Current Ambassadors
The ACE Ambassador program serves as an opportunity for ACE participants to continue developing the skills and knowledge from their ACE programs and to truly make ACE more than just a summer experience. Through the program, Ambassadors bring their ACE experiences back to their teams, campus, and communities and help prepare the next team of ACE participants.
This year, the 2024-2025 Ambassador Team comprises 26 Duke student-athletes who have participated in ACE programs as far back as summer 2022. Our Ambassadors come from a wide range of teams: 13 Duke Athletics teams are represented this year.
In addition to assisting with pre-program preparation and marketing and outreach efforts, Ambassadors engage with staff from Duke in discussions on the current state of civic engagement and how to navigate the field in an ever-changing world, how to become an effective service leader, and ways to market their skills and share their experiences in post-graduate opportunities.
Want to contact or learn more about a specific ambassador from your university or team? Find their ACE profile.
Meet the Ambassadors
Meet the Duke ACE Ambassadors from each of our programs. Learn more about their tips for applying to ACE and making the most of the experience.
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View Image 1:Madeline Meredith is a junior on the Women's Duke Swim and Dive team from Louisville, KY. Along with 11 other Duke student-athletes, she participated in the summer 2024 ACE program in Cape Town, South Africa. Together, they teamed up with teachers at Early Childhood Development Centers to intro...Read More
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View Image 2:Paige Bitting is a junior on the Field Hockey team and is studying psychology. She participated in ACE in Panama 2024, where she had the opportunity to engage in the community and share her passion for sports by teaching volleyball to elementary-aged kids. Paige is excited to share the impact of her...Read More
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View Image 3:Sean Morello is a sophomore on the Men's Track and Field & Cross Country Teams from Berkeley, California. He participated in the South Africa 2024 project. Sean wants to bring what he learned abroad about global cooperation and education to his studies in Public Policy and Political Economy...Read More
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View Image 4:Sydney Tomlak is a Junior on the Women's Volleyball Team from Rochester, Michigan, and participated in ACE in Costa Rica 2024. Sydney loves animals and the natural environment and values her experience in Gandoca for being able to work with both. Sydney hopes to bring back what she learned abou...Read More
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View Image 5:Sydney Smith is a junior on the Duke women's lacrosse team and a native of Mt. Airy, MD. She is majoring in psychology and double minoring in environmental science and policy and African and African-American studies with the hope of earning her PhD in clinical psychology. She participated in th...Read More
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View Image 6:Andrew Li is a sophomore on the Swim and Dive team. He participated in ACE in Panama in 2024, which taught him the value of personal connections and gratitude. Andrew is excited about ACE and wants others to be excited too, which is why he became an Ambassador. Read More
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View Image 7:Francesca Morland is currently a junior on the Duke Women’s Rowing Team and is majoring in Economics with a minor in Environmental Science and Policy. She is from Guildford, United Kingdom and participated in the ACE program in Costa Rica 2024. Throughout the program, Francesca spent time immersin...Read More
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View Image 8:KyAnh Truong is a member of the Duke Women’s Swimming and Diving team and participated in the ACE in Place Vietnam 2022 program. Her past experiences with community engagement include volunteering at a Vietnamese temple to help teach kids how to read, write, and speak Vietnamese, teaching little k...Read More
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View Image 9:Ethan Grimminger is a junior from Orange County, CA on the Duke Men's Wrestling Team. He participated in the 2024 ACE in Panama program. After his experience in Panama, Ethan is passionate about bringing sports to kids and providing opportunities for college exposure for student-athletes.Read More
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View Image 10:Zizi Newhard is a Sophomore on the Women's Fencing team and a participant in the 2024 ACE in Panama program. She is majoring in Environmental Science and has a strong passion for sustainability and the outdoors. During her time in Panama, she helped to facilitate a volleyball camp and tournamen...Read More
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View Image 11:Austin is a junior on the Men's Swimming and Diving team. He is studying biology with a concentration in marine sciences and evolutionary anthropology with a concentration in anatomy and paleontology on the pre-med track. While in Costa Rica, he was able to explore his interests in Marine Biolo...Read More
