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10 Years of ACE

In 2025, the ACE program celebrates its tenth anniversary and its continued mission of providing Duke student-athletes with transformative global engagement opportunities. The impact of ACE extends beyond participants’ summer experience, as alumni have pursued diverse career paths and graduate opportunities that have been impacted by their participation in ACE, including four ACE alumni who have been awarded Fulbright post-graduate fellowships. Two ACE alumni have gone on to compete on the world stage as Olympians, highlighting the unique ability of participants to engage in both an ACE international opportunity and compete at the highest levels.

ACE Programs Over the Decade

Over the last decade, ACE participants have supported projects in community development, youth education, health, conservation, and sustainability in eight different countries. See below to view all of our past ACE programs and locations.

In the inaugural year of the ACE program, the very first ACE programs were launched in South Africa, China, India, and Vietnam. Each program brought together five Duke and five Stanford student-athletes who collaborated to support local community partners and promote youth development and education projects.

 

In 2017, ACE returned to program locations from the previous summer, including China, India, South Africa, and Vietnam. In addition, student-athletes from the ACE 2016 team came back to their campuses at Duke and Stanford to serve as the first ACE Ambassadors, program alumni dedicated to supporting the program and preparing the next group of #ACEathletes. With the help of the ACE Ambassador team, ACE increased the representation of teams in the 2017 accepted student group to 15 at Duke and 20 at Stanford.

In 2018, ACE hit a major milestone with over 100 student-athlete participants! ACE returned to the same program locations in China, India, South Africa, and Vietnam. ACE expanded the program’s reach with 18 Duke and 23 Stanford varsity teams now represented.

In 2019, ACE launched the first-ever program in South America: ACE in Peru! The program focused on environmental conservation and offered a Spanish-speaking option for student-athletes. The 2019 ACE athletes voted on the first summer photo theme connecting all four program locations through #HandsIn, demonstrating how “hands connect us through teamwork and sports.”

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACE adapted and found new ways to continue to support our community partners. Despite the challenges, ACE launched “ACE in Place” – a five-week online engagement experience for the 2020 accepted student-athletes. 34 participants and 11 Peer Ambassador Leaders (PALs) came together with the opportunity to join the ACE community and prepare for future engagement experiences.

In 2021, ACE continued virtually. ACE launched five virtual service programs focused on supporting community-based organizations located in Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam for 30 Duke and Stanford student-athletes representing 18 different sports teams. These virtual experiences allowed ACE to continue fostering meaningful connections and impactful service and created a unique platform for student-athletes to engage with communities worldwide. Over the course of five programs, ACE athletes contributed over 1,440 hours of service!

 

In 2022, ACE returned to in-person programming and launched the program’s first-ever US-based program in Colorado, focusing on conservation and sustainability! The ACE student-athletes in the Colorado program worked with several non-profits in Western Colorado building mountain biking trails, restoring marshland, learning how to weed crops, and regenerating native plants. Four virtual programs continued running, supporting community-based organizations in Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In 2023, ACE returned to fully, in-person international programming! For the first time since 2019,  ACE student-athletes traveled to Vietnam, South Africa, and a new program location in Costa Rica. The ACE in Costa Rica program focused on wildlife and ecosystem conservation. ACE also offered one virtual program, ACE in Place Thailand. The 2023 ACE athletes contributed over 4,260 hours of service!

 

In 2024, ACE ran its first Duke-only programs in Costa Rica, South Africa, and offered a new 1-week long program option in Panama. This year marked a special milestone as ACE offered programs ranging from 1 to 3 weeks, opening the door for even more student-athletes to engage in these impactful service experiences. In 2024, ACE received the highest number of Duke applications in program history across the three programs!

For the program’s tenth year line-up in 2025,  ACE returns to program locations and community partners in Panama, Costa Rica, and South Africa. ACE is excited to offer these programs to Duke student-athletes, continue building on last year’s projects, and utilize the experience of our current ACE ambassadors to prepare the 2025 ACE team Each program varies in length ranging from 1 to 3 weeks.

 

ACE Teams Over the Decade

Since the program’s launch in 2015, ACE has provided over 315 student-athletes the opportunity to contribute over 23,500 service hours worldwide, fostering cross-cultural understanding and supporting international community development efforts. To date, 26 of Duke’s 27 varsity teams have been represented in the program. See below to view all of our past ACE teams. Click here to search our alumni database.

ACE 10-Year Anniversary in the News
Celebrate 10 Years of ACE: Get Involved!

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the ACE program, we invite our alumni to reconnect and contribute to the continued success of our community. Here are some ways you can get involved:

1. Guest Speaking: Offer to speak at ACE events or workshops. Your story can motivate and inspire current students, showing them the diverse paths they can take after their time with ACE.

2. Donations: Support ACE financially to help us continue providing valuable experiences to future generations of student-athletes. Your contributions can fund program participation costs for student-athletes, and more.

3. Stay Connected: Keep in touch with us through our newsletters and social media channels and stay updated on the latest ACE news, events, and opportunities to get involved. Learn more here.

4. Connect with us on LinkedIn: Follow our page, add your ACE experience to your LinkedIn profile, and join our alumni group.

While we don’t have any alumni events planned yet, we hope to organize some soon. Your involvement and support are crucial as we look forward to the next decade of ACE.

Thank you for being a part of our journey. Together, we can ensure that ACE remains a transformative experience for all future Duke student-athletes.