President Visits Scholars Serving Carolinas

Duke President Richard Brodhead and his wife Cindy recently saw first-hand the positive impact that a group of Duke merit scholars is having on the rural town of Marion, S.C. B.N. Duke sophomores completed, among other things, a much-needed covered shelter for dogs at the Marion County Humane Society, a mural at the Boys and Girls Club and an oral history exhibition at the Marion County Museum.

"The students have plunged right in,'' Brodhead said. "When you stop and talk with them, they walk around this city and show it to you as if it's their town. They have the pride people feel in a place when they have learned it and can begin to contribute back."

The Carolina Summer of Service Project is a requirement of the scholarship awarded each year to eight first-year students from North and South Carolina. For 10 weeks during the summer between their freshman and sophomore years, the B.N. Dukes live and volunteer somewhere as a group in one of the two states. The B.N. Duke program covers the cost of the summer housing and provides stipends for food, gas and spending money.

When they return to Duke, scholars are encouraged to propose a project that continues the intellectual and personal growth experience.

"It gets everybody thinking about what it is to be a leader and a servant as change agents in communities,"  says Charlie Thompson, the scholarship’s faculty director. "We select students who are both promising leaders and have an orientation to making a difference."

In addition to group projects, students work on ones that correspond to individual interests. Priyang Shah, a sophomore from Charlotte who is interested in business and medicine, helped the new Healthcare Foundation and Helping Hands Free Clinic save some operating money. The clinic opened in May to serve low-income patients in Mullins, S.C.

"Drug costs went up considerably about a month and a half ago," Shah said. '"I researched different alternatives and I found a contract program for a voucher system. We're projected to save about $500 to $600 a week on the prescription drugs, based on the research that I did and the contracts I helped to write up."

Gene Tucker, executive director of the Marion County Healthcare Foundation, appreciates Shah’s contributions. "Priyang is helping us to save $18,000 to $24,000 per year by changing the process," Tucker said. 

At the local Humane Society, scholars designed a 74-foot shelter with roofing to project the dogs from the rain.

"It is a vast improvement over the old tarp covering," said Jen Nall, director of the Paws to the Rescue Humane Society.

In addition to recruiting community volunteers to help with construction, the students also walked the dogs and cleaned their cages. Nall said their contributions far exceeded her expectations.

"It's a very hard environment to work in and it can be very depressing," Nall said. "To have people come out and be organized and hard-working is wonderful."

Scholar Clare Fisher, an Asheville native, said volunteering at the animal shelter made her happy, in part, because it ran counter to some of her home state's stereotypes about Duke.

"They see Duke as being a really distant place, even though it's in North Carolina," Fisher said. "I think the fact that we wear jeans and clean dog cages shows we are in this with everyone else. Working with the people here and helping the animals has really given us the chance to be a part of the community in a way that Duke doesn't often get the chance to demonstrate."

At President Brodhead's last tour stop, LaToria Lewis, director of the Boys and Girls Club, echoed the community enthusiasm for the B.N. Dukes. Her children gathered around the Brodheads, eager to tell the couple about their interactions with the students.

"To have the Duke students here is like a breath of fresh air," Lewis said. "The scholars from Duke give the children inspiration that I can't give, because they are living proof of someone else who cares. The kids look forward to seeing them. The Duke scholars have become a part of the community."

The Class of 2015 B.N. Duke Scholars are: Dominique Beaudry, Grace Ann Danello, Isa Ferrall, Clare Fisher, Charles Guthrie, Priyang Shah, Jordan Thomas and Natalie Williams.