JUMBO Magazine - Spring 2015

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE ADMISSIONS.TUFTS.EDU

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CHECK OUT THIS JUNIOR’S PROJECT ANALYZING GLOBAL WORKING CONDITIONS

HOW TO

PICK THE RIGHT SCHOOL FOR YOU

CLASS HIGHLIGHT

EXPLORING MODERN BIOLOGY THROUGH NOBEL LAUREATES

DIVISION III NATIONAL CHAMPS MEET THE JUMBOS WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TITLE IN RECENT YEARS

HOME AWAY FROM HOME THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE UP YOUR COLLEGE FAMILY

ISSUE 11 / SPRING 2015

JUMBO 11

SPRING ’15 INFOGRAPHIC | 3 LIVING | 7 CLASS HIGHLIGHT | 10 AROUND TOWN | 16 ATHLETICS | 20 ARTS | 28 ADMISSIONS ADVICE | 34 FEATURES

22 HOME AWAY FROM HOME THE PEOPLE that make up your college family

30 INSTANT GRADIFICATION HOW TUFTS UNDERGRADUATES

engage with graduate studies

ON THE COVER

PHOTO BY KELVIN MA/ TUFTS UNIVERSITY

GABE RONDÓN-ICHIKAWA ’16 This

summer, Gabe had a research position with the International Labor Organization that is an International Relations major’s dream. Read about it on page 14.

COVER PHOTOS BY KATHLEEN DOOHER (FRONT), NICHOLAS PFOSI PHOTOGRAPHY (BACK)

GREETINGS

FROM THE DEAN A surprise awaits you when a place you’ve always “heard great things about” does not match the hype or when an unfamiliar name leaps out of nowhere to capture your interest. A college search is very personal; each campus has a flavor and a personality. What’s “best” or “right” will vary greatly from one person to another no matter what the institution’s reputation might be. And that’s as it should be.

Tastes vary. Be ready to own your opinions. Your reactions and your instincts will surprise you.

What else might qualify as a “surprise”? You’ll discover academic programs that don’t typically exist in a high school’s course schedule and majors with exotic names that invite a closer look. When you “visit” a college, find an online course catalogue and write down the various classes that appeal to you.

Check out departments and programs besides the ones on your current list. You might be surprised to learn that your potential major falls outside your current thinking.

with students, someone asks a question with a new spin on it. I was visiting Seattle in January when a junior in the back of the auditorium stood up and asked, “What’s one thing that will surprise us about college admissions?” The six deans and directors on the panel clucked appreciatively: Eli had given us a topic that required some philosophizing.

Whether April concludes your search for a seat in the Class of 2019 or launches your path towards the Class of 2020, there will be lots of surprises as your vague notions of “college” crystallize into more tactile impressions of real places and actual people.

“College” becomes more vivid than a recognizable name on a sweatshirt or a blue decal on the family

MEET THE STUDENT COMMUNICATION GROUP Most of what you’re about to read was written by these wonderful Tufts students. Keep an eye out for their voices as they introduce you to the Tufts community!

THE TUFTS ADMISSIONS MAGAZINE

car. “College” becomes a community you will join. It morphs into topics you’d like to study and ideas you digest and mull. It becomes a moment when you test yourself, when you stretch, when you explore.

Your long treks to visit rural campuses with plenty of bovine neighbors or your tours of high-rise dormitories on busy city streets create impressions you might not anticipate. Does one experience resonate with you more than the other? Or do “bucolic” and “urban” disappear as adjectives of consequence?

Maybe that’s not a defining element of your search: you could be happy in either environment. Your search will bring answers, and the answers may not be the ones you expect.

Sincerely,

Lee Coffin Dean of Admissions

DANIELLE BRYANT ’15 from Ann Arbor, MI

ABIGAIL MCFEE ’17 from Chadron, NE

CHARLOTTE GILLILAND ’16 from Birmingham, AL

AMANDA NG YANN CHWEN ’18 from Penang, Malaysia

CAMERON HARRIS ’18 from Shelburne, VT

GRIFFIN QUASEBARTH ’15 from Baltimore, MD

BENYA KRAUS ’18 from Bangkok, Thailand

OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Tufts University / Bendetson Hall 2 The Green / Medford, MA 02155 617 627.3170 / admissions.tufts.edu / jumboeditor@tufts.edu

Produced by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Edited by Meredith Reynolds, Assistant Director of Admissions Design by Hecht/Horton Partners

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS PHOTOGRAPHY

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE during an admission Q&A

You will meet lots of people as your search unfolds.

Pay attention to those interactions. In person, via blogs and tweets, and by reading publications like JUMBO, personalities will emerge. As you get to know a campus (in person or online) keep a list of the adjectives you associate with it: friendly, intense, playful, athletic, apolitical, preppy, spirited, funky, international… These are just a few examples of the kind of reactions you might have. It’s our job (the colleges) to introduce ourselves to you; it’s your job to decide if you like what you see. So start with this issue of JUMBO magazine, and keep exploring!

FIVE WAYS TO MAJOR IN PSYCHOLOGY AT TUFTS BIOPSYCHOLOGY

biology chemistry child study and human development

philosophy political science

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY

linguistics

COGNITIVE AND BRAIN SCIENCES

history computer science economics physics

mathematics mechanical engineering

ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY

The Department of Psychology is a hub of undergraduate and graduate activity and a center for cutting-edge research on human mental processes and behavior. The department also offers one of the largest and most diverse groups of undergraduate programs on campus. In fact, there are five options when thinking about a major in the field of psychology, each with a unique set of course offerings and research areas. Take a look!

Psychology majors choose from courses like Abnormal Psychology, Psychology of Adolescence, Theories of Personality, Emotion, Animal Learning, and many more. They also have flexibility to explore courses in other fields, such as economics, political science, or computer science. Professors’ research areas are diverse, and include language and semantics, personality assessment, and psychopharmacology.

Biopsychology is an interdepartmental major for students interested in neuroscience and animal behavior. Students take many classes that explore the biological perspective on how the brain works.

Classes like Human Neuropsychology and Behavioral

Endocrinology make this major unique. Professors’ research includes animal cognition, sexual and aggressive behavior, and vertebrate stress response.

Clinical Psychology prepares students for a career in mental health, psychiatry, or human services. Tufts is one of the only universities in the nation to offer this major, which includes a senior capstone project.

Current work includes the assessment of shame and guilt as related to symptomatology and the mechanics behind a schizophrenic brain.

Engineering Psychology focuses on how to design equipment with human behavior and mental processes in mind. How do you build an air traffic

control panel that’s easy for people to use? How should you design a surgical training device based on how medical students learn best? Engineering Psychology has the answers.

Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CBS) is extremely interdisciplinary, drawing from at least five academic programs beyond psychology, including philosophy, human study and child development, biology, and computer science. CBS majors might study music cognition in psychology, explore human perception in philosophy, or dive into the world of artificial intelligence in computer science.

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INS & OUTS

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE HILL

EXCOLLEGE COURSE: GROWING UP AT HOGWARTS “HOW DOES YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE affect adolescent development and sense of identity? What does dystopia teach us about whom we could be, if given the chance?”

