Ready, Set, Duke!
BY ADRIANA V. DIFRANCO
A unique rite of passage, annual Send-Off parties hosted by alumni and parents welcome first-year students and their families into the Duke fold.
Due to home renovations, Brendan Moylan ’89 and Dr. Cynthia Moylan M.H.S.’12 spent their entire summer without a working kitchen.
Which was a problem, because they had committed to hosting a Duke Send-Off Party in early August. So, the Moylans got busy, successfully installing a sink, lights and plumbing in the nick of time.
Each year, Duke Send-Off Parties are held in alumni and Duke parent homes throughout the world. They are crucial because they connect new students to their Duke network from Day One.
“At some point during those first few days at Duke, everyone feels alone,” Brendan Moylan said. “The faster someone feels connected, the sooner the joy begins. A Send-Off Party can accelerate that connection.”
With nearly 60 parties in seven countries this year and hundreds of transfer students, first-year students and their families attending, the annual tradition makes a real impact.
“There is something really meaningful about arriving on campus already knowing that someone at Duke knows your name, cares about your experience and is cheering you on,” said Nicole Silvanic, a regional director with Duke Alumni Engagement and Development who covers the Triangle region.
Plus, no two Duke Send-Off parties are quite the same, and that’s part of the fun, Silvanic said.
Informally, the parties have been going on since the 1970s but were formalized in 2002.
Beyond private homes, the parties take place in backyards, restaurants, clubhouses and more. In Manila, students, families and alumni met over tapas. In Seoul, the celebration took place at a hotel in the chic Gangnam district. London’s Send-Off Party unfolded at an event venue overlooking Regent’s Park. In Asheville, attendees gathered at the North Carolina Governor’s Western Residence.
And in Miami, Florida a lovely surprise: As host Patricia Sánchez Abril ’96 reviewed the guest list for her party, one name stood out.
“I saw the name Jorge Diaz-Silveira ’85, and I couldn’t believe it,” Abril said. “He hosted my Duke Send-Off Party in 1993. Talk about a full circle moment!”
For students, the parties are a way to connect with every Duke first-year in their area. Friendships start quickly with strangers becoming friends by the party’s end.
“My favorite part of the party was talking to other new students and relating on our experiences in high school and preparing for life at Duke,” said first-year Cameron Lindsey, who attended a party in Columbus, Ohio.
The Send-Off parties are also attended by local alumni, who see it as a way to pay it forward to a future generation of Blue Devils.
“No alum succeeds alone,” was the advice Felicia Heath ‘78 offered. “Even after you leave Duke and are in your career, you’re never alone. There is always someone in the Duke alumni network who can help you.”
“You belong here,” reassured Neil S. Siegel, ’93, A.M.’95, a Duke professor emeritus of law. “You may feel ‘imposter syndrome,’ but you’re a human being. Feeling unsure of yourself is a perfectly normal response to being surrounded by a group of highly capable, competitive students. So, expect and accept that feeling and release it. It’s no accident you got into Duke.”
First-year students at a Send-Off Party in Coral Gables, Fla.
To see more photos of Duke Send-off Parties, click here.
