helen Bing, 21 Duke student-athletes joined 19 Stanford student-athletes to comprise the inaugural class of the Rubenstein-Bing Student-Athlete Civic Engagement (ACE) Program. Traveling to one of four international sites, student-athletes engaged in immersive, service-based activities this summer that assisted residents of underserved communities overseas.
“The first summer of ACE exceeded all of my expectations,” program director Emily Durham said. “I had the privilege to visit our four programs this summer, and I can attest to the fact that our ACE student-athletes truly embodied the values of community partnership and service. The students' work ethic, their desire to immerse themselves in new communities and cultures, and their teamwork across schools and sports teams has created a unique program model. We had students this summer in ACE from teams who had never before been able to do programs like DukeEngage. The eagerness and appreciation the student-athletes had for this experience was so evident in the energy they brought each day on their program-sites. I'm excited to see how our first ACE group brings their experiences back to their lives on campus, to their teams and the greater campus communities at Duke and Stanford.”
Student-athletes from a variety of Duke's sports programs sojourned to South Africa, Vietnam, China or India, with individuals from 14 separate teams participating in ACE this summer. Each location provided a unique service-based focus. Student-athletes traveling to Vietnam taught academics, sports and life skills to middle school children in a summer-camp setting, while those in India assisted in teaching and coaching youth, with a focus on educational and leadership development through sports, English lessons and computer classes. At the China site, student-athletes contributed to the sustainable development of local communities through sports and environmental science education. The student-athletes who participated at the South Africa site provided support for basic healthcare initiatives, activity-based education and teaching, light construction and sports programs.
Duke's 21 participants in this season's ACE Program were selected from a pool of 32 applicants, with student-athletes from 17 different Duke sports teams submitting an application. In addition to the diversity among sports teams, both genders were well represented throughout each location, with females making up 65 percent of this summer's participants and males accounting for 35 percent of student-athletes who partook in the program.
The application process for the 2017 ACE class is scheduled to open in late fall. For updates and additional information on the ACE Program, visit www.ace.duke.edu.
Additional ACE Program Numbers
• Class breakdown: Of the 40 student-athletes that participated in ACE, 28% were rising sophomores, 48% were rising juniors, 17% were rising seniors and 7% were seniors returning for at least one quarter/semester following the ACE experience
• Academic disciplines: 5% Humanities, 28% Natural Sciences, 40% Social Sciences, 20% Engineering, 7% Undecided
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