Fall Reflection Challenge

Calling All 2025 DukeEngage Participants!

DukeEngage has always been about transformational experiences—moments that shift your perspective, deepen your understanding, and open new possibilities. As you wrap up your summer, we challenge you to unearth, reflect on, and articulate those moments, whether through writing, imagery, spoken word, or other creative means.

The Challenge

The theme for the challenge this year is hope. In these uncertain and often overwhelming times, we’re asking: Has something about your DukeEngage experience sparked new hope for the future?  What lit that spark? A person, a place, a conversation, a small act of kindness or courage? And how might that sense of hope shape what comes next for you?

You can enter by yourself, with your DukeEngage group, or both!

Format

It’s up to you!

• Submit a 200-word idea for an oral story (like the ones we heard at Convocation)*
• Polish up a reflective essay
• Put together a photo essay
• Create an Ignite talk
• Or share any other original work (e.g., musical composition, poem)

Categories

What does your reflection touch on? You’ll select one or more when you submit:

• Courage and Adaptability
• Culture and Humility
• Gratitude
• Hope, Vision, Purpose

Prizes

• Best entry in each category — $200
• Best entry overall — $350 for you, and $350 for your partner organization!

Deadline

11:59 p.m. Eastern, September 1st (2025)

 

Submit essays, Photo essays, Ignite talks, or any other original work here.

 

*If you’re submitting a 200-word pitch for an oral story, be sure to sign up for one of the storytelling workshops below if you can! You’ll also receive coaching from Jeff Polish of Durham’s The Monti in September to flesh out your story.

FAQs

• Can you enter even if you’re studying off campus this fall? Yes! If selected, we’ll help you share your work here.
• Can entries be group creations? Yes! (If a prize is awarded to a group, it will be divided evenly between entrants.) 
• Can you (or your group) submit more than one entry? Yes! Just complete the entry form multiple times.
• Can you enter as an individual AND with a group? Yes!
• What makes a good entry? We’re looking for observations and insights about your experience, reflection on prior understandings, and evidence of growth–personal, academic, or civic (as a member of society).

Need a Spark? Find Your Story.

If you’re studying on campus, join one of these storytelling adventures—and earn an extra chance to win the Fall Reflection Challenge.

1. The Workshops

Whether or not you’re entering the contest, you’ll leave with a story you can use anywhere—from conversations with friends to future job interviews.

In these interactive sessions with Leah Torrey of Duke’s Say the Thing project, you’ll:

• Discover what makes a story unforgettable
• Pinpoint the moments from your DukeEngage experience that best show what you learned
• Experiment with ways to tell your story so people lean in to hear more

You’ll walk out with new insights, fresh ideas, and maybe even your winning Reflection Challenge entry.

Choose your adventure:

• Sunday, September 7th, 2:00-3:30pm, Brodhead Center Meeting Room 238 – snacks provided. Register here.
• Monday, September 8th, 6:30-8:00pm, Brodhead Center Meeting Room 241 – dinner provided. Register here.

2. The Booth

“Hear your own wisdom, see your own insight, and uncover exactly that thing you never knew you knew” by participating in a rad experiment called the Booth.

Step inside, pick a timeless question, and record your two-minute answer on a private touchscreen kiosk. Your video goes straight to your inbox—no one else sees it.

It’s a quick, thought-provoking way to capture your own insights, spark ideas for the Reflection Challenge, and score an extra entry in our random prize drawing.

Sample prompts:

• Where are you most at home? → During DukeEngage, where was that?

• Tell a story about courage. → How did you show it this summer?

• Your two-minute life story. → Your two-minute DukeEngage story.

Entering the contest, attending a workshop, trying out the Booth, and attending the Reunion each earn you one entry into a random drawing for cool prizes!

The culmination: DukeEngage Fall Reunion!

 

Friday, Sept. 26 | 5:00–8:00 PM | East Campus
All DukeEngage students studying on campus this fall, program leaders, and stakeholders are invited.

This is the night to:

• Hear powerful, funny, and inspiring stories from your fellow DukeEngagers (maybe even you!)

• See highlights from the Reflection Challenge—and find out who wins the random prize drawing

• Enjoy a picnic feast with friends, mentors, and the people who shared your summer journey

• Rekindle connections, swap stories, and spark new ideas for what’s next

We’re showcasing the incredible work and transformative learning across all DukeEngage programs—and marking the moment when summer experience becomes part of your ongoing experience.

Food, friends, and a sense of purpose—what more could you want on a Friday night?
Watch your email for more details!

Helpful tips:

• On pitching an oral story. Our theme for the challenge is hope: Has something about your DukeEngage experience sparked new hope for the future? (It’s not necessary to have your story fully fleshed out – submit a 200-word idea, sign up for a workshop if you can, and our celeb storytelling coaches will work with you to develop it.)

• On what we mean by critical reflection and what makes a great reflective essay. Past examples here. 

• On how to curate an amazing photo essay (Up to 10 photos, in PowerPoint. Use the Notes field to include 2-3 sentences summarizing your insights and reflections on the photo, and if possible, record a voice-over of you reading these reflections. Also in the Notes field, state the location, what is happening in the photo, and names and roles of identifiable people.) 

• On one way to create a photo essay—possibly as a group, with a great coach and the possibility of getting it published here at Duke 

• On how to create an Ignite talk (See FAQs. Audio and video are allowed, but see cautions.) Use PowerPoint, and use the Notes field for your script. Be sure to follow the Ignite formula of 20 slides, 15 seconds each, and run through your talk once for yourself, to make sure the timing will work if you’re selected! For a bit more guidance, see Create an awesome Ignite in 6 steps.  

Questions? dukeengage@duke.edu