Media Category: Headshots

Duke Softball Studio at the Blue Devil Tower on January 19, 2020 at Durham, North Carolina.

Sydney is a Senior on the Stanford Softball Team and is from Poway, California. Because of COVID Sydney was not able to make the trip to Vietnam, but thanks to ACE she was still able to have an amazing experience via zoom. Sydney spent her time in ACE working with fellow Stanford and Duke student athletes alongside university students from Vietnam where they all worked together to prepare and teach young Vietnamese students basic subjects while immersing herself in the Vietnamese culture. As a Bioengineering major and aspiring Surgeon, her compassion to help out her local communities and return the amazing opportunity ACE gave to her is the reason she became an ACE ambassador. View Sydney's profile.

Alana’s past experiences with community engagement include her positions in leadership throughout high school and participation in the Camp WIN Youth Advisory Board while home in Kansas City. At Stanford, Alana has had the opportunity to be apart of SAAC, co-found and become President of Social Events for Athletes, as well as be a mentor through PAE and a volunteer through the Female Athlete Mentorship program. Through her ACE in Place Thailand program in 2021, Alana has found a great passion in coaching and teaching young girls through sport, and further inspiring them to follow their dreams, wherever it may take them. View Alana's profile.

Keeley Akagi is a senior at Stanford University completing a B.S. in Science, Technology, and Society with a concentration in Health and Life Sciences and a minor in Human Biology. Keeley completed the ACE in Place Vietnam in the summer of 2021. Throughout her virtual experience Keeley had the opportunity to create lifelong friendships with other student athletes and Vietnamese college students. She learned many key life lessons during her time with ACE and continually tries to implement them in her everyday life. Keeley's passion for civic engagement has grown tremendously from the ACE program and tries to continuously find different avenues for community service. Keeley is committed to help student athletes prepare for this life changing summer and help guide them along the way. View Keeley's profile.

Laurel Foster is currently a junior on the Stanford Sailing Team studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in heat transfer, fluids, and thermodynamics. The ACE experience made sense for her because after 10 years as a Girl Scout, she felt the service aspect was missing from her college life. ACE provided a meaningful community and means of contribution over the course of the pandemic. On campus, she is a docent at the museums and president of her sorority. View Laurel's profile.

Faith Zehfuss is a sophomore on the Stanford lightweight rowing team. She participated in the 2021 ACE in Place program, where she worked with a team to propose a potential app platform and in-person workshop ideas to combat food instability and miseducation in South Africa. She is looking forward to learning more about global citizenship and service! View Faith's profile.

Sydney Simmons is a senior on the Women's Soccer Team from Van Alstyne, TX majoring in neuroscience and psychology and minoring in chemistry. Sydney participated in ACE in Place for the 2021 virtual ACE program. Throughout her experience, Sydney had the opportunity to work with student-athletes from across the world, building relationships with college students from Stanford and Vietnam. She is so grateful for the program’s virtual component that adapted to the unusual times and was still able to create a successful camp for the Vietnamese middle school students. She learned a lot about service and the impact that individuals can have, even from a distance. Sydney looks forward to her further engagement with ACE alums and hopes that she can share her story to encourage others to participate in ACE. View Sydney's profile.

Duke Women's Soccer in studio. Durham, NC.- August 23, 2020