This Experimental College class, taught by two Tufts upperclassmen, explores young adult literature and its influence on adolescent identity. Authors discussed range from J.K. Rowling to Stephen Chbosky to Suzanne Collins. If you’ve always wondered about what we learn from Harry’s fight against Voldemort and Katniss’ resistance against the Capitol, then this may be the perfect class for you.

COFFEE WITH THE MAYOR OF BOSTON IT’S NOT EVERY DAY that you get to sip your morning coffee while discussing civic engage-

ment and public education with a mayor. But thanks to the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh joined Jumbos one Tuesday morning as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series. The Q&A session turned out to be extremely open and informal, and topics included youth voting, the Ferguson case, racial diversity within government, urban planning, and Boston’s youth and education. Just another day at Tufts!

JUMBO CHEF: THE FRESHMAN’S HEALTHY ATTEMPT

BALLIN’

AS CREATED BY Amanda Ng

the year with some seriously impressive play, winning all but one of their regular season games through the beginning of February. By the middle of the season, the team was ranked fourth in the nation for Division III ball, and they had their eyes on the prize. Last season the team was incredibly strong—the women won the NESCAC Championship title and made it all the way to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III National Championship tournament. To see how their season turned out, visit gotuftsjumbos.com.

Go Jumbos!

Yann Chwen ’18 in Dewick MacPhie Dining Center INGREDIENTS Greek yogurt, strawberry and raspberry granola, a banana, honey, peanut butter, coconut flakes DIRECTIONS Fill a bowl with Greek yogurt. Cover it with strawberry-raspberry granola from Dewick’s famed array of cereal choices. Add sliced banana and mix in smooth peanut butter. Finally, top it off with honey and coconut flakes for a perfect breakfast before class.

How’s that for an exciting college food change?

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THE TUFTS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM started

SMOOTH MOVES IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Anthony Monaco @MonacoAnthony

With Billy the elephant at the LA zoo on my birthday!

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION

FIGHTING THE EBOLA BATTLE DR. NAHID BHADELIA is a triple Jumbo—meaning she has three degrees from Tufts. She graduated from Tufts as an undergraduate, only to go on to both the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Tufts School of Medicine. Now she’s on the frontline of what is perhaps the world’s most urgent medical challenge: the fight against Ebola. Making two trips in four months to Sierra Leone, Dr. Bhadelia is working together with the international aid group Partners in Health to train doctors and treat patients. It wasn’t too long ago that she was an undergraduate at Tufts, majoring in Biology and Peace and Justice Studies.

between spiders and orthopedic devices? Silk.

With about 20 ongoing research projects, undergraduate, graduate, and post-doc students in the Biomedical Engineering Department are working together with faculty to engineer synthetic spider silk. Potential applications include devices that reattach tendons and ligaments, three-dimensional brain tissue for study, and an alternative to Styrofoam cups… the possibilities are endless!

PHOTOS BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS PHOTOGRAPHY, (BASKETBALL) ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS PHOTOGRAPHY (CHAPLAINCY)

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! ASPIRING FILMMAKERS: Listen up! A brand new Film and Media Studies major is coming soon to Tufts. Classic courses such as “Making Movies” and “Producing Films for Social Change” have always been great hits, but this time around, there will be so much more for Jumbos who want to tell their stories and move audiences. The major will be interdisciplinary, drawing from many programs across campus, and there will be a particular focus in film production, social media, and journalism. Co-curricular options abound as well, with many on-campus media organizations and internship opportunities off-campus… even a smaller scale “Winternship” during winter break with one of the many Tufts alumni involved in film and media. The art director of Mad Men, the producer of Little Miss Sunshine, actors Hank Azaria and Peter Gallagher, the co-executive producer of The Good Wife… all of these Jumbo figures in film graduated from Tufts, and soon many graduates with a Film and Media Studies major will join them!

TONY MONACO TWEETS WHAT ARE THE CHANCES of finding a university president who

personally wishes students “happy birthday” on Facebook?

President Monaco can be reached through email, office hours, Facebook, Twitter, and more. And on his own birthday, he posted this Tweet (please note the elephant tie).

NEVER TOO CHEESY THE TUFTS CHEESE CLUB meets

weekly to discuss all things cheese— and more importantly, to consume lots of cheesy goodness. “We hope to work with the American Cheese Education Foundation,” said cofounder Ryan Johnson ’17, “a charitable organization run by the American Cheese Society. It promotes the spreading of cheese-related knowledge.” Who’s hungry?

NOT YOUR TYPICAL CHAPLAINCY “TUFTS IS THINKING CRITICALLY about what spirituality means

in 2014,” said Walker Bristol, Tufts’ Humanist in Residence.

The Tufts alumnus and former president of Tufts Freethought Society now offers individual support to non-religious or questioning students. Tufts is the first university in the country to hire a Humanist to its official chaplaincy. Other chaplains on campus serve Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant communities, and the Chaplain’s office supports traditions not represented by these individuals.

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KATELYN MONTALVO

’15

AMERICAN STUDIES AND COMMUNITY HEALTH DOUBLE MAJOR FROM NEW YORK, NY

Katelyn Montalvo, currently a senior majoring in American Studies and Community Health, was accepted into the Tisch Scholars program during her freshman year. The program, run by the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts, transforms its undergraduate scholars into lifelong active citizens and catalysts for change through community engagement. “Community service has always been a part of my life,” Katelyn explained.

“Being a Tisch Scholar became a huge part of my identity at Tufts.”

As a Tisch Scholar, Katelyn worked with Groundwork Somerville, a food and environmental justice non-profit that educates youth about their role in protecting the environment. But even closer to her heart is the project she initiated herself through the Tisch Scholars program. As a sophomore, Katelyn founded the First Generation College Student Council, hoping “to create an open space and community on campus” where first-generation Jumbos can share challenges and advice. “If you identify as a first-gen student, then you’re welcome onto the council,” Katelyn explained. The organization pioneered a variety of inspiring initiatives, from a panel of speakers featuring the President and the Provost of Tufts University, both first-generation students themselves, to a momentous “I’m First” photo campaign. The campaign featured first-gen students and faculty holding written statements about why they were proud to identify as first-gen.

In keeping with the Tisch College’s mission, the council also engages with the neighboring communities. The council visits the Boys and Girls club of Medford and local high schools to share their personal stories and discuss the importance of a college education. Katelyn struggled, just as many first generation students do, with the initial transition to college—she was in the presence of many structures her family was totally unfamiliar with, after all. Through this project, she hopes to spread the message that potential first-gen students shouldn’t limit themselves or get bogged down with the stress of not knowing what they want to do. “College is about more than just career-making,” she said. “It’s about finding your own identity.” Katelyn’s an excellent example.

—BENYA KRAUS ’18 6

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

12% of Tufts’ Class of 2018 are first generation college students. Katelyn is dedicating her Tisch Scholars service project to creating a home for all first-gen individuals on campus.

LIVING

LESSONS I’VE LEARNED

Living in a college dorm is about more than just getting along with your roommate and learning to maximize your space. It can be good for the soul. That might sound dramatic, but it’s true!

