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“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
There’s so much MORE to talk about. That’s how I’ve felt recently when I’ve seen a Duke-related article or heard about a new major campus conversation. It seems we’re at a point at which the most shared stories and the most talked about campus discussions are either a) critical or negative about someone or some group or b) focused on the same few topics or people as always. Of course, this is certainly not a challenge unique to Duke. But that doesn’t mean we can’t work together to fix it.
It’s been a whirlwind, huh? The second you arrive on Duke’s campus, your belongings are literally jarred loose from your vehicle by some bewildering students. You immediately attend information sessions, meet with advisers, introduce yourself and your mildly interesting hometown 500 times (for me it went like this: “I’m from Jacksonville, Florida … BUT my parents are from Egypt!” followed by fielding numerous questions about pyramids and hieroglyphics). You make up something that you want to study, but say it in a really confident way, and—in the blink of an eye—your freshman year has begun. That is the nature of Orientation Week, and it is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Now, as the hurricane has passed and you come back down to the reality of a routine and schedule, this is a fantastic time—if you haven’t had the chance yet—to sit down and think critically about what this year will look like.
It was the first day of classes this year, and I had just spoken at an Orientation Week event the day before. As I hurriedly rushed by the West Campus bus stop to get to class, a freshman girl with an oversized backpack had stopped herself before getting on the bus. The few words that came next made my day: “You did a really great job yesterday and I appreciated it a lot.” It wasn’t complex, it didn’t take a long time, and it may seem like nothing to a third party observer, but those words were truly the most encouraging, supportive and impactful words I could have heard in that moment. Looking back, these words were a shining moment in what became my most challenging semester here at Duke. These types of moments, ordinary as they may seem, can make a huge difference in someone’s life.
