Featured Reflections

Signatures of Hope from la Sierra
PublishedDecember 16, 2025 by Sophia Fratta

For her submission to the 2025 DukeEngage Reflection Challenge, Sophia Fratta T’28 wrote a reflective essay about her experience learning …
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We Do Have Enough: A Reflection on Grassroots Organizations
PublishedDecember 16, 2025 by Linda Garziera

For her entry to the DukeEngage Reflection Challenge, Linda Garziera T’28 submitted an essay on working with the organization Asociación …
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Hope, Vision, and Purpose in Eswatini
PublishedDecember 16, 2025 by Sienna Giuseppi

For an Ignite talk about her experience building a foot bridge in rural Eswatini with Duke Engineers for International Development, …
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Thirty More Years
PublishedDecember 16, 2025 by Tashiel Reid

For her spoken word piece after participating in DukeEngage Chicago, Tashiel Reid T’27 won the Culture and Humility category in …
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Patriotic Protesting: A Foundation of Democracy
PublishedDecember 16, 2025 by Leo Goldberg

For his reflective essay after participating in DukeEngage DC – Democracy at Risk, Leo Goldberg T’28 won the Courage and …
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“Care and commitment still matter”
PublishedDecember 16, 2025 by Deborah Lendore

For her series of reflections in poems and prose after participating in DukeEngage South Africa, Deborah Lendore T’26 won the …
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“Community engagement saved my father’s life”
PublishedDecember 16, 2025 by Maddie Morrison

For her reflective essay after participating in DukeEngage DC – Science and Tech Policy, Maddie Morrison T’26 won the Gratitude …
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An “Outsider” Feels Invited Into an Unexpected Community
PublishedOctober 25, 2024 by Angela Chen

For her oral story on contemplating her identity at the Anacostia Community Museum during her experience in DukeEngage Washington, DC …
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A Firefly in a Sea of Fireworks
PublishedOctober 25, 2024 by Isha Omer

For her submission to the 2024 DukeEngage Reflection Challenge, Isha Omer T’27 created a concrete poem about her experience in …
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What Do We Know? Reflections from Bengaluru
PublishedOctober 25, 2024 by Diya Patel

For her reflective essay on her experience teaching in an ashram with DukeEngage India in Bengaluru, Diya Patel T’26 …
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No Such Thing as Too Many Sunsets
PublishedOctober 25, 2024 by Sierra Putney

For her reflective essay on her experience working at the Bantu Cultural Institute in DukeEngage Brazil – Bahia, Sierra Putney …
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Finding the Path with Tariqa
PublishedOctober 25, 2024 by Lucas Lin

For his photoessay on the religious life of a mosque in Senegal, Lucas Lin T’27 won the Cultural Context category …
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DukeEngage Kaihura Knows Change
PublishedOctober 25, 2024 by Zofia Chmiel

For her Ignite talk about her experience building a secondary school in Kaihura, Uganda with Duke Engineers for International …
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“I’m Sorry,” and All That Paperwork Can’t Say
PublishedOctober 25, 2024 by Sarah Konrad

For her oral story about her experience working with the Refugee Rights Unit at the University of Cape Town …
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Finding Community, During and After DukeEngage
PublishedFebruary 16, 2024 by Jason Kreinberg, Dhruv Rungta

In the following profiles, two students share how DukeEngage programs helped them to connect to communities on the ground — …
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“An Unlikely Ally”: Reflections on Democracy at Risk
PublishedJanuary 25, 2024 by Gabrielle Mollin

In this column, originally published in the Duke Chronicle, Gabrielle Mollin T’26 reflects on how working on common goals can …
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From Classroom to Cow Farm: What I Learned in DukeEngage Costa Rica
PublishedDecember 01, 2023 by Dhruv Rungta

I bike through the verdant jungle, my tires humming as they brush against moist soil. Howler monkeys call in the …
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“Increasingly Aware of Life”: Ceremonies, Markets, and “Adventure” in Togo
PublishedAugust 25, 2023 by Sasha Faison

DukeEngage Togo collaborates on several projects with two Togolese villages, Kuwde (in the mountains) and Farendé (on the plains). Most …
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Programming that Matters: Creating a Digital Platform to Streamline NGO Reporting in Jordan
PublishedAugust 25, 2023 by Leah Nickelsburg

In this first year of the DukeEngage Jordan program, students worked with partnering organization ILearn on a variety of projects …
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“The Transformative Power of Collective Action”: Reflections from DukeEngage Marine Lab Students
PublishedAugust 25, 2023 by Jack Balint-Kurti, Ian Connolly, Nikki Jakkinpali, Jake Marrs, Gabe Mendoza, and Jack Sanitate

As partners at the Duke Marine Lab, we have spent the last six weeks collaborating with a variety of education …
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“Making Thirteen-Year-Old Me Proud”: Teaching Girls STEM in Orange County
PublishedAugust 24, 2023 by Emma Huang

Working with Girls Incorporated (Girls, Inc.) of Orange County, Calif., DukeEngage Orange County students teach at a four-week, STEM-focused summer …
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