Service Opportunities in Leadership

SOL is a nationally recognized, intensive 12-month leadership program for students who are interested in complex social issues and the art of implementing systemic change. SOL’s three-stage structure includes a preparation (gateway) course in the spring, a collaboratively designed community-based research (CBR) project with a community partner organization in the summer, and a follow-up (capstone) seminar in the fall. Throughout, students participate in a structured process of critical reflection on the ethical, intellectual and civic aspects of their experiences and personal development.

SOL students carry their work into larger contexts as alumni. In 1997, Tico Almeida, one of the most widely publicized alums of the SOL program, was able to imagine new possibilities for Duke based on his experiences working with the Union of Needletrade, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) in New York City. Almeida spoke with union workers in the apparel industry and documented their working conditions. When he returned to Duke, Almeida organized his friends to create Students Against Sweatshops, and then pressured the university to create a stricter code of conduct for the companies that manufacture its products.

Duke became the first university in the country to do so. Almeida’s recognition of the larger dimensions of labor rights, and insights about how he could make the issue relevant to his peers, helped him bring his focus back to his home community at Duke. But the work he launched had a national impact.