Duke Gardens Visit Leads to Duke Time Off Photo Prize

Jada Caldwell of Office of the Ombuds is the latest winner in our summer photo campaign

Two people next to a tree.
Jada Caldwell and her partner, Jackson, enjoy a moment at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Photo courtesy of Jada Caldwell.

Since she began working at Duke in October 2023, Jada Caldwell had passed through the Sarah P. Duke Gardens a few times, but, before last month, she’d never truly explored the 55-acre campus oasis.

While enjoying a day off on June 19 for the Juneteenth holiday, Caldwell wandered among Duke Gardens’ lush trees and blooming flowers with her partner, Jackson, and good friend, Savannah, who was visiting from Arkansas.

“It was an awesome way to spend the day off since it was my first chance getting to show one of my loved ones where I work,” said Caldwell, Program Manager for Duke’s Office of the Ombuds.

During her visit, Savannah captured a photo of Caldwell and her partner enjoying the shade of a Japanese maple tree.

Jada Caldwell, right, and her partner Jackson recently enjoyed a visit to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Photo courtesy of Jada Caldwell.

The photo made Caldwell the third winner in Working@Duke's annual summer-long Duke Time Off photo campaign. We welcome pictures of your special moments and off the beaten path adventures that capture your summer reprieve – everything from a backyard barbecue and beach getaway to a long-awaited international trip that highlights the ways staff and faculty use their time off benefit.

For her photo, Caldwell will receive a 24-can cooler from Duke University Stores.

Caldwell said the group especially enjoyed the red bridge and quiet sitting spots in the W.L. Culberson Asiatic Arboretum and was fascinated by the way life is returning to the section of the H.L. Blomquist Garden of Native Plants’ Piedmont Prairie which recently underwent a controlled burn.

“We spent quite a lot of time there,” said Caldwell, who is working remotely while her Bostock Library office space is being renovated. “When I’m back on campus, I’m definitely going to go to the gardens more often.”

How to share your 2024 summer pictures:

  • Post and tag a photo on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with the #DukeTimeOff hashtag and tag Working@Duke as well.
  • In your post, share what you’re doing with your time away from work and why it’s special.
  • Remember to include #DukeTimeOff and tag Working@Duke in your post, so we see your snapshots on social media.
  • If you’re not on social media or prefer to share your picture another way, upload your picture here.

We welcome and encourage frequent submissions (there’s even a prize for a shutterbug), but only the first picture in a series of pictures will be entered whenever one submission contains multiple images. Collage photographs and videos are not eligible for prizes.

During the campaign, the Working@Duke editorial team will award Duke-themed merchandise from Duke University Stores.

All eligible pictures taken and shared throughout the course of the campaign – May 22, 2024, through Aug. 4, 2024 – will be in the running for these grand prizes:

  • A “Classic Package for Two” ($425 value) at the Washington Duke Inn, which includes a king or double/double room for one night and full breakfast for two in the Vista Room or room service, courtesy of the Washington Duke Inn. Sunday brunch is not eligible.
  • A tour of the Duke Lemur Center’s Natural History Museum for up to five people with museum curator, Dr. Matt Borths. The collection is one of the rarest fossil primate collections in the world. Borths and his team will give the lucky winners a behind the scenes look at the collection and let them try their hand at fossil prep work.

Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs by writing working@duke.edu.

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