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View Image 12:Kavya Menke is a Duke Fencing team senior from Athens, GA who participated in the 2024 ACE in Costa Rica program. An evolutionary anthropology and classical languages major, she is interested in learning from communities about their relationship to the natural environment and local wildlife. Through...Read More
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View Image 13:Vaya Chhabra is a Junior on the Duke Rowing Team and is from Charlottesville, Virginia. She is majoring in economics and global health and plans to pursue a career in medicine. She participated in the 2024 ACE in South Africa program, teaching English to children in Langa, a local township, through ...Read More
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View Image 14:Alden is a sophomore on Duke Men's Cross Country and Track & Field teams and participated in the ACE in Costa Rica program in the summer of 2024. Alden's experience in his program introduced him to amazing people and once in a lifetime opportunities and as an ambassador he hopes he can...Read More
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View Image 15:Jeremy Kain is a junior on the cross-country and track teams. He is studying Economics with a concentration in Finance. He participated in the ACE in South Africa program in 2024. As an ambassador, he is excited to educate others about the opportunities that ACE has to offer and how it impacted his ...Read More
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View Image 16:Yannis is a junior diver on the Duke Swim and Dive team, from Westchester, New York. His undergraduate focus is in medicine, and ACE has been a huge factor in playing into this balance between both directly and indirectly having an impact on people. He finds that it is crucial to approach this from ...Read More
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View Image 17:Nora Conaty is a member of the Duke women's rowing team and participated on the Costa Rica Summer 2024 trip. She is studying political science and is hoping to continue her schooling at law school after Duke. She is from Seattle and loves camping with her friends and family and her favorite ani...Read More
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View Image 18:Delaney Thomas is a sophomore on the women's basketball team and participated in the ACE in Panama program in 2024. Delaney greatly enjoyed participating in the ACE program and being a part of a community so much bigger than herself, seeing the experience as humbling, gratifying, and incredible...Read More
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View Image 19:Josie is currently a junior at Duke and a member of the Diving Team. She is studying Economics along with a Markets and Management Studies certificate. Josie took part in the 2024 ACE trip to Cape Town with 11 other student athletes. She enhanced her knowledge about the rich culture of Cape Town as ...Read More
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View Image 20:Monica Balakrishnan is a junior on the Women's Fencing team at Duke from Houston, Texas. She is majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Political Science and Chemistry and loves meeting new people and hearing their stories. This past summer in 2024 she participated in the ACE in South Africa p...Read More
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View Image 21:Connor Barket is a current Junior on the Men's Wrestling team. He is studying Computer Science and Mathematics. As a part of the ACE in Panama team he found a community of fellow student athletes who developed a passion for community service. Together they founded the Rising Athletes Foundation...Read More
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View Image 22:Tatum Wall is a junior on the Women's Swimming & Diving team and participated in the ACE in South Africa program in 2024. Tatum greatly enjoyed supporting the tudents and teachers on her program, especially the young girls in Langa, as she and the team demonstrated that women can be smart,...Read More
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View Image 23:Thaïs Rolly is a sophomore on the women's cross country and track teams at Duke University. In the summer of 2024, she participated in the South Africa ACE program, where she worked with various youth programs in the township of Langa. She helped teach English in Early Childhood Development Ce...Read More
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View Image 24:Mikaela is a Duke sophomore on the women's rowing team and participated in the ACE in Costa Rica 2024 program. She is majoring in biology with minors in statistics and neuroscience. She loved getting to experience the natural beauty as well as the culture of Costa Rica. As a member of the ACE i...Read More
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View Image 25:Brynn Crouse is a junior on the Field Hockey who participated in the ACE 2024 South Africa program. While in South Africa, she enjoyed helping teach English to young children in Early Childhood development Centers. Currently, she is pursuing a degree in Political Science and certificate in Markets a...Read More