“Service-learning gave me a way to act on my values.”

For junior Sally Maroa, community engagement isn’t an extracurricular—it’s a way of life. Born in Kenya and raised across Kenya, South Africa, and the United States, Sally has witnessed how inequality and resilience often coexist. That global perspective now shapes her path at Duke, where she combines academic study with hands-on service to make lasting change.

From Global Roots to National Recognition

This fall, Sally received the Voyager Scholarship for Public Service, a national award created by the Obama Foundation and Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky to support students committed to public service careers. The program provides up to $50,000 in funding, a $10,000 summer “voyage” for research or community work, and access to a lifelong network of changemakers through the Obama Foundation.

“I was absolutely ecstatic,” she recalls. “I feel grateful that it removes financial barriers for students who want to pursue public service.” For her voyage, Sally plans to conduct thesis research in Ghana, examining how the history of enslavement has shaped perceptions of reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. She also hopes to intern with a reproductive rights organization to see how policy and community advocacy intersect.

Long term, Sally hopes to pursue law and policy work centered on reproductive justice. 

“Growing up in different countries showed me how oppression can look different on the surface but come from similar systems underneath,” she reflects. “There’s work that can be done upstream—to change the structures that create those conditions.”

Having lived in three countries across two continents, Sally has developed a nuanced understanding of how context shapes opportunity. 

In South Africa, you see super-rich neighborhoods across the highway from under-resourced communities—still divided by apartheid’s legacy. In Kenya, land and education access depend so much on class. And in Seattle, I attended a private school right across from a food bank, which rendered stark economic inequalities daily." 

Those experiences, she says, made inequality impossible to ignore and deepened her commitment to building systems of equity.

Service-Learning at Duke

Now in her second year as a Service-Learning Assistant (SLA), Sally supports courses taught by Professors Orin Starn and Eileen Anderson, helping students connect with Durham partners like the Durham Community Food Pantry and La Iglesia Emanuel. Her work includes tracking hours, facilitating reflection sessions, and supporting community projects focused on workers’ rights, advocacy, and organizing. Through these experiences, she helps students consider what it means to be responsible members of both the Duke and Durham communities.

Her own introduction to service learning came during her first year at Duke. 

“I wanted something that would get me off campus and help me meet people,” she shares. “It gave me the tools to act on my values.” Now she finds joy in supporting others through that same process. “I really enjoy working with professors who are deeply committed to students and to Durham.”

For Sally, service learning offers a structured path toward authentic engagement. “It’s easy to get wrapped up in Duke, especially if you don’t have a car,” she says. “Service-learning gives you a way to connect with people and apply what you’re learning in real life.”

Her message to others considering service-learning courses is simple: 

“Take that step. If you’re frustrated by the world and don’t know where to put that energy, service-learning gives you a place to start.”

Looking Ahead

As she looks toward graduation, Sally is thinking about legacy—both her own and Duke’s. “I try to move in a way that is considerate of my impact as a neighbor of Durhamites,” she says. 

“Durham’s movement work has made me consider staying here after graduation—there’s so much community work to be done and so many amazing people already doing it.”

Wherever life takes her, Maroa says, she wants her work to be both meaningful and in service to others: 

“Spending my life any other way just wouldn’t make sense."