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Carrying a Durham Student to College?

Duke gives Durham students a first-hand college experience

 

An average 8th grader weighs about 130 pounds, but you don't have to lift them to get them moving toward college. We provide them with a different kind of lift that encourages them to sign up for a college-bound course of study in high school.

For the 11th year, Duke is hosting 300 academically-capable 8th graders from Durham who are unlikely to aim for college without some help. The students are from families that think college is unaffordable or have no first-hand experience attending college. Their experience at Duke shows them the enormous possibilities that come with a college education.

We need your help on Friday, October 29 as a staff escort. To ensure they get a hands-on feel for college, all students will be placed in small groups of 10 (with two DPS chaperones), each with a Duke student as a guide, and a Duke staff escort (you!). No preparation is needed on your part, just an interest in helping out, a willingness to ask the students questions, and some time on October 29.

In addition to the satisfaction of helping these students, there are some fringe benefits:

  • exploring a part of campus you have probably never seen, from the residence halls to labs like the Human Patient Simulator or the 3D Virtual Reality Chamber
  • getting a free t-shirt
  • enjoying a breakfast and lunch
  • entertainment from Duke performers
  • an end-of-program professional slide show of the day which will leave tears in your eyes

If you think you can break away from 8:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. to help out, click here to register.

For more information contact David Stein from the Office of Community Affairs at dstein@duke.edu or 668-6271.