Volunteers Needed for Duke-Durham School Days
Help serve as a campus guide for visiting eighth graders on Nov. 2
The Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership is seeking staff and faculty to volunteer to guide Durham middle school students around campus for part of the day on Nov. 2.
“Duke-Durham School Days,” an annual event now in its 18th year, brings 300 eighth graders from Durham Public Schools to Duke’s campus. The goal is to help motivate and prepare them to become the first in their family to attend a college or university.
“For many of them, it’s their first time on a college campus,” said David Stein, the School Days Director for the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership. “This is a chance for them to talk to students, staff and faculty and get a sense of what college life is.”
To prepare and learn more about campus, staff volunteers are offered a walking tour and a short training session on October 24, which includes pizza. On Nov. 2, volunteers start with an orientation at 8:30 a.m. and close the day at 1:15 p.m. with a performance by Def Mo, a Duke student dance group, and information on getting into and paying for college.
Duke staff and faculty help escort, along with Duke students, small groups of eighth graders around campus to various activities. Volunteers receive a free breakfast, lunch and commemorative T-shirt. Sign up here. Newcomers to School Days will be matched with a program veteran. You can also arrange to be paired with a friend.
Activities on Nov. 2 include visits to locations such as the Duke University Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, the Education Technology Center, Perkins Library, Duke University Chapel, a residence hall and the Brodhead Center. Eighth graders will also get to meet Duke basketball players and first-generation college students.
The keynote speaker for School Days will be Kasie Collins, a Duke chemistry doctoral student, who is a first-generation college student. Lunch will be catered by a former School Days participant and UNC graduate, Cecilia Polanco, who started “Pupusas for Education,” which provides scholarship and enrichment opportunities to undocumented students.
David Frankel, assistant dean of students for Duke Student Affairs, has been a School Days volunteer for the past decade. He enjoys the opportunity to interact with students and relishes the opportunity to see Duke through fresh eyes.
“They get so excited about things we may take for granted being on this campus every day,” Frankel said. “It’s invigorating and reminds you how lucky we are to work in a place that’s full of opportunities.”