Over 200 members of the Duke community traveled to Washington, D.C. this week as part of the university’s reimagined immersive orientation programs and QuadEx initiative. The Duke in DC office, located in the heart of downtown D.C., served as a home and central convening space for the first-year students, as well as faculty, staff and student orientation leaders.
The two groups – Project Citizen (led by POLIS: Center for Politics) and Project Identity and Culture (led by Duke’s Office of Student Affairs) – spent several days participating in enriching educational activities, including a special showing of the musical “American Prophet,” meetings with Duke alumni, and visits to the U.S. Capitol, embassies and Smithsonian Museums.
“The history of our country impacts how identities are valued and devalued in the present day. Creating an opportunity in Washington, D.C. for students to take in both the strengths of historically marginalized communities and the challenges these communities have navigated with their peers presents so many valuable opportunities,” said Duke’s Associate Vice President of Student Affairs for Student Engagement Shruti Desai.
Desai highlighted the value that the two programs bring to Duke’s undergraduate experience, “It teaches students to reflect, dialogue across differences and question their own assumptions and learnings. This experience is a catalyst to how we want students to take on their time at Duke.”
Henry Stephens IV, a first year from Georgia on the Project Citizen trip, added that the orientation programs’ emphasis on diverse thinking stood out to him. “We have so many different perspectives and I think that’s what makes us – as Blue Devils – so great,” he said.
The week was highlighted by several marquee programs including:
A Night at Arena Stage – Students, faculty and staff from both programs gathered with over sixty alumni to attend “American Prophet,” a musical centered around abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s life and work. The musical, co-written and directed by Duke alumnus Charles Randolph-Wright ’78, is influenced by Douglass’s speeches and writings about escaping slavery and stewarding a national movement against racial injustice. Charles Randolph-Wright and members of the cast treated the Duke community to a post-performance discussion of key themes of the musical and took questions from the students.
Alumni Networking – Recent alumni Elise Bousquette ’22, Kamran Kara-Pabani ’22, Amy Kramer ’18, Bryant Lewis ’21, Christina Oliver ’17, Ivan Robles ’20 and Janelle Taylor ’19 attended a dinner with the Project Identity and Culture students at the Duke in DC office. During a panel discussion with a lengthy Q&A, the alumni shared valuable advice on academics and student life, including how to maintain balance, find meaningful extracurricular activities and build community at Duke.
Tour of Capitol Hill – Project Citizen students toured the U.S. Capitol and then heard from a panel of Duke alumni congressional staffers: Leah Hill ’09, Madeline Perrino ’16, Sandeep Prasanna ’11 and Nathaniel Sizemore ’17 who shared their experiences living and working in the nation’s capital, how Duke helped shape their careers and advice for succeeding at Duke.
“Our Project-Citizen first-year orientation experience was an extraordinary opportunity for students to think seriously about how they want to engage as members of the Duke and Durham communities, of the states and nations that they call home, and as world citizens,” said Deondra Rose, the director of Polis: Center for Politics and an associate professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy. “It was an honor for Polis to be included and to have the chance to help inspire students as they embark on their journey at Duke.”
Tyné Kidd, a first year from Maryland on the Project Citizen trip said, “Visiting the Capitol building – even though I’m from the area – was a better experience with my peers because it has built my confidence and pushed me to do things I never would have considered, like reaching out to public officials in my home state.” Project Citizen also engaged their students with tours of several embassies and civic training with Braver Angels and the Close Up Foundation.
Project Identity and Culture’s Smithsonian tour – Project Identity and Culture students toured several museums including the National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of American History: Molina Family Latino Gallery, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Joseph Asamoah-Boadu, a first year from North Carolina, reflected on his experiences with Project Identity and Culture saying, “There is so much history that gets left behind, so much history that people don’t talk about. It will be a priority of mine to tell people’s stories. It’s so important for us to know our history because if we don’t, history will repeat itself.”
Joyce Gordon, the director of Jewish Life at Duke who led Project Identity and Culture, highlighted the program’s overall value. “The trip to DC afforded students the opportunity to think deeply about and experience various aspects of identity before they embark on their Duke career,” said Gordon, “Through the lenses of history, arts, and the learned wisdom of young alumni, these students spent two days asking thoughtful questions and developing friendships to help guide them through their first weeks at Duke.”
Posted 8/25/22 by Lizzie Devitt