Volunteer for Duke-Durham School Days on Nov. 1

As part of the 24th annual event, join middle school students from Durham Public Schools as they explore Duke’s campus

Students check out a race car during Duke-Durham School Days.
Students from Durham Public Schools check out a race car during Duke-Durham School Days. Photo courtesy of Duke Community Affairs.

Lindsay Helm had only been at Duke a few months when she volunteered to chaperone a small group of eight-graders as they toured campus during the Duke-Durham School Days event.

“I hadn’t really gotten acquainted with campus, so I figured it would be a good way to connect with colleagues from across the university,” said Helm, a Communications Strategist with the Duke Department of Neurology who joined students as they explored Duke’s residence halls, labs and student hubs. “I ended up having a great time.”

Duke-Durham School Days, organized by Duke Community Affairs, gives 300 eighth-grade students from Durham Public Schools—whose families have no prior college experience—the opportunity to explore Duke's campus and experience college life firsthand.

The 24th annual Duke-Durham School Days is Nov. 1, and staff and faculty from Duke University and Duke University Health System are invited to volunteer as chaperones. Registration for volunteers is open until Oct.18. There will be brief training session for volunteers at 11:15 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 28 in Perkins Library Room 217.

Visiting students enjoy several fun campus experiences, such as visiting Duke Motorsports' workshop, during Duke-Durham School Days. Photo courtesy of Duke Community Affairs.

Duke-Durham School Days will begin at 8:45 a.m. and finish around 12:45 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1. The students will be broken up into groups of 10 with each group accompanied by two staff volunteers, two Duke student guides and a school counselor. Lunch will be provided for volunteers.

Groups will tour classrooms, labs, dining facilities and residence halls, as well as visit fun campus spots such as surgical training labs, research greenhouses, electron microscopes and more.

“To see the excitement of the students exploring the campus is wonderful,” said David Stein, Duke Community Affairs’ Senior Education Partnership Coordinator and Duke-Durham School Days organizer. “Ninety-five percent of these students have never been on a college campus before, much less Duke’s. There’s such a sense of awe there.”

DukeEngage Assistant Director Kristin Wright has volunteered for Duke-Durham School Days for several years.

“It’s just fun,” Wright said. “It’s a nice change from the usual day-to-day routine.”

Through the years, Wright has accompanied groups of students to the Duke University Motorsports workshop, a virtual reality lab in Bostock Library, and sports medicine facilities on the Duke Athletics campus.

While Wright has enjoyed exploring Duke’s campus, she said the biggest thrill she gets is watching the middle schoolers in her groups get a taste of the kinds of learning experiences that can be part of their futures.

“It matters a lot to me that students, who may not otherwise think about college, start to think about it,” said Wright, who taught elementary school early in her career. “I’m glad Duke is doing something along those lines and I think it’s a good program.”

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