DukeEngage | Duke Center for Civic Engagement

DukeEngage in Durham

“Think Globally, Act Locally”
Prerequisites/Language: None
Group Size: 30
Dates: May 19 – July 11
Housing: Apartment-style housing provided

Program Description: Immersive summer internship programs to expose students to social, economic, cultural, and environmental issues that shape their work. Upon completion of the internship, DukeEngage students will have a deeper understanding of the community context in which their host organization in Durham operates. Students may choose from over 30 local non-profit agency programs, which have been approved by DukeEngage for student service placements, including organizations in the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership. More than just an internship that can assist you in building a career in the non-profit sector, DukeEngage Durham is also the opportunity to immerse yourself in the history, culture, and social issues of your local community. Orientations, trainings, readings, special presentations, historical and neighborhood tours, weekly reflection sessions, journals and blogs will help you internalize and deepen the value of your chosen service work.
Primary Contact Domonique Redmond

“DukeEngage/Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative (ELI) Internship Program”
Project Leaders: Christopher Gergen, David Gastwirth
Hart Leadership Program, Sanford Institute of Public Policy
Prerequisites/Language: A non-credit ELI intern entrepreneurial leadership workshop series led by Hart Leadership Program’s faculty and staff.
Group Size: 12
Dates: May 13 - July 11
Housing: Duke University Central Campus

Program Description: Become a social entrepreneur! Following a spring ELI intern entrepreneurial leadership workshop series, students will be selected as ELI interns and will work in teams of 3-4, immersing themselves in social issues of common concern, ranging from community health to homelessness. In addition to assisting community organizations as interns, ELI students will develop social ventures with Durham non-profit organizations focused on these respective issues with the goal of helping the service organization develop a new entrepreneurial service or program or launch a partner program to address a specific pressing social need in the community. The experience will provide students with a deep understanding of the root causes of a particular social issue and how those can best be addressed through entrepreneurial action. Upon returning from the immersive summer experience, students will enroll in a PPS capstone seminar designed to help student teams develop professional business plans and an initial launch for their social enterprises based on their summer experience.
Primary Contact David Gastwirth

“Understanding Food Insecurity in the Wealthiest Nation in the World”
Project Leader: Jennifer E. Copeland
Wesley Fellowship, United Methodist Ministry at Duke
Prerequisites/Language: None
Group Size: 4
Dates: May 23 – August 2 (tentative)
Housing: 106 N. Buchanan Blvd.

Program Description: Partnering with four local non-profit agencies representing a crucial step along the “food chain” for those who wrestle with food insecurity in our local community, one student will be assigned to each of these four agencies to gain a deeper understanding of the many issues involved in moving food from the field to the table and why there are so many people in our community whose tables are empty. Students will bring specific knowledge gained through their site location into a broader conversation with each other in an attempt first to understand food insecurity in Durham and how it is already being addressed. Such issues include the web of poverty, food production, food distribution, agribusiness, health care, education, etc.