Emily Sloss Manages Duke Campus Farm

Name: Emily Sloss

Position: Project coordinator, Duke Campus Farm

Years at Duke: 3 months

What I do at Duke is: I manage everything that happens at the Duke Campus Farm, from food production to educational programming. Another part of my job is working with faculty and staff to incorporate the farm into education and academics.

If I had $5 million, I would: My whole life revolves around the farm right now, so I think it would go toward expanding the farm. Maybe we could have animals and a fruit orchard with berry bushes, apple trees and those sorts of things.

My first ever job was: Working in my mother's accounting office doing data entry and filing. I was 14 in high school.

My dream job is: I'm kind of living it right now. This is my first job out of college, and Duke's paying me to farm. It's pretty sweet because I don't have to worry about debt or other things most farmers have to deal with. I get to connect my job to the institution.

The best advice I ever received was: One that sticks with me the most is `Do what makes you happy, rather than please those around you.' It's important to pursue things that make me as a person.

What I love about Duke is: You meet so many interesting people every day. The students, staff and faculty are all such passionate people that are doing interesting things. It's exciting to be surrounded by those people.

When I'm not at work, I like to: I enjoy cooking. I always try to do something new. Lately I'll use whatever comes from the farm that we can't sell like okra, eggplant, peppers, or tomatoes.

If I could have one superpower, it would be: I need more time in the day, so it'd be the ability to control time. If I had more time, I'd be able to come home and read a book 

An interesting day at work for me was: When Hurricane Irene passed through the area I had a first-year orientation event at the farm. I thought it would be a total disaster, but it was really rewarding to introduce these students to farming when most of them had never been to a farm or experienced agriculture.

Favorite Movie: "Little Miss Sunshine." I think it does a really good job at capturing a dysfunctional family. Life is messy, but the filmmakers make fun of it in a good way.

Emily Sloss was nominated as a Blue Devil of the Week by a
Duke colleague. Do you have someone special in mind for Blue Devil of
the Week? Nominate your colleague.