During the academic year, the rigorous demands of NCAA Division 1 sports doesn’t leave Duke student-athletes much time to participate in the service-learning activities their peers enjoy. That’s where the Rubenstein Student-Athlete Civic Engagement Program, or ACE, steps in.
ACE, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, provides student-athletes with a fully funded international service experience during the summer. The summer programs, usually lasting between one and three weeks, center around opportunities for the students to engage with local communities abroad, providing support in areas from coaching sports, to health outreach and education, to environmental sustainability.
Emily Durham, the founding program director of ACE, believes the opportunity to participate in the program is transformative for Duke student-athletes, giving them teamwork skills in a setting outside of competition. The experience is invaluable, she says, as it is likely their sole opportunity to participate in volunteering or studying abroad.
“They come back with a different perspective on their sport and working with their team, and an appreciation for the opportunities they have here,” Durham shares. “And [the athletes] come at this with 100 percent because they know they’re not going to get to do other international Duke experiences. This is it.”
Current women’s basketball player Delaney Thomas is one of the alumni of the program, participating in Panama in the summer of 2024, where she and other student-athletes facilitated volleyball camps for kids in two rural communities.
Thomas believes every Duke student-athlete should consider participating: “The people you meet, the communities you interact with, and the memories you make will stick with you forever.”
For its 10th anniversary, ACE is connecting with alumni to hear how their experiences have impacted their careers and lives since Duke, collecting stories and photos to be shared on their website and social media. At the same time, Durham and her team are making sure accommodations and passports for this summer’s 36 student-athlete participants are ready to go before they travel to Panama, Costa Rica or South Africa for their service assignments.
“We want to continue to provide opportunities for as many student athletes who are interested in participating, regardless of their sport or their season, to be able to be a part of this program,” Durham says. “What they bring back from the experience just has such a positive impact on their teams and the greater Duke community as a whole.”