Sharing a space with another person and living in a building with hundreds of your peers can teach you many important life lessons… and maybe some unimportant ones. Benya Kraus ’18 asked some of her friends what lessons they’ve learned from living in Tufts dorms. She threw some of her own newfound wisdom in the mix, too. Take a look!

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Make your space feel like home.

You don’t need an entire HGTV team to make your room feel good. Whether it’s a photo from home, a jumbo poster of Rosie the Riveter, or, as my friends Max Hirsch and Steven Reichel ’18 chose, a fully decorated 4-foot Christmas tree, having something uniquely yours on the walls makes living away from home less alien and impersonal.

Share.

It’s important to set your boundaries and acknowledge what types of sharing you are comfortable with, but as Noah Schwartz ’17 says, a living space with your best friends encourages you to allow people into your life in a way that “most people aren’t comfortable with, but inevitably brings you closer.” Noah should know, he’s sharing a suite with five other boys. It’s that blur of personal and community space (in moderation, of course) that lets

people “understand you beyond the surface level,” he said. For many students, the best dorm living memories are the nights where nine guys fit themselves into a room to watch the Patriots game on TV—the nights we share the space together.

It’s okay to be alone sometimes.

Even though sharing is a huge part of the college experience, there will be times when you and your roommates are so busy that the room will be bare and deserted, and the quiet may seem like a sign that you’re doing something wrong. You’re not. Let your dorm be a place for you to relax and don’t feel the need to always carry on a conversation.

ing it off as ‘modern art,’ just go with it. Because then when you say you want to get strobe lights for the room, you have leverage.” (Fun fact: This actually happened in Houston Hall.)

Control your laundry before it controls you.

Warning: Stuffing the washers with massive amounts of clothes is not a good idea. Plan accordingly. When I asked Thomas Karol ’18 about lessons dorm life has taught him, he dove right in to the importance of remembering to take your clothes out of the washers and dryers so that other people don’t have to… then he went on and on about the Permanent Press button, his favorite washing machine setting.

Compromise.

The power of compromise goes far. According to James Huesing ’18, “if your roommate absolutely insists on hanging up a broken ceiling tile and pass-

Remember to clean your mini fridge. … Just believe me on this one. Please do it.

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TUFTS’

TOP 10

PROFESSOR MOMENTS

AT TUFTS, STUDENTS GET TO KNOW PROFESSORS THROUGH SMALL CLASSES, OFFICE HOURS, COFFEE DATES, AND RESEARCH POSITIONS. TO ILLUSTRATE THIS, WE COULD TALK ABOUT AVERAGE CLASS SIZE OR STUDENT–FACULTY RATIOS, BUT AREN’T STORIES MORE FUN? HERE ARE OUR TOP TEN “PROFESSOR MOMENTS,” BROUGHT TO YOU BY TUFTS UNDERGRADUATES.

PAULA AYMER Associate Professor of Sociology

CHRISTOPHER GREGG Lecturer of Computer Science

I have taken a couple of classes with Professor Aymer over the past few years, and she always pauses lecture with a question for the class. If she sees a modern trend, like crop tops, she’ll ask us questions to understand that trend from a sociological point of view. She’s never judgmental about it; she’s just genuinely interested in learning about culture. It’s like class is as much a learning experience for her as it is for her students!

I was leading a lab for Comp 15, and I noticed that Professor Gregg, who taught the course, was lurking in the corner making notes on a piece of paper. The next week, he was back. Turns out he had drawn a map of the computer lab and was learning the names of all 150 students in the course!

LAURIE BAISE Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Our class watched a video on the Geospatial Revolution—the increasing worldwide use of technologies like GPS and Google Maps.

After class, I spoke to Professor Baise about the Ushahidi Haiti Project, run through Tufts’ Fletcher School, which uses mapping capabilities to provide disaster relief in Haiti. I left class feeling excited and inspired.

—Jenny Skerker ’17

MARIE-CLAIRE BEAULIEU Assistant Professor of Classics One time in [Greek Mythology] class we were going through lecture slides, and Professor Beaulieu accidentally started reading in German, as though we all knew German. It took everyone—teacher and students—a moment to realize what had just happened. She would also often trace etymology from Sanskrit to Greek to Latin to Spanish/French/English, which was extremely fascinating.

—Nathaniel Tran ’17

STEVE COHEN Senior Lecturer of Education Professor Cohen, after handing out the syllabus for the last part of the semester, said: “I suggest that we have brunch at my place on the last day. Is everyone okay with that?

I PROMISE I WON’T COOK, so no one will be poisoned!”

—Amanda Ng Yann Chwen ’18

—Ashley Hedberg ’15

NOAH MENDELSOHN Professor of the Practice of Computer Science One night, my partner and I were working late on the most difficult project in the course. We had just gotten our program to work perfectly, but in commenting our code, something went awry and everything broke.

Professor Mendelsohn sat down with us and calmly helped us understand where our problem was likely coming from.

—Andrew Cavallaro ’17

—Jasmine Bland ’15

JANIS FREEDMAN-BELLOW Lecturer of English

SUSAN KOEGEL Senior Lecturer of Biology

JAMIE KIRSCH Lecturer of Music

DOUGLAS PREIS Professor of Electrical Engineering

In my memoir literature class, we were discussing the details that become imprinted in a person’s memory. My professor said that, in her experience, what people miss most about their college years is “the opportunity to sit around and talk about books like they are the most important things in the world.” Gathered around our circular table, my classmates and I exchanged glances of recognition.

I love learning about biology—I think it’s fascinating. One of the only things I love more than biology itself is learning about it from people who share my passion for the human body. Professor Koegel taught my Bio13 class, and throughout the semester she related each topic to an overarching disease, Cystic Fibrosis. I loved seeing the real-world implications of the information we got from a textbook.

One day Professor Preis broke out an old newspaper clipping with a big picture of himself working on one of the world’s first computers. He went on to explain the evolution of computers and how much electrical engineering has changed just in his career. It really put the semester in context for me. I was so enthralled; I couldn’t wipe a dopey grin off my face.

— Abigail McFee ’17

—Rachel Hartnett ’17

I have sung in Concert Choir, a for-credit music class, every semester that I’ve been at Tufts. Jamie Kirsch, the professor/conductor, works incredibly hard to get us excited about music and to strengthen our group dynamic. Last year, he organized a trip to see Mahler’s Second Symphony at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This trip was not a departmental or class requirement; he just (rightly) thought it would be a fun and moving experience for us.

—Julia Goldberg ’15

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—Camille Saidnawey ’17

ALYSSA HATCH

’15

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR FROM WESTFIELD, NJ

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Alyssa Hatch is exploring the ways in which chocolate can be used as an engineering material…Yum!

I knew of Alyssa Hatch, through word of mouth, as the outdoorsy member of Tufts Mountain Club and the very helpful resident tutor who lives on the floor below me. What I didn’t know was how much Alyssa could teach me about internship opportunities, the value of research, and the doors that the School of Engineering could open for me.

