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Football’s Newest Captain Known as a ‘Jewel’

Dink Suddaby will be honorary employee captain for Sept. 3 game

Dink Suddaby, right, poses for a picture with niece and nephew Katie and Zachary before a Duke football game against University of Miami on Halloween. Photo courtesy of Dink Suddaby.
Dink Suddaby, right, poses for a picture with niece and nephew Katie and Zachary before a Duke football game against University of Miami on Halloween. Photo courtesy of Dink Suddaby.

Calling from the office inside Graduate Liberal Studies, Dink Suddaby screamed the news to her husband over a phone.

Unbeknownst to her, a collection of colleagues nominated her to be this year’s honorary employee captain for Duke football’s Employee Kickoff Celebration game on Sept. 3. And she’d won. 

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“It’s so wonderful to be loved,” said Suddaby, staff assistant with the Graduate Liberal Studies program and a 31-year employee at Duke. “I had a grin on my face for an hour.”

Suddaby, who will hold her honorary title for the Blue Devils’ home opener against North Carolina Central University, was selected after a Working@Duke search received nominations from colleagues highlighting how she represents aspects of Duke's Guiding Principles.

“She goes above and beyond her role every year, taking extra initiative to learn more, do more and be one of the best examples of customer service I have ever known,” Stacy Dalton, program coordinator for on-site events for admissions with the Fuqua School of Business, wrote in her nomination. “She has gone out of her way to reach out to me when I had questions to not only address the question but find an even better solution than initially anticipated. She is a jewel.”

Trudi Abel, a Rubenstein Research Services archivist with Duke Libraries, wrote a nomination highlighting Suddaby’s support for students. Suddaby works hard to help graduate students perform at a high level, Abel noted.

“She's willing to go to the mat for them to get them the courses they need at times that work well for their schedule,” Abel wrote. “She's a great listener and has lots of good advice to share from her 20 years of service in the Graduate Liberal Studies program.”

While Suddaby attended Duke football games over 20 years ago when she first started working at Duke, she began attending games regularly three years ago after befriending players who are students in the Graduate Liberal Studies program. She said she’s most excited to run out on the field with the team and student-athletes she knows.

“I’m going to get (quarterback) Thomas Sirk and (cornerback) DeVon Edwards to carry me out there,” joked Suddaby, a former Meritorious Service Award winner.

In addition to coming out with the team during the season opener, which also is the employee kickoff celebration, Suddaby will celebrate her title of honorary employee captain in the following ways:

  • Recording a video with members of the team to broadcast during the game.
  • Participating with head coach David Cutcliffe during a weekly press luncheon.
  • Participating in the pre-game coin toss with officials and team captains.

Nominees for Honorary Employee Captain 

Below are the names of all other Duke employees nominated this year for Duke's honorary employee captain:

  • Lee Baker, Cultural Anthropology
  • George Dorfman, Univeristy Development Office of Principal Gifts
  • Keely Fagan, Office of the University Registrar
  • Robert Flood Jr., Duke Health Technology Solutions
  • Jeff Hawley, School of Medicine Office of Clinical Research
  • Chuck Hemric, Sarah P. Duke Gardens
  • Jeanette Jansen, Duke Health Technology Solutions
  • Michael du Laney, Talent Identification Program
  • Meghan Leypoldt, Fuqua School of Business Admissions
  • Kathryn Lytle, School of Nursing
  • Mary Nettleton, Arts and Sciences Deans Office
  • Suzanne Pierce, Political Science
  • Darrell Queen, School of Medicine Closeout Project Implementation Team
  • Selden Smith, Technical Services
  • Karen Tesoriero, School of Medicine Medical Education Administration
  • Sue Wasiolek, Student Affairs
  • James Zechini, Duke Stores

Congratulations to everyone from the Working@Duke team!