Hey everyone! I’m Marissa and two weeks ago I found myself in a similar position to where I had been many times last year, boarding a flight from Vermont to Durham, North Carolina. Although I was familiar with this commute, I realized during my seven-hour delay that the physical similarities of this trip were met with a differing mentality. This time I was not traveling with textbooks and calculators for what I used to think would be an immersive college experience. It turned out those last trips brought me to Duke, not Durham. In my eight months on campus, my curiosity and eagerness to know my surroundings ended up being a helpless attempt to immerse into the true Durham community. As I set off to the not so foreign place, especially compared to other DukeEngage locations such as Serbia, Kenya, and Togo, (read their blogs too!!) I recognized that I needed to shift lenses to see Durham’s true colors. I was determined to step outside of the “Duke Bubble” and attempt to puncture it.
When I touched down, and began to plan for my first few days of work with my community partner, I realized Durham is a fairly foreign place to me after all. Just now, after two weeks of being in DukeEngage and working with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, I am beginning to scratch the surface of what this city has to offer. I never knew the rich history of Durham, understood the culture or the people. I hadn’t detected the vast expansion and growth happening in so many areas. It surely stretches beyond Duke’s construction.
Durham has transitioned from a Tobacco run economy to the City of Medicine in just a few decades. The area has blossomed by attracting restaurateurs and real estate developers. I’ve taken advantage of these attractions by dining with my DukeEngage peers and touring around the city to find it’s hidden treasures. In our visit to the American Underground, a for-profit business that helps entrepreneurs launch their companies, I realized how forward thinking Durham has become. The American Underground is continuously expanding their space to assist a myriad of companies, most of which are tech related. They have even attracted big investors such as AOL co-founder Steve Case and sharks like Mark Cuban.
Over the weekend we went to the Durham Farmer’s Market and I hiked along the Eno River with Emma, Yasmine and Shagnon to explore the halcyon side of Durham. For all the times I missed my rural home last year, I could have been reminded of it by escaping to these places away from industrialized downtown.
As a student in Durham, I feel guilty for not knowing what has made Durham thrive and what areas still need improvement. Each day I learn more and become more attached to Durham. I just hope that my Duke peers can eventually tap into my discoveries too.
When I touched down, and began to plan for my first few days of work with my community partner, I realized Durham is a fairly foreign place to me after all. Just now, after two weeks of being in DukeEngage and working with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, I am beginning to scratch the surface of what this city has to offer. I never knew the rich history of Durham, understood the culture or the people. I hadn’t detected the vast expansion and growth happening in so many areas. It surely stretches beyond Duke’s construction.
Durham has transitioned from a Tobacco run economy to the City of Medicine in just a few decades. The area has blossomed by attracting restaurateurs and real estate developers. I’ve taken advantage of these attractions by dining with my DukeEngage peers and touring around the city to find it’s hidden treasures. In our visit to the American Underground, a for-profit business that helps entrepreneurs launch their companies, I realized how forward thinking Durham has become. The American Underground is continuously expanding their space to assist a myriad of companies, most of which are tech related. They have even attracted big investors such as AOL co-founder Steve Case and sharks like Mark Cuban.
Over the weekend we went to the Durham Farmer’s Market and I hiked along the Eno River with Emma, Yasmine and Shagnon to explore the halcyon side of Durham. For all the times I missed my rural home last year, I could have been reminded of it by escaping to these places away from industrialized downtown.
As a student in Durham, I feel guilty for not knowing what has made Durham thrive and what areas still need improvement. Each day I learn more and become more attached to Durham. I just hope that my Duke peers can eventually tap into my discoveries too.