Next time you see the Ultimate Highlight Reel on "SportsCenter" or the Web Gems on "Baseball Tonight," think of Abby Waner. These plays of the day are coming your way because of her work as a studio production intern for ESPN.
In addition to her behind-the-scenes work at the Worldwide Leader's studio in Bristol, Conn., Waner had the opportunity to go to New York City and work the NBA Draft with former Blue Devil and current ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. So perhaps you could thank the senior guard for bringing O.J. Mayo, complete with librarian-style glasses and bowling shoes, into your house, too.
If you thought basketball was the only thing the Blue Devils cared about, you would be mistaken. In fact, the players' summer plans are as varied as, well, any other Duke student.
"You gotta stay busy," senior center Chante Black said with a laugh.
Busy might be an understatement to describe Black and Waner's summer work schedules.
Black puts in six days a week for two different departments at Saint Francis Care in Hartford, Conn. Black's first responsibility is to the grant and aid foundation, in which she solicits money from former donors to support the hospital and all of its causes. She also wears several hats in the emergency department, from checking in patients and escorting them to rooms to keeping family members informed of their relatives' status.
Black has been working so much that she has had trouble finding time to meet up with Waner, who is working about 30 minutes away.
"Abby called [June 20] at midnight to let me know she was playing," Black said. "With both of us working so much, it has been tough to get together, but we are going to try."
While Black and Waner work in the Northeast, their other tri-captain, Carrem Gay opted to engage in work closer to campus.
Gay is proof that DukeEngage does more than fling Dukies to places all over the globe. Not all volunteers leave the country. Or, for that matter, North Carolina.
The senior forward is working in Durham, so she can still workout at Duke, she said.
Gay is working in the Office of Community Affairs, helping out however she can. Some of her major summer projects have been with Quality of Life, a group that focuses on community organizing, and helping the department with a major archiving project. Gay also attends meetings with prominent community members to ensure Durham's well-being.
Gay, Joy Cheek, Keturah Jackson and Bridgette Mitchell have stayed in Durham over the summer to workout together. With the exceptions of Black and Waner, the whole team will be back at Duke in July and August to prepare for the upcoming season.
Back up in Connecticut, Black and Waner have developed their own workout routines to stay fresh. Black joined Bally's Fitness Club, and Waner has found no shortages of workout partners around her.
"It's great," said Waner, who held a mini-internship with the network at the end of last summer. "ESPN has its own fitness center, and there is an outdoor court. Also, there are a couple of YMCAs around the area. And it's awesome because it's either athletes, ex-athletes or people who played in high school who all play in these pickup games. They are just great runs. We played for three-and-a-half hours the other day. There is never a loss of games or places to work out at ESPN."
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