Allison Vernerey is used to running sprints on the basketball court. This summer, though, she helped organize a much longer race.
Beginning in June, Vernerey began an internship at the Duke Cancer Institute. She saw the summer as an opportunity to volunteer in a way that she cannot during the school year because of academic and athletic commitments that dominate her schedule.
“I really wanted to get involved in a more social way and do something that was meaningful,” she said. “During the year I feel like as a student-athlete—even though there are opportunities to get involved on campus—you are busy and they go by.”
With the Duke Cancer Institute, she had a varied set of responsibilities. Perhaps the largest—one that she is still working on—is with the Ramblin’ Rose, the first-ever women’s half marathon in North Carolina. The 13.1-mile race will begin at the Durham Performing Arts Center, go through East Campus and down Campus Drive into the Duke Forest, before turning back to finish where it began. Taking place on Oct. 16, the event is closely coordinated with the Duke Cancer Institute and benefits the Duke Cancer Fund.
David Mainella, her supervisor and Deputy Director of Development for the Duke Cancer Institute, gave her a wide plate of responsibilities in her role as an intern. Although it was her first time holding a full-time job unrelated to basketball, she quickly earned his trust by handling the responsibilities associated with event planning.
“One of the things I was most impressed by was her ability to learn about our cause, raising money for cancer research,” Mainella said. “[She] was able to understand how the different processes she was spearheading fit into the overall plan for fundraising.”
Among the many tasks she was entrusted with was getting volunteers to help out at the Ramblin’ Rose. The event will require significant manpower, with an expected 4,000 runners, and more spectators. She was especially successful in recruiting fellow student-athletes to join the cause.
The entire women’s basketball team is planning to volunteer at the event next month, along with members of the men’s soccer, lacrosse and baseball teams. In particular, Vernerey has worked with sophomore soccer player Will Donovan, and the two hope up to 20 players from that squad will be there on race day.
Beyond recruitment, she also worked closely with the event’s stewardship—communicating and working with big donors to the race. Although Vernerey also had to do some of the tedious intern tasks such as filing papers, she is grateful to Mainella for his confidence in also letting her handle the bigger tasks.
“I was really lucky he gave me responsibilities and trusted me to really be a part of whatever was happening,” she said. “I really learned a lot. It was my first real work opportunity.”
In addition to the Ramblin’ Rose, Vernerey also aided Strike Out Cancer, a program that the Duke Cancer Institute runs in conjunction with the Durham Bulls, which collects and donates money every time one of the Bulls strikes out an opposing hitter.
Women’s basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie, one of the spokespeople for Strike Out Cancer, helped bring Vernerey together with the Cancer Institute this summer.
As part of her work, Vernerey had the opportunity to boss her coach around for once, directing a commercial in which McCallie was featured.
“[She was telling me] do this, walk this way, shorten up this way, just like a regular director would try to put it together,” McCallie said. “I can’t say enough about Allison, her summer, her focus, the Duke Cancer Institute and her role there.”
Most importantly for Vernerey, her involvement does not end at the Ramblin’ Rose’s finish line. Instead, her involvement this summer has become a launch point for her to be active during the school year. Along with others, she helped found the Blue Devils vs. Cancer club on campus this fall.
As president of the club, she will be able to stay involved with fundraising and supporting the cause, even when basketball season begins.
“Who doesn’t know somebody that has been affected [by cancer] in some way?” Vernerey said. “I just realized that there wasn’t much happening on campus in terms of that, which was kind of surprising to me.”
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