Media Category: Student-Athlete Ambassadors

Paige Knudsen participated in ACE in Place Peru in 2021 and is a member of the Duke Rowing team. Though their experience was virtual, the work of Mujer Peruana inspired them to work in the Duke Athletics community on projects such as the 5-year DEIB strategic plan.

KyAnh Truong is a member of the Duke Women's Swimming and Diving team and participant in the ACE in Place Vietnam 2022 program. Her past experiences with community engagement includes volunteering at a Vietnamese temple to help teach kids how to read, write and speak Vietnamese as well as volunteering to teach little kids how to swim. She is committed to providing service in my community as well as promoting the importance of learning about diverse cultures.

Mary Claire Morrison is currently a sophomore on the Duke Women's Rowing Team. She is from Atlanta, Georgia and participated in the 2023 Cape Town, South Africa program. Throughout the three week period, Mary Claire spent time teaching English to young school children, painting and refurbishing schools, explore and developing skills in various sports with teenage rugby athletes, and learning about the culture, history, and economic struggles and successes of the South African people. Not only was she and her fellow ACE participants doing various forms of community outreach, but they were also able to explore and appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of Cape Town, South Africa. Mary Claire was able to enhance her skills in leadership and teamwork, which she has brought back to her team at Duke. Through the ACE program, she was also able to become a more informed global citizen, which has given her a new found passion for many domestic and global issues. While Mary Claire was able to leave an impact through the work she did throughout her program, she strongly believes that the program left a much stronger impact on her. The lessons and skills that were learned through the ACE program have been cared with Mary Claire through her time at Duke whether that is in the classroom or on the water.

Rory Cavan is a graduate student on the cross country and track teams and participated in the ACE in South Africa program in 2023. As an Ambassador, Rory is excited about the opportunity to educate others about collaboration with community members and other student athletes in a foreign country.

Catherine Purnell is a senior on the Duke Women's Swimming and Diving team. She is studying International Comparative Studies and Global Health with a minor in Spanish. In the summer of 2021, she participated in the ACE in Place Program in Peru virtually. While she was unable to be in Peru physically, she got to connect with other student-athletes from Duke as well as mentors and other leaders from Peru. During her time, she got to learn how to work and communicate with others across a screen and across a language barrier. She continues to use these skills as she worked in Bolivia and in Honduras doing Global Health research, and continues to volunteer in Durham using her Spanish language skills.

Seamus Harding is a junior on the Men's Duke Swimming and Diving Team. He is studying Psychology, receiving a Bachelor of Science, and minoring in Music. Once he graduates from Duke, Seamus is hoping to get into a Physician's Assistant school. He also would love to go into the music business, and create music of his own someday. Seamus participated in the ACEinPlace Vietnam 2022 program, and loved every second of it. Although it wasn't in person, he still felt that he was in Vietnam learning the culture, meeting amazing people, and teaching the Vietnamese students English and Life Skills.

Emily is a fifth-year senior on the Stanford Softball team from Aurora, Illinois. With her experience volunteering in her hometown, both in medical care and in athletics, she wanted to find a service opportunity that would take her somewhere new. As a Human Biology major, Emily spent the summer of 2019 in Peru, developing environmental sustainability projects for 3 weeks. Her future aspirations of becoming a physician are supported by her drive to support local communities and give back however she can. View Emily's profile.

Emma is a senior at Duke University majoring in Marine Science and Conservation. She participated in the ACE in Place Thailand program in 2021. During the program, she was able to learn more about her interest in conservation and also begin to advocate for change in places like the UK. View Emma's profile.

Christina Ferrari is a junior on the fencing team at Duke. She is majoring in Linguistics, minoring in French, and getting a Journalism certificate. ACE in Colorado gave her the chance to explore her passion in environmental conservation and learn more about sustainable actions that she can take in her daily life. She looks forward to bringing volunteering opportunities such as trail building and farming to her team, as well as spreading the word about in-country ACE programs as an ambassador.

Ellie is a sophomore on the Duke women's tennis team. She is majoring in environmental science. She participated in the ACE in Colorado program in summer of 2022. She had an amazing time and met some really amazing people. The experiences from Colorado were life changing and helped her make connections in the field of environmental science. She will never forget all of the great community partners that the group worked with in Colorado. Everyone was extremely passionate and eager to share their knowledge. Learning about regenerative agriculture, water quality testing, wetland restoration, and forest fire restoration opened her eyes to the solutions that are already being implemented to help the environment. She was inspired to bring her passion for helping the environment back to her team at Duke and hopes to involve the team in environmental service this fall. View Ellie's profile.