“I realized over the summer that I actually like the management side of engineering more than I thought I would,” Alyssa began as she told me about her internship at Dynamo Micropower out of Greentown Labs in Somerville last summer. This was her second summer internship in the mechanical engineering world, and it sparked an unexpected interest in management. Dynamo Micropower is a startup company developing a high-efficiency micro turbine; a device that generates large amounts of electricity with the input of various fossil fuel options which include petroleum and natural gas.

Alyssa particularly loved learning about the organization and methodology of managing a project team and how to successfully operate a start-up business, something that she may have future involvement with.

This is where our conversation took an unexpected turn—toward chocolate. Let me explain.

Alyssa is currently conducting research alongside Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Douglas Matson. Alyssa works with Professor Matson and some of his associates at Draper Labs in Cambridge, MA, where they are developing chocolate electrical circuits. “We were looking to make some prototype circuits that could destroy themselves without making some sort of explosion or hazard,” Alyssa explained. “Ultimately, we came up with the idea of using chocolate as a base material.” The neat thing about this choice is that silver conductive ink can be printed on a chocolate base board, creating a perfectly functioning circuit. But if, for instance, there is a short, the chocolate will melt away and thus prevent further electrical damage from occurring in a system. Alyssa’s research with these chocolate circuits has mainly been focused on exploring the various ways in which chocolate can be used as an engineering material. Thanks to Alyssa, in the near future we may have electronics you can eat!

—BY CAMERON HARRIS ’18

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CLASS HIGHLIGHT

SEMINAR IN MOLECULAR BIOLO USA Today recently ranked Tufts at number three on their list of colleges for a major in biology. Cuttingedge research, close student-faculty connections, and collaborative projects all make the department strong. What might be the coolest thing about the Tufts biology department, though, is the innovative classes like this one.

In 1980, Paul Berg, Walter Gilbert, and Frederick Sanger won the Nobel Prize for developing DNA sequencing, which changed healthcare forever.

In 2009, Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak received the Nobel Prize for their discovery of telomerase, which is now the target for an anti-cancer drug. These discoveries and more were chosen by the Nobel Prize Committee for their impact on the trajectories of their fields.

These were the discoveries to remember. In fact, studying Nobel Laureates in scientific fields might very well provide a comprehensive overview of the fields themselves. That’s just what Tufts Professors of Biology Sergei Mirkin and Catherine Freudenreich thought when they teamed up to design a biology class on the Hill.

“It’s a terrific crash-course on the main concepts of modern biology [and] the back story of their development,” said Professor Freudenreich about their Seminar in Molecular Biology and Genetics. The course description explains that it focuses on “studies recognized by the Nobel Prize Committee as pivotal to modern molecular biology and genetics.” This includes the discoveries above, as well as the discovery of cell reprogramming into embryonic stem cells, the discovery of RNA interface, and more.

The course is capped at 15 students, the professors explained, which gives them the opportunity to provide individual attention and have in-depth conversations. Sometimes this leads to unexpected tangents. One particularly memorable conversation occurred when the class discussed SELEX technology. Somehow the conversation of two different RNA regulatory sequences spiraled

into a discussion of a theory developed by Tufts physicist Alexander Vilenkin. “Vilenkin proposed the existence of an unlimited number of universes moving away from each other,” said Professor Freudenreich. “It was so fun to discuss the concept of a similar biology class about RNA SELEX taught in a parallel universe, where every conclusion was the same, [but a different RNA sequence] was the natural one.”

Professors Freudenreich and Mirkin’s research is in the characteristics of repetitive DNA sequences. “These sequences form unusual DNA structures which impede genome functioning,” said Professor Freudenreich. “They are the weak links of our genomes that are responsible for many debilitating diseases.” Both Professor Freudenreich and Professor Mirkin have discovered repeats that cause different diseases. Professor Freudenreich also had a hand in that 2009 Nobel Prize mentioned earlier. “I was involved in some early related research, the discovery of the human telomere sequence,” she said. At any given moment, the professors explained, they have three to six undergraduates making significant contributions in their labs. This is what makes Tufts so special, Professor Freudenreich observed. “All the professors [here] are involved in cutting-edge research as well as teaching. This influences the teaching, as we can bring our own experiences to bear… [and] many undergraduates take advantage of the opportunity to [conduct research] with Tufts professors.”

If the DNA double helix, in vitro fertilization, and cell reprogramming get your heartbeat up, perhaps you’ve just found the perfect class for you!

Tufts has two Nobel Prize-winning graduates. Roderick MacKinnon, a graduate of Tufts School of Medicine, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2003 for his work on the structure and operation of ion channels. Eugene Fama, a graduate of Tufts School of Arts and Sciences, received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2013 for his work on stock prices and their responses to new information.

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GY AND GENETICS

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VOXJUMBO CALVIN GIDNEY

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CHILD STUDY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Professor Gidney specializes in areas that include linguistics, literacy, sociolinguistic development, and language in children’s cartoons. He teaches many undergraduate courses at Tufts, including Development of Thought and Language, Understanding Children through Film, and Bilingual Children in U.S. Schools.

Here, he offers his responses to the Tufts supplemental essay questions so that you may get to know him, Tufts, and our application all at the same time.

INTRODUCING THE TUFTS COMMUNITY THROUGH THE TUFTS SUPPLEMENT …

ONE PERSON AT A TIME.

“Why Tufts?”

Tufts is a marvelous blend of a top-tier research university and a small, New England college.

I have found that Tufts students are inquisitive, critical thinkers whose intellectual passions fuel their desire to make a positive difference in the world. They are also really smart. Tufts students are “Renaissance” women and men who are interested in exploring the world around them and creating positive change. To a greater extent than many top-tier schools, Tufts students have the chance to work closely with faculty on research and engage in activism and service. It is a pleasure learning from and with Tufts students.

There is a Quaker saying: “Let your life speak.” Describe the environment in which you were raised and how it influenced the person you are today.

As a sociolinguist, I’m interested in the complex relationships between our personal identities and language. When we speak, we communicate much more than the content of our utterances. Our speech conveys information about our social identity – our place of origin, gender identity, social class, and ethnic identity. As interlocutors, we use this information to form our impressions of others and, often subconsciously, to judge them.

These interests are a direct result of my lived experiences. I was born in the early 60’s in Washington D.C. My parents were members of the first generation of African-Americans who reached the middle class in significant numbers. They decided to send me to elite private schools located in the White section of the city. This meant crossing the cultural divide between Black America and White America every day.

In school, my friends and teachers spoke Standard American English (SAE), the dialect associated with power and privilege taught in schools and universities. In my neighborhood, my friends spoke African-American English (AAE), a variety of American English with roots in the African pidgin and creole languages. I realized that to thrive in both environments, I needed to code switch: speak one way in school and another way in my neighborhood. The consequences for not doing so were considerable. If I spoke SAE to my neighborhood friends, they would accuse me of “thinking I was White.” If I spoke AAE at school, my peers and teachers would deem me “uneducated.” Code switching became second nature to me. It sparked my interest in understanding how language works as a powerful marker of our personal identities and how it can be used to stereotype.

Linguists distinguish two approaches to language norms: prescriptive and descriptive.

