After graduating from Duke, Sarah Nelson pursued a Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California. During this time, she also competed for the USC volleyball team, using her final year of eligibility. Sarah’s ACE experience played a significant role in shaping her studies in social entrepreneurship, allowing her to incorporate ideas and insights inspired by her time in South Africa into her academic pursuits. Presently, Sarah is working as an analyst in business valuation advisory services in Los Angeles, with aspirations of founding her own sports and education non-profit in the future.
What are you doing now? How has ACE influenced your career pathway?
ACE was an incredible part of my time at Duke and a memory that I continue to reflect on regularly. My time there definitely impacted my life journey. After Duke, I still had a fifth year of eligibility and decided to transfer to the University of Southern California for grad school. USC’s Marshall School of Business offered a Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship which I couldn’t be more excited about after my time in South Africa. I also got an MS in Finance at USC as I finished my COVID year of indoor volleyball eligibility. Now I am working in Los Angeles for Kroll (previously Duff & Phelps) as a Business Valuation Advisory Service analyst in their sports, media, and entertainment sector. I enjoy bringing together both my financial and sports background through this job. With that being said, my dream is to one day start a non-profit that ties those two elements together. Being part of the ACE program, just one year before getting a master’s in social entrepreneurship, was an incredible and influential experience that I carried into graduate school. Through grad school, I was able to both brainstorm business ideas inspired by ACE and meet incredible leaders who have started their own “business for good.” As I have always had a desire to help people, I hope to one day bring a combination of sports and education to kids in under-resourced communities with the goal of breaking the poverty cycle from within.
Share one lesson from ACE that still holds today.
ACE was the most incredible experience. While the program was organized to make an impact and improve the lives of those in the community, I believe I left way better off than when I arrived and maybe got more out of this experience than the kids and adults in the township. I believe life is all about community and this experience really opened my eyes to that at a deeper level. Three experiences among many stuck out to me regarding this idea. First, I remember going to the community park where there was one bucket of water and one mug for all the kids to share, and they were so generous in their sharing. Second, we provided free lunch to the kids at camp and the first thing they did was offer their food to us. These kids did not have abundant resources, yet they had the most giving and joyful hearts. Lastly, the kids inside the camp would fill cups with water and bring them to their friends outside the camp, along with part of their lunch, to share with their friends who didn’t have as much accessible food or water. They were all so full of love and were so happy because they had a strong sense of community in their township. The kids were purposeful in looking after one another in the township. It made me really understand the important things in life. To be grateful for what you have (especially the little things), to appreciate and love those around you (loving and giving to others makes you happier internally), and at the base of everything humans need community and thrive in loving one another. I appreciated the first-hand experience of seeing this type of joy in the kids as they were so gracious and caring to one another, and so joyful because they had life’s necessities.
Describe your ACE experience in as few words as possible:
Inspiring and fulfilling.
Have kept in contact with anyone from your program site or other members of your Duke-Stanford ACE team?
As mentioned above, I grew so much as a person through my ACE experience. Today I continue to stay in contact with my ACE team members as we still interact on our group message and a few have visited each other from coast to coast. We have visited each other’s homes for dinners. Additionally, one of the Stanford beach volleyball girls who was in South Africa with me ended up also transferring to USC for her fifth year and we happened to be neighbors in Los Angeles. It was amazing to go from meeting in South Africa to being neighbors and playing for the same school on the other side of the world.