The chains will move. First Down. DUKE!
With just 4 minutes 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils achieve another momentous first down to extend their dominant performance in their 2023 home opener against football powerhouse Clemson. My eyes scan the expansive student section, and I feel immense pride and excitement to be alongside my peers cheering on our team.
As we score another touchdown, making the score 28 to 7, the entire stadium erupts in cheers. We let out happy squeals, jumping up and down. Rapturous fans begin flooding the stairs and jumping over the large bushes down to the field. The adrenaline surges and my excitement escalates.
Preparing to make the run out onto the field, I reach out to grasp my boyfriend’s hand. It feels extra special to be experiencing this win with Mason, a Class of 2023 Duke Football alum, by my side, rather than watching him from the stands. The clock ticks down and the mob rushes forward. Mason and I follow suit and join the crowd of Blue Devil fans celebrating in the middle of the field.
I have countless incredible memories from my time at Duke, but rushing the field after beating Clemson in football will forever be a moment that sticks out to me. A packed, enthusiastic student section felt even more significant because I had attended every home game of the previous two years, where there was more limited student support. Seeing the “Wade Wacko” fans take flight was incredible.
To me, that electric night showcased the unity of our university and how our Duke community comes together to celebrate our successes and our students. While we may differ in our personal passions, goals and intellectual pursuits, we can all band together behind a single shade of blue: Duke blue. Seeing so many people decked out in Duke apparel around campus further demonstrates how much love, pride, and support we have for our university.
That collective effervescence we treasure as Blue Devil fans begins to take shape in our very first days on campus. Last fall, I had the honor to serve as a co-chair of the second year of the new Duke Experiential Orientation, which focuses on building community through a weeklong thematic programming model.
Helping a group of individual first years coalesce into one community, just as the Duke student fans united on the field, was immensely gratifying. Watching the Class of 2027 pose together on East Campus quad for their class photo reminded me that we are a constantly expanding Duke family. Together, we grow in our time here, and I beam when I think of the friendships that have blossomed and the successes experienced by the students I welcomed to Duke.
These prospering students will become the next Duke leaders, pouring that field-rushing energy into improving our university – and the world – in their own individual ways.
While I can’t help but feel sad to be leaving campus upon graduating, I feel comfort knowing that this will not be goodbye to Duke. Rather, it will be the start of my next chapter of embodying Duke Forever. I chose this university with the hope of finding a community, and I graduate connected to this incredible Duke Family. I will forever Bleed Blue and will always feel that unity, togetherness and pride that we felt that September night we stormed the field.
Amber Smith graduated in May 2024 with a degree in sociology, with a concentration in medical sociology. She heads to Harvard in the fall to begin work on her Ph.D. in sociology.