Prescriptive approaches to language stress the rules of “proper” usage. Prescriptivists censure non-standard usage, like ending a sentence with a preposition, or ignoring the distinction between the words “few” and “less.” As a science, linguistics is descriptive. Linguists describe how people actually use language, avoiding judgment or bias. Linguists understand that language, like any living thing, changes over time, and that change is inexorable.

As a linguist, I recognize that spelling ‘rules’ such as “‘I’ before ‘E’ except after ‘C’” may serve as useful mnemonics for beleaguered writers, but they disregard the many exceptions and subtle nuances of English spelling. After all, how could linguistics, which is a science, forfeit the opportunity to point out how heinous spelling rules can be? Indeed, our language would be far more beige and bland were it not for the many foreign words and spellings that enrich it. Linguistics teaches me that variation is beautiful and worthy of study, change is inevitable, and rules can hide the wonderful lessons that society can learn from embracing exceptions.

*Want to see the other options for the third question on our supplemental application?

Visit admissions.tufts.edu/apply/essay-questions 12

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Of six options, Professor Gidney chose the following for the final supplemental question: C) Sports, science, and society are filled with rules, theories, and laws.

Pick one and explain its significance to you.

“From this little office in Medford, I am able to do things that have real world implications on the other side of the globe.”

GABE RONDÓN ICHIKAWA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND ECONOMICS DOUBLE MAJOR FROM SEATTLE, WA

’16

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

It’s fitting that I met with Gabe Rondón Ichikawa in the Campus Center, one of the most energetic spots on campus. A double major in International Relations (IR) and economics who plays violin and harbors an unbridled passion for risk analysis, Gabe embodies the same energy. “[I’m] very interested in how cultures mix, and how people from different areas of the world communicate with one another,” said Gabe about his involvement in IR. This interest is, in part, inspired by his own background. Born in Caracas to Japanese and Venezuelan parents, Gabe lived in Lisbon and Seattle before attending an international school in Chile for his final two years of high school. At Tufts, Gabe has surrounded himself with the openmindedness that he identifies with. “[The Tufts IR program has] people who are all interested in and passionate about the same subjects, but with very different points of view,” he said.

Last year, Gabe approached Associate Professor of Economics Drusilla Brown about research opportunities. She asked when he could start, and that very summer he became a research assistant for an International Labor Organization (ILO) project. “The ILO is looking at how to improve working conditions globally while also making factories more productive,” explained Gabe. The organization’s “Better Work” project implements manager training programs in factories around the world. Workers are then surveyed, rating their working conditions and life experiences. Gabe transcribes and analyzes data from these surveys, which are measured next to productivity. “I’m able to learn about people in Bangladesh or Cambodia from this little office in Medford,” explained Gabe.

Gabe’s specialization within the IR major - international trade—complements his second major in economics. “Every decision you make can be boiled down to economics,” he explained, “like the fact that I’m here right now. There’s an opportunity cost [to doing this interview with you]: I’m not writing my Spanish paper,” he joked.

Gabe fell in love with this subject during Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, when his professor covered risk analysis. “How much more money do I have to give a person to [have] them make a decision that they don’t want to make?

That was a concept that I found so interesting,” Gabe said.

Gabe invests himself fully in his passions— I could tell by the way he spoke: with emphasis, speeding up in his excitement, trailing off to begin a new thought. And at Tufts, he’s found a community of students who, like him, refuse to be defined by any one interest. It’s an environment in which he, like so many other Jumbos, thrives.

—BY ABBY MCFEE ’17

COMING SOON:

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COMPLEX

ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAYETTE

Tufts has always been powerful in science and engineering.

Soon the campus will have an exciting new building to house the innovative work happening in those departments.

The all-new 79,000 square-foot Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) will provide undergraduate and graduate students with new classrooms and stateof-the-art laboratories for interdisciplinary research in biology, chemical biology, civil engineering, biomechanical engineering, and environmental studies. The building will also house the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering on campus. One of the goals in building this new space is to foster collaboration; with shared space, many programs can thrive together to develop innovative ideas and technologies across disciplines. The SEC is LEED Platinum certified, meeting today’s highest standards of sustainability and energy efficiency. In fact, it will be one of the most energy-efficient buildings of its kind in the United States. The SEC is targeted to be completed in 2017, and it is accompanied by another new and exciting building to be completed in the near future: 574 Boston Avenue. This space will house physics and astronomy, human factors engineering, Cluster for Robotics Identification & Signal Processing (CRISP), occupational therapy, community health, and child study and human development.

There’s a lot to look forward to!

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AROUND TOWN

A PERSONAL MAP OF THE BOSTON AREA Tufts is, in our humble opinion, the best of both worlds. A beautiful New England campus sitting just four miles outside of the bustling city of Boston, Tufts offers lawns to lounge on and all the perks of urban living just a short walk (or ride on the T, Boston’s subway system) away. We asked some Tufts students to illustrate their own personal maps of Boston and the Medford/Somerville area, highlighting their preferred hot spots and favorite memories. Check it out!

Tufts University “Home sweet home!”

Dave’s Fresh Pasta “Dave’s is walking distance from campus and has the best sandwiches anywhere.”

Diesel Café “Best coffee in the city and my favorite study spot.”

Boston Tea Stop “Where my friends and I play Scrabble and drink tea.”

Fluff Festival “Did you know Fluff was invented in Somerville??

So much marshmallow goodness!”

Club Caribe of Cambridge “Join Club Caribe for a steamy night of salsa dancing!”

Science Museum Observatory “Visit for free on Friday nights. We saw Saturn here!”

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY ROBERTSON

Charlestown High School “Where I teach English as a Second Language every Thursday as part of my education class.”

Frog Pond “The cold isn’t so terrible when you can ice skate on Frog Pond in the Boston Common.”

Logan Airport “Where I leave my home to go home.”

New England Aquarium “My favorite thing to do at the Aquarium is visit the sea turtle in their Giant Ocean Tank.”

Barking Crab “The best seafood in Boston, plus a night on the water with friends!”

WGBH “I interned at this educational PBS member TV station two summers in a row!”

Fenway Park “Where I was standing when the Red Sox won the World Series.”

Symphony Hall “Where I listened to the immensely talented Boston Philharmonic.”

Museum of Fine Arts “Where I fell in love with Goya and Egyptian Funerary Arts.”

House of Blues “I saw my favorite Brazilian singer Michel Teló here.”

Sweet Cupcakes “I visited Sweet every day last summer.”

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The advancement of science over the past few hundred years has given us a wealth of understanding about our world and the entire universe.

Nonetheless, we are nowhere near a point of knowing how it all works. Professor of Physics Alexander Vilenkin and his group of theoretical physicists at the Tufts Institute of Cosmology are on the brink of uncovering answers to some of the deepest, most challenging questions we can ask. When I sat down with Professor Vilenkin, he explained to me that, “Physics is a fascinating field, and I am on the side of it where people are trying to understand why things are the way they are.” Professor Vilenkin’s research focuses on the origin of the universe— how everything came to exist as it does today.

