New Student & Family Programs is committed to keeping families engaged in the life of the University. We do by through creating our own communications for undergraduate parents and families and by connecting families to news sources across campus. Discover more below.
Duke Family Webinar Series
The Office of New Student and Family Programs produces a monthly webinar series to connect families to campus. Past webinars and their recordings can be found below. Please allow 48 hours after the webinar airs for the recordings to be posted.
The monthly Duke Parent and Family Newsletter features important upcoming deadlines, as well as fun and interesting news and notes from across the campus. Families will receive these communications if their name and email are listed in their student's DukeHub account. Our contacts are pulled from the "Profile" section under "Relationships/Proxy." Your student will also need to make sure they have checked "yes" next to "Send University Correspondence" when adding your information. For questions, please reach out to familyprograms@duke.edu.
2022-2023 All Undergraduate Family Newsletters
September | October | November | January
2022 First-Year Family Newsletter (Summer Edition)
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2021-2022 All Undergraduate Family Newsletters
September | October | November | January | February | March | April
2021 First-Year Family Newsletter (Summer Edition)
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2020-2021 All Undergraduate Family Newsletters
September | October | November | January | February | March | April
2020 First-Year Family Newsletter (Summer Edition)
Summer 1 | Summer 2 | Summer 3
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2019-2020 All Undergraduate Family Newsletters
September | October | November | December | January | February | March | April
2019 First-Year Family Newsletter (Summer Edition)
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2018-2019 All Undergraduate Family Newsletters
September | October | November | December | January | February | March | April | Final All-Parent Newsletter (June)
2018-2019 Special Edition Newsletters
April | May | 2nd May Newsletter (Commencement - Senior Family Newsletters)
2018 First-Year Family Newsletter (Summer Edition)
May | June | July | August
The official Facebook pages for Duke families
We invite you to visit your student's class year family page regularly and interact with other families. Through these pages we hope to keep you up to date on all the many exciting news and developments across the Duke universe.
To request membership, click on the respective link for your student's graduation year:
Please note, members must be parents, guardians, or primary takers of a Duke student to be admitted. Those requesting membership must respond to a series of questions before being admitted.
The Parent and Family Podcast provides a new medium for families to learn about Duke from student leaders on campus. These students provide insight into their Duke experience as well as tips on how to support your Duke student through their journey. Follow our podcast on SoundCloud here.
November 2020 Podcast Topic: Peer for You
Student: Olivia Liu
Time: 9 minutes
Olivia Liu T’21 discusses her involvement with Peer for You, a student-led organization dedicated to actively supporting student well-being in the Duke community. Olivia shares what services Peer for You offers, how to reach out to Peer for You, how the organization has adapted to supporting students with the challenges of the pandemic, and more.
October 2020 Podcast Topic: International Student Experience
Student: Ananya Vohra
Time: 10 minutes
Ananya Vohra T'21 reflects on her experience as an international student throughout her four years at Duke. Ananya highlights ways in which the Duke community has supported her as an international student during the pandemic, and she offers advice to the families of these students.
September 2020 Podcast Topic: The Duke Community during a COVID Semester
Student: Avery Lythcott-Haims
Time: 16 minutes
Avery Lythcott-Haims T’23 talks about her experience coming back to campus this semester. Reflecting on this time of transition, Avery emphasizes the role of the Duke community from her clubs and involvements to connecting with those she passes on her way to class.
April 2020 Podcast Topic: Post-Graduation Planning
Student: Evi Alexopoulos
Time: 11 minutes
Evi Alexopoulos T'20 shares how her Duke experience has prepared her for post-graduation success. As a biology and global health double major, Evi's experience in labs, internships, and research have certainly influenced her career path. She also talks about finding mentors, creating meaningful friendships, and exploring all of Duke's career and academic resources as crucial to her readiness for life after Duke.
February 2020 Podcast Topic: Building Community
Student: Ivan Robles
Time: 16 minutes
Ivan Robles ’20 shares his experiences of finding and creating community at Duke. From his work study role at the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (CSGD) to his leadership in launching the Latinx in Leadership series, Ivan speaks about what community means to him and how he views the intersectionality of identity with community.
January 2020 Podcast Topic: Academic Journey
Student: Angeli Sharma
Time: 11 minutes
Senior Angeli Sharma shares her academic journey at Duke. Angeli's story includes how she chose a major in public policy and minors in neuroscience and economics, how this combination is helping her prepare for her post-graduation dreams, and Angeli's favorite classes at Duke!
