Inaugural ACE Program Class Announced

Rubenstein-Bing ACE Program Enters Fourth Year

Inaugural ACE Program Class Announced

6/7/2016 12:00:00 PM | Athletics

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- Beginning this summer, 21 student-athletes from Duke and 19 from Stanford are set to represent the inaugural class of the Rubenstein-Bing Student-Athlete Civic Engagement (ACE) Program. The program provides one-time funding for student-athletes to engage in a three-week international service project. The first of the four overseas initiatives will begin June 19.

“We could not be more excited to partner with Stanford University on this highly unique endeavor that will allow student-athletes from both institutions to gain invaluable civic engagement experience across the globe,” said Duke University Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White. “To be sure, we deeply appreciate David Rubenstein and Peter and Helen Bing for their amazing support per creating 'once in a lifetime' service opportunities for student-athletes from both Duke and Stanford.”

“Both [Duke and Stanford] have had a lot of experience in the civic engagement realm, running these types of programs, so bringing that knowledge together has been really important,” said Emily Durham, program director for ACE. “I think it has been a really great learning opportunity for both institutions.”

During the application process, student-athletes from each institution selected one of four international sites - Vietnam, India, China or South Africa. Each location provides a unique service-based focus. Student-athletes traveling to Vietnam are scheduled to teach academics, sports and life skills to middle school children in a summer-camp setting, while those making the trip to India will assist in teaching and coaching youth, with a focus on educational and leadership development through sports, English lessons and computer classes. At the China site, student-athletes will contribute to the sustainable development of underserved communities through sports and environmental science education. The student-athletes participating at the South Africa site will provide support for basic healthcare initiatives, activity-based education and teaching, light construction and sports programs.

“The ACE in India program gives me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone by immersing myself in a completely new culture,” said Meagan Lew, a rising junior on the Duke rowing team.

In February 2014, Duke's Board of Trustee's, chaired by Duke alumnus David Rubenstein, traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., and met with officials from Stanford to determine opportunities for collaboration between the two institutions. The challenging schedules of student-athletes, which make participating in off-campus activities such as study abroad programs difficult, was identified as an issue the two universities could work together on in order to develop a solution, leading to the genesis of ACE. The ACE program was officially announced in Spring 2015.

For additional information on each of the 40 student-athletes participating in the ACE Program, visit www.ace.duke.edu.

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Duke Student-Athletes Participating in 2016 ACE Program
Vietnam – June 30-July 24
Bronson Bruneau (Lakeville, Minn.) - Football
Tara Christensen (Nanaimo, British Columbia) - Rowing
Rebecca Smaller (London, United Kingdom) - Tennis
Alyse Whitaker (Murrieta, Calif.) - Volleyball
Grace Williams (Vienna, Va.) - Rowing

China – July 17-August 7
Tanner Johnson (Boise, Idaho) - Track & Field
Domonique Panton (Freehold, N.J.) - Track & Field
Anna Quinn (Santa Rosa Valley, Calif.) - Swimming & Diving
Isabel Ruby-Hill (Toronto, Ontario) - Rowing
Colt Sessions (Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Track & Field
Zeke Young (Fallbrook, Calif.) - Baseball

India – July 31-August 21
Jake Faust (Bellville, Ohio) - Wrestling
Meagan Lew (Boston, Mass.) - Rowing
Michael Miller (Houston, Texas) - Swimming & Diving
Maria Sheridan (Charlotte, N.C.) - Swimming & Diving
Michelle Staggers (Stafford, Va.) - Lacrosse

South Africa – June 19-July 10
Lizzie Devitt (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) - Swimming & Diving
Elizabeth Horne (London, United Kingdom) - Rowing
Alexander Merriman (Buffalo, N.Y.) - Fencing
Gurbani Singh (New Delhi, India) - Golf
Oliver Spring (Toronto, Ontario) - Soccer