Professor Vilenkin has been one of the most prominent figures in the field of cosmology. He introduced the idea of eternal inflation of the universe from a quantum vacuum, a key concept in how the theory of the Big Bang occurred. Professor Vilenkin came to Tufts as a founding member of the Tufts Institute of Cosmology in 1989, the first institute of cosmology at any university in the world. “Back then there were no others,” he explained, “but now most universities have cosmology centers.” When I asked about other cosmology institutes, Professor Vilenkin said, “Our group is very similar to Stephen Hawking’s group at Cambridge. Some of my students have gone to work with his group as postdocs and some of his have come to work with me.”

I asked how close we truly are to understanding the origin of the universe. He said, “So far, the laws we have discovered here on Earth—for instance gravity—appear to work very well all the way back to the Big Bang. We understand pretty well what happened in our part of the universe as close to one second after the Big Bang.” He says it is difficult to know what happened less than one second after the Big Bang since the temperatures and energies were too high for us to be able to test in particle accelerators. “The closer we get to the Big Bang itself the more things become conjectural.”

Professor Vilenkin’s research in the Institute of Cosmology covers cosmic inflation, dark energy, the multiverse, and more. He also teaches an amazing undergraduate course called Cosmology for the Curious for students of all levels of experience.

Cosmology for the Curious is open to any Tufts undergraduate, regardless of their major. The only pre-requisite is high school algebra. The class is a comprehensive introduction to modern physics and cosmology. It covers concepts from the Big Bang and cosmic inflation to dark matter, cosmic strings (string theory), and the idea of parallel universes.

While many Tufts physics majors go on to be highly advanced physicists, this class and others like it ensure that all students interested in physics at any level have the chance to learn about the universe from one of the world’s greatest physicists.

—CAMERON HARRIS ’18

ALEXANDER VILENKIN PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS AND DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF COSMOLOGY

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

“Today’s physics is tomorrow’s engineering, and today’s philosophy is tomorrow’s physics,” said Professor Alexander Vilenkin, one of the most prominent figures in the field of cosmology.

PHOTOS BY KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY (BAM-BAMS, BOOKS)

HOT ITEMS

YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT TUFTS THROUGH RANDOM ITEMS FOUND ALL OVER CAMPUS.

TEA MUG

BAM-BAMS

MARIO KART

My Resident Assistant (RA) this year—affectionately referred to as “Stacy, our fearless leader”—has begun a new teatime tradition. She provides mugs and a crazy assortment of teas, along with (free!) day-old pastries salvaged from a nearby café, and us residents gather (usually in sweatpants) to sip Apple Spice and forget about homework for a little while.

My kind of tea party!

—Abby McFee ’17

Given away at Homecoming, these “Go Jumbos” bambams were a hit (pun intended) throughout this year’s football season! Going out to support our student athletes never fails to be an awesome time.

—Cameron Harris ’18

The lounge of Houston Hall— — one of four all first-year dorms s on campus—would not be e the same without a game off Mario Kart glaring from the TV screen and Tufts students racing until the crack of dawn.

—Benya Kraus ’18

A RECORD FROM WMFO STUDIO Whether I’m looking to hear a blast from the past or the newest Taylor Swift album, Tufts’ student-run freeform radio station, WMFO, is always the place to go. With a studio chock-full of records, and student DJs on almost twenty-four hours a day, I always try to tune in no matter the hour.

—Charlotte Gilliland ’16

iJUMBO

MY BOOKSHELF

THANK YOU CARDS

iJumbo is my go-to for everything Tufts. Whether I want campus news from the Tufts Daily, a schedule of upcoming events, today’s dining hall menus, or a map to a building I’ve never heard of, I can always rely on iJumbo to help me out. Download it in the App Store!

—Cameron Harris ’18

As I sit to study for finals, I look up and see what I never thought I’d see in my life: an entire half of my bookshelf dedicated to Russian history and Russia-US relations. I came to Tufts knowing little about Russia, and now, after a semester of a class on Russia in the XXI Century, I can quote Pushkin, explain to you Putin’s vertical system of power, and detail the gossip of Catherine the Great’s several love affairs.

I even have 7 tomes of Russian international relations literature to prove it.

—Benya Kraus ’18

As the semester comes to an end, my friends and I decided to make our professors thank you cards. We thanked them for the intellectual adventures, for being so available and easy to approach outside of class, and for always challenging us with contrary viewpoints.

—Amanda Ng Yann Chwen ’18

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NATIONAL CHAMPS ABOUND!

TUFTS’ ATHLETIC TEAMS CONTINUALLY BRING HOME THE TROPHY Since 2010, Tufts University has won six NCAA Division III National Championships. Six. Tufts is the only school in the nation, in any athletic division, to win three national championships in 2014, and we have three more opportunities this spring semester alone. Beyond just these championship teams, the Tufts campus is crawling with AllAmerican individuals, New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) leaders, and dedicated student-athletes at the varsity, club, and intramural levels. Take a look at the four teams that received the

national champ title in the last few years. Go Jumbos!

2014–2015

ATHLETICS

MEN’S SOCCER In the 2014-2015 season, Tufts men’s soccer made history by winning their first NCAA Division III National Championship. Their 4–2 win against Wheaton College (Illinois) concluded a monumental season for the Jumbos, who also beat No. 1 ranked Messiah College (1–0) and Ohio Wesleyan University (3–0) on their road to glory; schools which have a combined 97 NCAA tournament appearances and 14 national championships.

Howard Woolf, father of goalkeeping coach Nick Woolf, believes that the team’s success was due largely to the sense of community between players: “the team culture is wonderful, and I give (Coach) Josh Shapiro credit for creating an upbeat, supportive environment.”

This historic season, with a record of 16–2–4, is the farthest the Jumbos ever reached in the NCAA tournament, followed by their quarterfinal loss in 2012.

WOMEN’S SOFTBALL Last spring, Tufts women’s softball dominated the championship game against Salisbury University to defend their title as NCAA Champions. The game concluded a record setting season of 47–4 for the Jumbos. Head coach and Tufts alumna Cheryl Milligan ’95 led the Jumbos to their first NCAA Championship the previous spring (2012–2013).

Their recent victory earns them the place as the first Division III softball team to win back-to-back titles since St. Thomas in 2005. In this championship series, Allyson Fournier ’15 pitched 24 straight shutout innings in the series against Salisbury. Allyson, who received the Honda Sports Award as NCAA Division III Athlete of the Year in 2013, shared Most Outstanding Player honors with catcher Jo Clair ’14, who ended her Tufts career with 67 home runs, placing her third on the all-time Division III list.

2012–2013

In May, the Tufts men’s lacrosse team won their second NCAA championship with a 12–9 victory over Salisbury University.

There were over 22,000 people in attendance, and this marked the third time that Tufts and Salisbury met in the NCAA Final.

After their victory in 2010, Tufts now leads the series 2–1.

Goalie Patton Watkins ’14 made 17 saves during the game, while Cole Bailey ’15, named Most Outstanding Player, tallied 1 goal and 5 assists. Tufts overcame an early deficit and a 5–2 disadvantage in penalties, despite playing without national leading goal scorer Chris Schoenhut ’15, who scored 80 goals this season but was injured in the semi-final win. The Jumbos finished the season with 423 goals to set a new NCAA Division III single-season record. Recently, Tufts lacrosse alumni Drew Innis ’04 directed and edited a documentary about the victory, entitled Tufts Lacrosse: Full Circle—The Road to the 2014 National Championship.