November 2019 Podcast Topic: Duke@Nite
Student Leaders: Christina Zhang & Kacia Anderson
Time: 14 minutes
Christina Zhang & Kacia Anderson, leaders from Duke University Union (DUU) Duke@Nite sat down with Parent and Family Programs to talk about campus programming and activities at Duke, from glow-in-the-dark roller rinks to Harry Potter trivia nights.
April 2019 Podcast Topic: First-Year at Duke
First-Year Student: Tatum Riley
Time: 6 minutes
In this podcast, Tatum Riley reflects on her first year as a student at Duke. From move-in day to the challenges she faced, Tatum discusses the trials and triumphs of a first-year student at Duke.
March 2019 Podcast Topic: A-Team and Duke Traditions
Student A-Team Member: Sanya Kochhar
Time: 8 minutes
Sanya Kochhar discusses her work with A-Team, Duke’s risk management group for large campus events. She reflects on the excitement of Duke traditions, like Duke-UNC basketball games, and supporting these traditions through promoting student safety.
February 2019 Podcast Topic: Duke & Durham
Vice President of Durham and Regional Affairs, Duke Student Government: Uwa Ihionkhan
Time: 12 minutes
Uwa Ihionkhan, Vice President of Durham and Regional Affairs in Duke Student Government, sat down with Parent and Family Programs to discuss building relationships and fostering conversations within and outside of the community here at Duke.
December 2018 Podcast Topic: Student Wellness
President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness at Duke: Gary Wang
Time: 14 Minutes
In this podcast, Gary Wang, president of NAMI at Duke, talks about mental health on campus. Gary explains some of his student organization's work: promoting small acts of kindness and connection among students, creating open and inclusive dialogues about mental health on campus, and collaborating with staff to give students the best mental health services at Duke. He ends with advice for parents who want to have dialogues with their students about mental health and mental wellness.
November 2018 Podcast Topic: Faith & Spirituality on Duke's Campus
Voices for Interfaith Action Members: Usamah Chaudhary T'20 and Sarah Jacobs T'21
Time: 12 Minutes
This podcast includes an interview with Usamah Chaudhary and Sarah Jacobs, members of Duke Voices for Interfaith Action (VIA), a student organization. They share their experiences of being part of different faith communities on Duke's campus, their service and community-building work through VIA, and their views on the key tools for interfaith dialogue.
April 2018 Podcast Topic: Recreation and Physical Education
Student Involvement: Collin Leonard and Melanie Park
Time: 23 Minutes
Collin Leonard and Melanie Park share how their Duke experience has been shaped by their involvements in Duke Recreation and Physical Education. They provide insight on how they have created their wellness routines on campus and what wellness means to them. They also share tips on how parents and families can encourage their student's to take ownership of their health and wellness as well as the role parents and families can play in a student's well-being.
February 2018 Podcast Topic: National Merit Scholarships
Marshall Scholar: John Lu
Time: 20 Minutes
In this Podcast, John Lu, a Marshall Scholar and Goldwater Scholar provides insight into his four years at Duke. John explains what a Marshall Scholarship is and how the application process helped him reflect and make meaning of his undergraduate experience. He also provides tips for families on how to support a student going through the application process.
January 2018 Podcast Topic: The K-Ville Tenting Experience
Head Line Monitors: Sara Constand T’18 and David Duquette T‘18
Time: 20 Minutes
This podcast includes an interview with Sara Constand and David Duquette, the 2018 K-Ville Head Line Monitors. In this podcast, they share information about K-Ville, what the tenting experience is like and what this tradition means for Duke students. We also de-bunk some of the myths around tenting.
September 2017 Podcast Topic: Duke Academic Advising Center
Student Peer Advisor: Cole Wicker T’18
Time: 20 Minutes
In this podcast, a Trinity College Senior, Cole Wicker shares his experiences with the Academic Advising Network at Duke. Previously, Cole utilized the Academic Advising Network, and now serves as a lead Peer Advisor. He provides advice and insight into the challenges of finding your path and how he feels parents can best support their Duke students through this process over their four years at Duke.
Author: Sarabesh Natarajan & New Student and Family Programs Sarabesh Natarajan is a senior studying chemistry in the Trinity College of Arts and Science from…
Move-in expectations, times, events, and other important information for the incoming class!