Sharing a Meal, Shaping a Future
By Megan Hujber
Even before the table was set, Leslie Limbaugh Cooper ’92 and four other Duke alumnae had already slipped back into a familiar rhythm, the kind that only decades of shared history can create.
The alumnae hadn’t seen each other in more than 30 years, but gathered beneath the canopy of a garden in Norfolk, Virgina, they immediately picked up where they had left off.
“Once we got started, we talked for hours,” Limbaugh Cooper said.
What brought them together after so many years? Dinners for Duke, a new volunteer opportunity that brings together Blue Devils over a shared meal for connection, sharing life experiences and talking about the latest happenings at one of their favorite places—Duke. The events—hosted by alumni volunteers all over the world—are part of MADE FOR THIS: The Duke Campaign, the university’s most ambitious campaign to date.
“These dinners aren’t about being fancy or elaborate,” said Tony Kearney, senior director of volunteer engagement at Duke. “They’re about connection. Whether you host at your dining table, at a park or around takeout containers—it’s the act of gathering that matters.”
Around the table with Limbaugh Cooper that night, Kate Pyron Gregory ’92, Shannon Smith Keating ’92, Jennifer Marth Todd ’91 and Wendy Willmott Myers ’91 caught up over a deck of conversation cards provided in the Dinners for Duke host kit.
The cards offered open-ended prompts designed to spark conversation.
How did Duke help you identify an interest or talent you didn’t know you had?
What’s one question you wish more people would ask each other? How can we teach that kind of curiosity to those around us?
It’s 10 years from now. What kind of world do you hope for the generation of the future?
Another question led to a long and heartfelt conversation about risk-taking, and the group’s answers were as varied as their journeys. One alumna spoke about moving across the country at 18 to attend Duke, knowing no one. Another shared how she took a year off between medical school and residency to have her daughter, despite some advice that it might be risky to delay her career timeline.
“She ended up matching at Harvard,” Limbaugh Cooper said.
Together, the alumnae reflected on how risk has shaped their lives and how younger generations sometimes feel pressure to have every step mapped out before taking the first one. The conversation turned to how Duke might continue to model vulnerability and curiosity, not just achievement.
“We all want to be known,” Limbaugh Cooper said. “We respond to questions that invite us to share who we really are.”
That connection is exactly what Dinners for Duke is designed to foster, Kearney said.
Leslie’s group didn’t make it through all the conversation cards before the evening ended. They ran out of time, but took that as a sign of success.
“The event reminded us what we love about being with other Dukies,” Limbaugh Cooper. “We ask real questions, and we listen.”
Would you like to learn more about hosting a Dinner for Duke? Fill out our interest form.