2013–2014

2013–2014

PHOTOS BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY (LEFT & RIGHT), KELVIN MA/TUFTS UNIVERSITY (CENTER)

MEN’S LACROSSE

WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY In the fall of 2012, Tufts earned its first women’s team title in history with the women’s field hockey 2–1 victory over Montclair State at the NCAA Division III Championship. Heading into the NESCAC semifinals the Jumbos had a 14 game winning streak, which came to an end after their loss to Bowdoin (4–1). Despite this, the team, led by head coach Tina McDavitt, headed to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five years. The women earned their spot in the NCAA semifinals for the third time (previously 2008 and 2009) with a win over Bowdoin.

In the semifinals, the Jumbos defeated the DePauw Tigers (2–0) who had recently beat the national number 1 seed team Middlebury in the third round, to advance to the NCAA final for only the second time in team history. In the championship game, Hannah Park ’16 was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring twice, ensuring the victory, and ending the season with a 19–2 record.

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By Abby McFee ’17

WE TRADE BATHTUBS, LIVING ROOMS, AND BACKYARDS FOR COMMUNAL SHOWERS, COMMON ROOMS, ILLUSTRATION PHOTO BY

BY JAMES YANG

AND RESIDENTIAL QUADS, AND WE LOVE THIS NEW, EVOLVING HOME, 5,000 PEOPLE LARGE AND POPULATED WITH EXCITEMENT. BUT EVEN COLLEGE STUDENTS CRAVE FAMILIARITY, AND AT TUFTS, FAMILIARITY OFTEN TAKES THE FORM OF THE FACES GREETING US EVERY DAY IN THE ENTRANCE TO THE DINING HALLS, SCANNING OUR ID CARDS WHEN WE MUSTER THE MOTIVATION TO GO TO THE GYM, AND PROVIDING SAFE SHUTTLE RIDES ACROSS CAMPUS AT NIGHT: OUR STAFF MEMBERS. 23

it. Nowadays I have a very good relationship with many students. They ask me, ‘How are you?’ It’s not only a formality; they really mean it and want to know how I am feeling. I have found that closeness with the students.”

College is the first time that most people venture to live in a place where no one knows them. That initial anonymity can be liberating but also unsettling. The process of transitioning to college is very much a process of connecting with others—of recognizing faces and being recognized. Early freshman year, I came home from class one day and opened the door to my dorm room to find a friend lying on my bed reading a textbook.

I thought, Ah, this is what it feels like. I’m home.

I felt the same way when a Dining Services worker and I exchanged our favorite recipes for cornbread, when a gym employee remembered me as the girl who always struggles to scan her ID card correctly, and when a doctor at Health Services jovially showed me an anatomical diagram of the part of my foot afflicted by tendonitis. Everywhere I go on campus, I encounter people who work long hours, investing their own skills and charisma in the process, in order to provide necessary services for students.

In my forty-person dorm, Carpenter House, I am greeted most mornings by our janitor, Ana. She works diligently every weekday to care for our physical home, but she transcends her job description by caring for the students who live in it, too.

“Ana is friendly and sweet. She introduced herself right away and always takes the time to say hi,” Eliza Dillaway ’17 said.

“Every morning I go down to the kitchen to make my coffee, and Ana is there making her café in a tiny metal cup. I’ve learned that she is from El Salvador and has been looking after Tufts students for 15 years.”

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW B. MODOONO FOR TUFTS UNIVERSITY

The community at Tufts is like one big family and the students that live here are only one part of it. It takes a village to keep a university like Tufts running, and there are countless individuals involved in everything from miracles of food preparation and service in the dining halls to keeping everyone safe and healthy.

These people become part of Tufts’ students daily interactions, and they impact the student experience enormously.

asika Sethi ’17 traveled 8, 500 miles from Bangkok, Thailand, to make her home at Tufts. Her arrival on campus marked her first visit to the U.S. and her first time setting foot on a college campus. Quick-witted and abuzz with passion, Rasika strikes me as someone with a gift for adapting to new situations—someone who could befriend anyone. She says that connecting with others is an effort she makes consciously.

“On the flight back to Bangkok, I was sitting next to this guy. You know how when you’re on the subway, you don’t talk to other people because there’s an awkward boundary? Well, we started talking,” she said. “He was a 40-year-old construction worker, and his perspectives were really fascinating. I talked to him about living in Thailand and moving to America.

It’s really cool to just hear people. I want to know everyone.

Everyone has a story.”

Recently, Rasika struck up a conversation with Sunita Karki, a Tufts Dining Services employee from Nepal with a background in health education. “For me, being an international student, it was a huge adjustment coming here,” Rasika said. “It was interesting to see how Sunita felt coming here for the first time.

It was interesting to see the same experience, among not only students, but also staff members. There’s a connection there.”

When Sunita began working at Tufts in September, I noticed her immediately. Stationed at the entrance counter to the dining hall, she swipes ID cards at dinnertime, offering a beaming smile and a sincere hello to each student she encounters.

“Working with the students attracted me to come here [to Tufts Dining],” Sunita said, “because I had been working at a school with students for ten years in Nepal and really enjoyed

ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES YANG

“An important aspect of feeling at home in a university is knowing that you are being supported by those around you.”

While the academic lives of college students are enriched by relationships with professors, and social lives are built through meaningful connections with other students, interactions with staff members are intermingled with our day-to-day lives, becoming part of our routines and contributing to our sense of belonging. Even the briefest of these encounters can carry meaning.

Jasmine Bland ’15 said, “Even something as simple as a hug from the janitorial staff at the end of a semester reminds me that the people around me are cheering me on as I try to navigate Tufts.”

As a Resident Advisor in a freshman and sophomore dorm, Jasmine has had the opportunity to work with some of the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers, who provide support during emergencies and ensure the safety and well-being of students. “Officer Moses Curry is probably one of the most charismatic members of TUPD that I have had the pleasure of working with,” she told me. “No matter how stressful the situation is, he manages to keep everyone calm. I would even go so far as saying that he is a bit of a campus celebrity.”

Officer Curry is not the only Tufts staff member who has gained a following. Idah Duche, a cheerful cashier at Hodgdon On-the-Run, has become a household name on campus over the past four years, celebrated for her inimitable “Hello! How are you?” and her ability to make even a student in the midst of cramming for finals feel, for a few moments at least, elated.

Isha Patnaik ’17 was familiar with Idah as the Hodgdon luminary but got to know her on a more personal level when they took the same Child Development class. “She borrowed my book to do the reading,” Isha said, “and after that, she and I talked about our interest in the subject and her own children.”

“Idah is the nicest human alive,” Isha continued. “She makes everyone, no matter what, feel welcome. She’ll remember everything you tell her about your life or your hopes or your dreams and ask you about them when you see her.”

