Improving communications within the division and building awareness.
We tell the story of Student Affairs. It is our mission to communicate clearly with students to foster a culture of belonging and wellbeing. Through conversations, brainstorming, strategic planning, and implementation, we strive to share Student Affairs key messages to the right audience at the right time.
Student Affairs Communications works to improve communications within the division of Student Affairs, as well as build awareness of the work of the division across the university and beyond. Our team serves as an internal resource for the division as related to a wide range of communications needs, including branding, marketing, storytelling/news, social media, website, and internal and external communications. The office works with communicators and colleagues across the division to provide recommendations, guidelines, and resources, with the goal of building consistency and cohesiveness in division communications efforts.
This repository will be a living resource, growing and changing over time based on divisional needs. If you have a question or a suggestion of items to include, please email us at sacomms@duke.edu.
We can make your vision a reality.
From communications plans to video production to event graphics, our team would love to help with your project! Let us know your vision and we can bring it to life.
Let's dig in!
Learn the Student Affairs style guide, Duke's brand standards and find department logos.
Brand Guides
Find templates, checklists and professional development for communicators!
View web editor requirements, who manages which section, how-to videos and more.
Website Resources
Learn how to request and use Emma, division newsletter schedules, and email signature templates.
Email Resources
View accessibility tools, social media guidelines and resources to make your social channels pop!
Social Media
Find and upload Student Affairs event photos and video, and assets from University Communications.
Media Resources
The SA Comms Team
Our vision:
We aim to create digestible and accessible messaging for our students through email communications, blogs and articles, social media engagement and audio/visuals to amplify the vision of Student Affairs.
Our values:
- We support and understand the communication needs of students and staff in alignment with Student Affairs initiatives.
- We provide brand management, communication planning, media relations, content development, and editorial services.
- We help set the standard for inclusive communications by fostering an environment that is focused on belonging for all at Duke.
The SA Comms Student Interns
From graphic design to event photography and more, our ridiculously talented interns will be working on your projects alongside our team! Click through the tabs to learn more about them.
Sujatha Balasundaram is our graduate intern, and does it all! Graphic design, web management, photography, illustration, you name it.
Samara Brogan, '26 is our lead event photographer. You have probably seen her at a lot of our division- and university-wide events, though behind the camera! Samara is an excellent relationship-builder and thanks to her work during summer 2023, we have fresh high-quality photos of all of our residence halls!
"To me, being a Duke student means being the one that will stand out in a crowd to set an example of what is right even if it is not the easy choice to make. Getting into Duke was not only a gift in itself but it has also provided me with the opportunity to uplift others alongside me."
Cristal Ortiz, '24 is one of our graphic designers, with a hidden talent for short-form video! She is responsible for our hugely-popular student feature series on Instagram, and has completed projects for Nutrition Services, DISC, CMA, and more.
"To be a Duke student is not just excelling in our community but also experiencing once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. We are constantly pursuing the next goal in our life, but in the process, we are leaving a footprint of our blue devil love in our community, but most importantly, in our lives. The pursuit of everlasting experiences and moments means to be a Duke Student."
Neil Paul, '24, focuses on photography and videography for our team. She has worked on videos plugging puppy kindergarten, Bricks2Stone, and many division-wide events! Neil is abroad in Fall '23, but we hope you'll see more of her work in the spring.
"If I could sum up being a college student at Duke in two words it would be 'extroverted nerd.' I’m surrounded by intelligent and hardworking individuals who also enjoy being involved on campus, meeting new people, and sleeping in a party tent in the winter for two months to get tickets for a basketball game. It is to make friends to work on math problem sets together but also unintentionally enjoying their company and inviting them to Nasher for brunch. It is a network- one that I am thankful to be a part of."
Ruby Wang, '24, is our most senior graphic designer. We've been lucky to have Ruby since we started taking on interns in 2021. Ruby takes the lead on several of our weekly social media series - event features, newsletter roundups, and more, and we rely on her to bring us ideas for new ways to engage students. Ruby is also a talented illustrator, as you've seen in the form of the Student Affairs holiday card!
