Durham, NC -
Name:
Nick Dyslin

Position at Duke: Regional Development Director and Advancement Team

Years at Duke: 4.5

What I do at Duke: I am a fundraiser. I encourage alumni, friends and parents to support Duke. I originally worked with the Arts & Sciences and the Graduate School development team, but now I support the entire institution with a focus on people in the Midwest.

My first paid job: I was a grocery store clerk at Sterks in Lansing, Ill., a small town of about 20,000 people where I grew up.

When I'm not at Duke I like to: Be with my wife, Amy and 7-year-old daughter, Lily. We had the good fortune to adopt Lily from China to complete our family. I'm a very happy family man.

What I love about Duke: That it is in Durham. I love that our offices are practically in downtown, and that in the evenings and weekends I can go to places like Fullsteam Brewery and see people I know from work enjoying Durham. Living in Durham has been the biggest added value and biggest surprise about working in support of Duke.

My dream job: To be a park ranger at Glacier National Park or Yellowstone National Park.

If I had $5 million I would: Set up an endowment at Duke, set Lily up for education and beyond, and then take a big chunk of time off and do some serious global traveling.

Most recent book I have read: "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick deWitt. It is a western about two brothers who are hired killers. It is darkly humorous.

A memorable moment at Duke: I can think of two. One was the unbelievably lovely ceremony they had for the late Jo Rae Wright, dean of the graduate school, in Duke Chapel. I have yet to meet a better example of a great leader of the Duke community than Jo Rae. The other memorable moment was riding my bike to west campus to watch the bonfire when the basketball team won the national championship. It helped me appreciate how much of an ambassador the team is for the school. It knits the community together.

Something most people don't know about me: I was an elementary teacher at a Montessori school in Boulder, Colo. for one year. It was the hardest job I ever had.

To start a conversation with me, someone should ask me about: My family, or the Green Bay Packers.