Media Category: Student-Athlete Ambassadors

Kelsey McKinley is now a sophomore on the Open-Weight Women's Rowing Team. She is from Connecticut, and had no extended experiences in other countries before her ACE experience. As a product design major, preserving the artisan weaving and cultural art in Peru drew her interest. She had previously participated in shorter international service experiences, drawing her to the extended service opportunity and cultural immersion that ACE offers. Kelsey’s goals for the program included having a positive impact on the community, learning from community members, and creating lasting relationships with the other student athletes on the trip. She is looking forward to working with other ACE alumni to help the Stanford community stay impactful. View Kelsey's ambassador profile.

Madison Dunk is currently a junior on the Duke Women’s Lacrosse Team. She is originally from Durham, NC and participated in the ACE in China program in the summer of 2019. This was her first time traveling abroad, and she had an incredible experience developing relationships with both the children in China and her fellow student athletes with whom she had the opportunity to work. As a psychology major with hopes of ultimately attending medical school, Madison was thrilled to work on a research project that investigated the differences between traditional Tibetan and western medical practices. View Madison's ambassador profile.

Carolina Sculti is now a sophomore on the Women’s Diving team, and she participated in the ACE in China Program in the summer of 2019. Carolina is from Rye, New York, and has always enjoyed traveling internationally. As an International Relations major and a Chinese minor, the idea of working with children and being able to use Chinese in a global context excited her. Additionally, the chance to participate in a fully immersive community service experience over the summer seemed like a once in a lifetime chance- especially because of the limiting schedule of being a student-athlete. Carolina made incredible friends with shared interests from both Duke and Stanford on her ACE trip, and she is eager to continue service with the swim and dive team once she returns to campus. View Carolina's ambassador profile.

Ema Kuczura is a junior on the Duke Women's Rowing Team from Chicago, IL majoring in Public Policy and Global Health. Ema participated in ACE in Vietnam the summer before her junior year, right in the middle of her time at Duke. While in Vietnam, Ema taught English, volleyball, and life skills to 6th and 7th graders. Having done ACE, she hopes to focus her next two years at Duke bringing the lessons she learned in Vietnam back to Durham. Namely, she hopes to pass on the enthusiasm and gratitude she experienced there so intensely to her fellow athletes and peers. View Ema's ambassador profile.

Isabelle is a senior at Stanford on the field hockey team. She was a member of the 2019 ACE Vietnam trip where she taught English, coached soccer, and helped lead the Blue Team. The experience blew her away, as she loved and learned lots from connecting with the children, spending time with the ACE group and Vietnamese college students, exploring the country, and promoting positive change. In Vietnam, Isabelle realized her passion for working with people. An Environmental Systems Engineering major and Psychology minor, she hopes to initiate and develop sustainable practices around the world through collaboration with local communities and critical stakeholder conversations View Isabelle's profile.

Matthias is a junior playing for the Men’s Soccer team at Duke. He is from Austria and thus had “a little” experience abroad before going to China. However, he has never been in China before and was very curious about the culture and people and thus decided to take on the challenge. In addition to that, he was really excited to work with local kids as engaging with kids is one of his passions. He believes that ACE provides the optimal opportunity to engage in community service, broaden the horizon and get to know other bright students from Stanford and Duke. He is looking forward to actively spreading the word and making sure that each and every student on campus knows about this opportunity. View Matthias's ambassador profile.

Emily is a junior on the Stanford Softball Team and from Aurora, Illinois. Emily had never traveled outside of the country before joining ACE. With her experience volunteering in her hometown, both in medicine and in athletics, she wanted to find a service opportunity that would take her somewhere new. Emily spent the summer of 2019 in Cusco, Peru, working on environmental sustainability projects and engaging with the local community. As a Human Biology major and aspiring physician, her drive to support local communities and give back to the ACE program is the reason she became an ACE Ambassador. View Emily's ambassador profile.