Post-Graduation Planning: Alumni Engagement

Hi, my name is Gerald Harris. I’m the Sr. Director of Campus and Student Engagement for Duke Alumni Engagement and Development. I have one word to describe what my extremely long title means, and that is SERVE.

Serve for me is short for Support, Educate, Relationships, Vision, and Expand. And that is what I do for our student population, as it relates to alumni engagement. I develop initiatives to support the transition of students throughout their entire cycle on campus to young alumni status with in-person and virtual engagement opportunities.

Here are some ways for your student to find the support and community they need as they navigate their years on campus and beyond. I call these the basic onramps to jump-start your “Forever Duke” experience.

Read more from Gerald Harris about the Duke Alumni Network, Ask a Blue Devil, Karsh Conversations, and the Duke Student Alumni Board.

Important Dates

Last Day of Classes (LDOC): April 20
Reading Period: April 21-24
Final Examinations: April 25-30
Commencement 2022: May 6-8

Check out Duke's Academic Calendar for more information.

Student Spotlight

Lucy Ren, a junior from San Diego, California, is studying Economics with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Computer Science. She is the incoming Co-President of Business Oriented Women (BOW) and currently serves as BOW's Vice President of Professional Development. Lucy has provided New Student and Family Programs with information about BOW and some insight on how her experiences in this organization have impacted her time at Duke.

Listen to the full podcast here.

The Duke Summer Experiences website is a one-stop-shop for students to explore a variety of summer opportunities! Whether your student is looking for a summer internship, research experience, or international travel, it can be found here. Students can search by area of interest, type of program, cost, year in school, and other filters.

Upcoming Events

March Family Webinar Series - Career Everywhere

Join New Student and Family Programs on Thursday, March 31, at 6:00pm EDT for our next family webinar. This month, the webinar will be titled "Career Everywhere (for Everyone): Integrating Career Readiness Through the Entire Duke Experience."

This session will connect families with some of the staff at the Duke Career Center who will share about their career everywhere philosophy, Duke's career development process; the competencies that students will build during their time at Duke; resources and tools that your Blue Devil can access; and how you can partner with the Career Center to help develop your student's career readiness.

This webinar will be recorded for those who are unable to participate live. The video will be posted to the Family webpage approximately 48 hours after airing. This webpage also lists our past webinars in case you missed them!

Fireside Chat with Lisa Borders

On Tuesday, March 29 from 5:00pm-6:00pm EDT, Duke Student Government is hosting a fireside, off-the-record chat with Duke Alumna and Trustee Lisa Borders T’79, former Vice Mayor of Atlanta, Chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation, and President of the Women's National Basketball Association. This event will be open exclusively for the Duke Community: faculty, students, staff, alumni, and families. Register for the Zoom webinar ASAP to secure your spot: https://bit.ly/LBCommonHour.

Women's History Month

Women's History Month takes place throughout the month of March. This serves as a time to highlight the contributions of women to events in our history and society. Duke celebrates this month by honoring the stories of some of Duke's leading women! Additionally, for International Women's Day on March 8th, Duke spotlighted some of the Innovative Duke Scholars.

Duke Commencement 2022

Congratulations to the class of 2022! Commencement weekend will be held May 6-8. Find everything you need to get started planning for your graduate's big day at commencement.duke.edu.

Career Everywhere

Career Readiness Resources for Students Around Identities

In an effort to build Career Everywhere (for Everyone) and assist students in their career development journey, resources are curated specifically for students to explore their interests, find opportunities that best suit their needs and desires, and attain the goals they set for themselves from the perspective of their identity(s). Resources can be found In the Who We Serve tab of Career Hub. As a member of Career Everywhere, these resources are for you to support your students.

You will find resources, opportunities, and professional organizations for:

Of course, we value and acknowledge the importance of recognizing intersectionality and diversity and encourage students to explore all of the resources with which they identify.

It is our hope that as resources are developed and discovered, you will contribute to this collection––so we have a quick and easy guest submission option for you. If you find something valuable, please share it with us by using the Guest login (top right of Duke Hub).

In recognition of Coach K's final game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, students from K-Ville gathered to paint a mural to honor his legacy.

In Case You Missed It

Family Weekend 2022

We are thrilled to announce that Family Weekend 2022 will be held Friday, October 14 - Sunday, October 16. An annual tradition unlike any other, Duke's Family Weekend provides the opportunity for undergraduate parents and families to engage in the life of the University and cultivates a deeper understanding of the Duke student experience. This weekend will also coincide with a home football game against UNC! Find more information here.

Duke Masking Policy Updates

The City and County of Durham ended the indoor masking mandate on Monday, March 7. As a result, and after reviewing CDC guidance and consulting with our infectious disease experts, Duke University has also revised indoor masking requirements.

Fully vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to wear masks inside most campus and leased facilities. However, masks will continue to be required for all individuals in the following locations on the Duke University campus unless otherwise indicated:

In-person classes
Duke buses and vans
Clinical and patient care areas

Individuals who are unvaccinated are still required to wear a mask in all indoor settings. Anyone who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should wear a mask, not report to work or attend classes, and get tested as soon as possible. Find more information and details here.

COVID-19 Testing After Spring Break

We are excited to welcome our students back from spring break! This week, Duke will resume a normal surveillance testing schedule for all eligible students, as well as faculty and staff.

As of next week, required surveillance testing for asymptomatic vaccinated students will end. Surveillance testing will continue at a limited number of sites across campus for unvaccinated students, staff, and faculty who are required to test each week, as well as those who wish to do so voluntarily.

More details can be found here.

Krzyzewski Family Scholarship to Honor Coach K

By way of honoring Mike Krzyzewski's 42-year career as head men's basketball coach, Duke has created the Krzyzewski Family Scholarship. The scholarship is for student-athletes who demonstrate exceptional leadership and commitment to the university's values of respect, trust, inclusion, discovery, and excellence. Read more.