I think all "normal" students at Duke secretly, or openly, wish they were merit scholars, specifically Robertson Scholars. I fess up to my envy-they have it made.
Frankly, it's the creme de la creme of college experiences. Tuition is paid in full, you get up close access to administrators, then actual advising (more than the PIN the rest of us get). But most important-you get three life-changing summers. Summers spent engaging with at least one domestic community and one international community.
Hence, the DukeEngage announcement thrilled me; now "normal" Duke students like me could be Robertsons for a summer, taking on a paid experience designed to challenge our previous worldview while preparing us for leadership opportunities in an increasingly global society.
Yes, with the addition of DukeEngage the University only need improve undergraduate advising and the wide opportunity gap separating the "normal" and the "special" will begin to close.
In fact, I was so excited about this new opportunity that I seriously contemplated how I could convince DukeEngage that I was not a member of the Class of 2008 and therefore eligible for the program. It would require a covert operation, infiltrating every level of bureaucracy, from former professors to ACES student information.
And where would I go? Possibilities are endless. Indonesia. No, Chile. Actually, maybe I would try an individual proposal in Turkey. Or in Brangelina fashion I could join the WISER team in Kenya. One thing certain: I would go far, far away.
What about DukeEngage Durham?
Durham?
Well, I would like to work there, but this is one-time only funding. I already volunteer in Durham, I frequent Main Street often, but who knows when I will have a chance to go to Asia?
So I present a characterized version of my thought processes for the purpose of illustrating a point: I think it very rare that a Duke student would choose Durham over the sex-appeal of international forays.
This year's DukeEngage numbers seem to in line with this assumption. Although final numbers are still uncertain because the application acceptance cycle is not complete, Elaine Madison, senior adviser to DukeEngage and director of the Community Service Center, estimates that the program will place 30 students in Durham this summer out of 300 possible placements.
But Madison is pleased with this 10-percent placement rate, higher than expected when students have many competing DukeEngage options to choose from (read: international opportunities). Plus, they have experience working in Durham. She noted that about 300 students tutor in Durham during the school-year and about 600 are in service-learning classes with experiential Durham components.
She is right to be pleased. Thirty students willing to forego international travel to engage with Durham seems high. I expected none. Yet this number is still dismal.
There are 23 Durham DukeEngage projects, ranging from environmental work to capacity building to public education. I know first-hand of one opportunity working with Durham's Urban Ministries homeless shelter. During the summer a DukeEngager would provide direct client service for Urban Ministries residents (resumes, cover letters and assistance applying for social services) part of the week. They would spend the rest of the week learning about Durham social services, connecting local businesses to people who need jobs.
This type of engagement is deeper than an occasional tutoring session or a service-learning class during the school year. For 40 hours a week, up-close, the Duke student would experience the struggles of America's underclass-a class often forgotten in a society where Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy announcement and Paris Hilton's jail time constitute the CNN news hour.
Providing opportunities for Duke students to work in Durham is showing them the poverty and diversity in their own backyard, making them active contributors rather than temporary residents living in isolation, and giving them transferable lessons applicable to both future international locations and their own home towns. Creating an "engaged" Duke must mean more than a trip to Chile or Kenya but an understanding of Durham as well.
As Madison pointed out in an interview, the great advantage of DukeEngage is that it is an experimental program, still learning and adjusting. After its first full summer, DukeEngage staff can evaluate program success and enrollment, correcting problems and changing future policies.
Moving forward after this summer, DukeEngage should waive its one-time only policy, but only for Durham-thus actively encouraging engagement both domestically and abroad, and fully mirroring the Robertson program. The truth is that one-time funding keeps students from considering Durham, an option they may consider more seriously if given a two-time funding option: once in Durham and once elsewhere.
Rachel McLaughlin is a Trinity senior. Her column runs ever other Wednesday.
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