Students grow appreciation for Durham
An inaugural internship at Duke Community Affairs (DCA), made possible by The Duke Endowment centennial gift, brought students inside the university’s enduring community engagement efforts while adding capacity for its nonprofit partners. The 22 students—comprising Duke undergraduates, masters, and doctoral students—represented a wide range of disciplines across undergraduate and graduate programs. The interns learned about key issues facing communities, gained new skills, and developed a new appreciation for Durham.
The “beauty and diversity” of our community
The interns interacted with community leaders throughout the summer. Their experiences included attending community meetings, interviewing nonprofit leaders, and collaborating on program tools and trainings.
Dominique Barrett, a junior majoring in public policy, reflected, “One moment [from the summer] that stands out is the Duke Durham Neighborhood Partnership quarterly meeting I attended. I got to meet representatives from different neighborhoods in Durham who volunteer their time to support the community they live in.”
Sharing some perspective, Barrett said, “It allowed me to piece together various aspects of Durham’s identity and history while building relationships with the people who bring such care and unwavering dedication to the well-being of the community.”
While each intern had a defined role, they came together for volunteer opportunities and the Lunch and Learn series. Ashari Cain said the sessions “helped me see the beauty and diversity of the Durham community.” Cain, a Dr. Mac communications intern, came from NCCU to join the group this summer.
Adding capacity to local nonprofits
Together, the interns benefitted more than fifteen nonprofits and partnerships. Their assignments advanced the Strategic Community Impact Plan, including efforts on affordable housing, health, education, economic mobility, and nonprofit capacity.
Bhuvana Hanshika Immandi, a masters of engineering management student, who worked to further Duke’s nutrition and food security efforts shared, “I truly enjoyed working with El Centro Hispano and the impact created through my work.”
The 2024 intern class included two PhD candidate fellows who were embedded full-time with local nonprofits. Longtime Durham resident and doctoral candidate Reverend Angela Taylor worked at DurhamCares, creating a robust resource guide to local mental health, food insecurity and affordable housing services. The assignment came out of requests DurhamCares often receives from the faith-based groups it serves.
“It’s a challenging, ever-evolving project and having extra capacity has been valuable to us,” said Reverend Reynolds Chapman, the executive director of DurhamCares.
Taylor and Chapman were interviewed by Cain as part of an effort by Duke Community Affairs to serve as a platform uplifting. Cain’s upcoming story will join several others impact stories researched written by DCA interns this summer.
Senior Brady Vaughan organized resources for the College Advising Corps, improving support for this team which is deployed in high schools throughout the state. Vaughan said, “At the beginning of the summer, I made a list of goals, and one of my most important ones was to ‘get involved in doing something real.’ I think this internship enabled me do that, both through supporting the College Advising Corps and getting involved in…supporting our Durham community. “
Learning the practice of engagement
Across the board, the students expressed appreciation for how Duke and community leaders build authentic and long-lasting collaborations – and what it takes to maintain them.
Recognizing the complex landscape of community work, Cain said, “Providing solutions to community concerns is challenging due to the numerous systematic and infrastructural factors that have a continuous significant impact.” She observed, “DCA’s work…inspires me to seek the partnership of others when trying to overcome challenges in my career.”
Barrett summarized, “It is clear in every initiative DCA supports, they prioritize the wants and needs of community members. Whether it is a community project through Doing Good [Employee Giving program] or a volunteer event, staff at DCA are constantly working to strengthen the programs they run by allowing space for community members’ voices to be heard and their agency to be respected.”
Alissa Rivero, a senior who worked with the forthcoming Duke Center for Community Engagement,shared a crucial skill she gained this summer. “I think the most valuable thing I learned was the difference between listening to lead and listening to understand. I actually had never heard of this before and have since put a lot more effort into embodying listening to understand in meetings for this program and also across campus.”
Spurring new paths to community engagement
Program participants were clear about how they would carry forward the experience they gained this summer.
Catherine Kiplagat, a senior who grew up in Durham, and plans to pursue public policy research said, “I learned what authentic and genuine community relationships look like and I will be carrying this knowledge into my career.”
“I learned what authentic and genuine community relationships look like and I will be carrying this knowledge into my career.”
Catherine Kiplagat, 2024 Duke Community Affairs Intern
Rivero is energized to combine what she’s learned this summer with other skills to benefit the community, saying, “I had no idea that Duke was doing anything for homebuyers in Durham, and I’m really excited to try to get involved with the efforts since I’m a realtor.”
Another intern with no previous real estate experience is equally energized around this topic. Michael Schwartz, a senior studying public policy, shared, “Through my work, I was exposed to the affordable housing landscape in Durham. I learned about the intricate processes for building more affordable housing and preserving our existing housing supply. I hope to use the information I have learned to further promote housing affordability and community development in my future career.”
2025 Internships
The 2025 DCA Summer Internships will be posted this winter on the Duke Community Affairs website. Subscribe to our newsletter o stay up to date on this and other community engagement opportunities.
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