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Humans of Duke Sanford

I coached basketball for 5-6 year old kids in Durham as a part of Coach2Inspire. It was the most fun I have had in such a long time. Watching them play is the best feeling in the world.

Coming in to Duke, I wanted to major in economics, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with econ. Sanford provided me more of what I wanted to do. It allowed me to pursue my passion for education equity. It also helped me to meet incredible professors, including Sandy Darity. (He’s an economist teaching at Sanford and a scholar on racial inequality.)

When I am not making an impact in the community, I don’t feel productive. Through Bass Connections, I have had the opportunity to work alongside people in Durham and see where they want help. I’ve also been able to learn about different groups and see how there’s a lot of buy in from the community.

Access to resources in my home county are incredibly inequitable. There’s the white community on one side, and a predominantly minority community on the other side. Being mixed, I did not like seeing this diversity divide. So, I got involved by joining my school district’s EDAC (Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee), which helped me get into the weeds of what was happening. I saw how I had to represent a community with a diverging opinion from mine.

I advise anyone to include yourself into the Durham community. Don’t distance yourself as a Duke student. You shouldn’t try to “save the Durham community.” Instead, you should go, explore, and meet people in the community.

-	Drew Greene Drew’s work is driven by his community roots, both within Durham and Richmond, VA (his hometown). His appreciation for community, combined with service and research, fulfills his goal of social change. 

Photo 2: Drew with co-coach Ana Herndon (PPS ‘25) after the last game of their Durham Parks and Rec season

Photo 3: Drew presenting his data+ research on visualizing Durham public school communities at the ACC Meeting of the Minds conference at the University of Virginia in March 2022

I coached basketball for 5-6 year old kids in Durham as a part of Coach2Inspire. It was the most fun I have had in such a long time. Watching them play is the best feeling in the world.

Coming in to Duke, I wanted to major in economics, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with econ. Sanford provided me more of what I wanted to do. It allowed me to pursue my passion for education equity. It also helped me to meet incredible professors, including Sandy Darity. (He’s an economist teaching at Sanford and a scholar on racial inequality.)

When I am not making an impact in the community, I don’t feel productive. Through Bass Connections, I have had the opportunity to work alongside people in Durham and see where they want help. I’ve also been able to learn about different groups and see how there’s a lot of buy in from the community.

Access to resources in my home county are incredibly inequitable. There’s the white community on one side, and a predominantly minority community on the other side. Being mixed, I did not like seeing this diversity divide. So, I got involved by joining my school district’s EDAC (Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee), which helped me get into the weeds of what was happening. I saw how I had to represent a community with a diverging opinion from mine.

I advise anyone to include yourself into the Durham community. Don’t distance yourself as a Duke student. You shouldn’t try to “save the Durham community.” Instead, you should go, explore, and meet people in the community.

– Drew Greene #HumansofDukeSanford #Undergrad Drew’s work is driven by his community roots, both within Durham and Richmond, VA (his hometown). His appreciation for community, combined with service and research, fulfills his goal of social change.

Photo 2: Drew with co-coach Ana Herndon (PPS ‘25) after the last game of their Durham Parks and Rec season

Photo 3: Drew presenting his data+ research on visualizing Durham public school communities at the ACC Meeting of the Minds conference at the University of Virginia in March 2022