Ready, Set, (let’s not) Go

Time has seriously moved so fast. I can’t believe I have only a little more than a week left in Seattle and that in two weeks I’ll be back in Durham. The thought of taking classes and studying again seems so weird after spending the summer here and becoming so comfortable with the routine I’ve established out here and invested in the organization that I’m working for. I’ve really become accustomed to the daily interactions and dynamics of the DukeEngage group and people that I work with. I feel like it’s going to be extremely difficult to leave and go back home and transition back into school after this experience. I think for Nick and I, that realization that our time in Seattle is coming to an end is extremely daunting because I feel like there are so many more things we want to do at the Austin Foundation to ensure that it has a future and that the organization can be sustainable and continue to serve the youth in the community. It feels like as the program comes to and end, we are discovering increasingly more tasks and ideas that we want to develop and complete to make sure that the summer program ends on a good note and that all of our junior trainers take something positive and have grown in some way from their experiences in the program this summer.

I think that overall, we just really want to work hard in our remaining time to make sure that everything we have developed this summer can be used to help the program in future summers so that there is a foundation that is easy to follow.  Our hope is that the Austin Foundation will find a way to find funding and sustain itself into the future. The thought of leaving Seattle before that happens is going to be tough, but I know that I will never forget my DukeEngage experience and the relationships that were formed.  


Anna Markowitz
Duke Student '15