Chance Meeting of Duke Nurses in Portugal Earns a Duke Time Off Photo Prize

Summer long photo campaign hits final stretch as Aug. 4 submission deadline nears

Three women standing by a rocky coast.
Duke nurses, from left to right, Nancy Sain, Kimberly Muth and Kelsey Schaad met while taking a tour of the coastal town of Sintra, Portugal. Photo courtesy of Kimberly Muth.

During their week-long June trip to Portugal with friends, Duke Clinical Nurses Kimberly Muth and Nancy Sain, booked a group tour of the coastal town of Sintra.

When Muth, who works in Duke University Hospital’s Labor and Delivery Unit, met Sain - then working in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and now at Duke Health Cary Infusion Clinic - they struck up a conversation with a few others on the tour. They were floored when the found out that one of the other tour members was Kelsey Schaad, a Clinical Nurse in Duke University Hospital’s Pediatric Cardiology Unit.

“We just started talking and asked where everybody was from,” Muth said. “We all said North Carolina. Then we asked, 'Where in North Carolina?’ And it turned out we were all Duke nurses and, at the time, we all worked in the same building. I couldn’t believe it. Small world.”

When Duke University Hospital Clinical Nurses and traveling companions Nancy Sain, left, and Kimberly Muth, center, met fellow Duke University Hospital Clinical Nurse Kelsey Schaad, right, during a tour of Sintra, Portugal, they grabbed a group photo to capture the moment. Photo courtesy of Kimberly Muth.

In her five years at Duke, Muth had never submitted a photo to the annual Duke Time Off photo campaign. But with a chance meeting of Duke nurses along Portugal’s ruggedly beautiful coast, the moment presented a photo opportunity too good to pass up.

“I said, 'Guys, we have to submit a picture!’” Muth said.

The photo Muth submitted was picked as the fifth winner of Working@Duke’s Duke Time Off photo campaign that showcases the value of using Duke’s paid time off benefits to support well-being. For her photo, Muth will receive a 24-can cooler, courtesy of Duke University Stores.

Muth said she likes to use her time off in small doses throughout the year. But with the opportunity travel with friends to Portugal, where they visited Lisbon and Porto, toured the wineries of the Douro valley, enjoyed a sunset cruise and an epic meal at a Michelin star restaurant, she was happy to take a full week away.

“Having the time off to rest and recover is nice,” Muth said. “And it also lets us have this amazing time in Portugal that we’ll remember forever. We got to enjoy being with our friends and having such fun memories there. It was wonderful.”

The 2025 Duke Time Off campaign is in the final stretch. Duke staff and faculty have until 5 p.m. on Aug. 4 to share photos of their summer fun and earn a chance at Duke Time Off prizes.

One Duke-themed prize, courtesy of Duke University Stores, has been given away roughly once every two weeks throughout the summer.

All eligible pictures taken and shared over the course of the campaign – from May 22, 2025, through Aug. 4, 2025 – will be in the running for the following grand prizes, courtesy of the Duke entities:

  • A “Classic Package for Two” ($425 value) at the Washington Duke Inn. The package includes a king or double/double room for one night and full breakfast for two in the Vista Room or room service. Sunday brunch is not eligible.
  • A lemur tour for two at the Duke Lemur Center.
  • Tickets to Duke Arts Presents performances.

The deadline for photo submissions is 5 p.m., Aug. 4. For additional Duke Time Off guidelines, including how to share your photo on social media or through our easy form, check out this story.

Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.

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