Idah is devoted to her work and said that she strives to go “above and beyond.” For her, this means paying special attention to her interactions with students and ensuring that she imparts some happiness to each one of them. “I’m very excited to be working with the Tufts community, because when I relocated from Zimbabwe to the United States, this was my first job,” Idah said. “I feel like I’m at home.”

The quality of dining hall food, the last-renovated date of dorm buildings, the types of entertainment available on campus: all of these things matter, but the actual feeling of being at home in college usually comes down to the people. That’s why Idah’s brief greetings carry a lasting impact, why having the phone number for TUPD stored in my phone is comforting to me, and why the many staff members at Tufts, while carrying out their jobs, have become part of the campus. I wouldn’t trade this multifaceted home for anything—not even for a bathtub.

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ETHAN DANAHY Ethan Danahy’s area of expertise is in innovative and interactive teaching tools and engineering education.

His own educational background has Jumbo pride all over it: he holds three Tufts degrees, which makes him a triple Jumbo.

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Imagine you had to build a robot. What materials would you use? How would you put it together? How would you program it to do what you want? There’s a lot to consider, and it can take years to really understand the process. That’s why Professor Ethan Danahy is teaching his freshman intro to engineering course using LEGO bricks.

The class, Simple Robotics, teaches students the process of designing and implementing devices that perform desired tasks while still adhering to certain constraints—something that, as engineers, they will have to do a lot of in the future. Using LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics kits, Professor Danahy can focus on the design process and group work without the need for students to have years of prior engineering experience. “Much of freshman year is about learning what engineering is,” he explained.

“I want to get students excited about it right from the beginning.”

That’s not to say that his course is child’s play.

“Some may view [LEGO products] as a toy, but they’re really an educational tool. The assignments are still very difficult,” he said. These assignments include

E’00, G’02, G’07 building a robot that can tell a story using puppets and creating an interactive, large-scale toy or game for young children. A large part of the design is making sure it’s durable and sturdy enough for kids to use, while keeping it as fun as possible. At the end of the semester the class has a project fair, where children aged four to eight from the local community come in to play with the games and toys that the Tufts undergraduates have made.

Professor Danahy is taking these concepts outside of the classroom as well; he’s working on using LEGO bricks to expose kids to engineering as early as middle or even elementary school. In fact, as the Director of Engineering Research at the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO), his research is on educational technologies. “It’s really about designing new hardware, software, and interfaces to put in classrooms to help teachers teach and students learn,” he said.

Some of the technologies that Professor Danahy helped to develop have gone beyond lab research to real-world classroom application and even commercialization. One example is SAM (Stop Action

RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND OUTREACH (CEEO)

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Movie) Animation, a simple stop-motion video-editing software designed for classroom use created at the CEEO. He explained that video editors like iMovie can be too complicated for young kids, who will often spend more time learning how to use the software than actually using it. SAM Animation was made to reduce this learning curve. “The beauty of it is that it has no features,” he said. “The core functionality resonates with teachers and students.”

Professor Danahy’s passion for education began when he himself was a student at Tufts. He would go on to receive three Tufts degrees in engineering before becoming faculty. “You get the best of both worlds here—[Tufts] isn’t far from a thriving city, but it’s able to maintain its unique campus identity separate from the city itself,” he said. “I love the environment.” His time as a student introduced him to the CEEO, which allowed him to combine his love of education and engineering. Whether he’s researching educational technologies at the CEEO or building robots with his students, it’s clear that Professor Danahy is always thinking outside the blocks.

—MATTHEW PETERSON ’16

ARTS HIGHLIGHT

THE FIRST YEAR SHOWCASE

The Best Drama Course a Freshman Could Ask For

PHOTOS BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

By Charlotte Gilliland ’16

Jumping into an upper level course during your first semester at college sounds a little daunting… right?

Well, have no fear, because the Department of Drama and Dance recently started offering an introductory class for only first-year students. This past semester the course was made up of ten freshmen.

Together they explored each role of production in the theater: from lighting and sound to costume design and acting.

Professor and Chair of Drama and Dance Heather Nathans, a former Jumbo herself, taught the introductory course. She was joined by two coteachers, Danielle Rosvally and Ibby Cizmar, who

are both on their way to receiving PhDs in drama from Tufts. That makes the student to faculty ratio in this course about 3 to 1.

The course, Danielle explained, concentrated on practical skills. “We focused on something [students] could immediately turn around and use,” she explained. “[We provided] a lot of hands-on mentorship... it was a very safe place to try new things.”

The class culminated in not one, but two performances: The Battle of Bull Run Always Makes Me Cry and The League of Semi-Superheroes. For each production, one half of the students worked on the technical side of production, while the other half performed. For the second performance, the cast and crew switched roles, allowing each member to experience both sides of the craft.

For many of these students, this course didn’t just introduce them to the drama department; it offered an on-stage opportunity outside of the many time-consuming extracurricular drama troupes that

can often feel daunting for freshmen trying to get their feet wet. “The course is great because we understand that you’re new here,” said Danielle.

“It’s a good way to get involved but also to enter into the university without feeling awkward about asking questions.”

Throughout the semester, first-year students were partnered with older mentors in one of Tufts’ many performance groups. More importantly, though, they found a close knit group of friends who shared their passion (whether newfound or not) for theater.

“One of the [students’] journals we read said…

‘I met by best friend in this class,’” Danielle recalled.

“They didn’t want to leave the theater on the last night.” Seems like a successful introduction to the drama department to me!

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ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX NABAUM C/O THEISPOT.COM

INSTANT GRADIFICATION

Graduate Studies at an Undergraduate Level

By Griffin Quasebarth ’15

Wait wait wait, hear me out for a minute. I know that many of you are looking at college for the first time and you’re probably thinking: “Grad school? This guy wants me to think about grad school already??” The answer is: no…but also a little bit yes.

31

A

t the undergraduate level, Tufts offers the opportunity for students to find their own path, and much of that growth can be achieved through the unique exposure undergraduates have to Tufts’ graduate level work. Undergraduates at Tufts have their home base on the main campus in Medford and Somerville, just five miles outside of Boston. But go into the city, and you will find quite a few Tufts graduate programs: the School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences. Fifty miles west you will find the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. And right here among our undergraduates in Medford and Somerville, there are the Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Undergraduates have unique exposure to these eight graduate and professional schools. Here, taking graduate-level seminars, working alongside graduate students, and getting involved in meaningful research, are all very much a possibility as soon as you arrive on campus your freshman year. These connections open doors, allow students to network, and add a completely new and exciting dimension to typical undergraduate learning.

So whether you’re already plotting medical school in the future or you can’t even think past tomorrow, graduate school is going to be part of your Jumbo experience.

One way to take advantage of the access to graduate school is through course work. Many undergraduates will end up taking a class at the graduate level before their four years are up. Some might even find themselves in a class taught by a professor at one of Tufts’ professional schools. Dr. Jonathan Garlick, a professor at the School of Dental Medicine, for example, teaches a seminar for undergraduates on science-based social and ethical dilemmas. Professor Garlick is a stem cell researcher and cancer pathologist, but he’s also known around the Tufts undergraduate campus as the professor who raps about pluripotent cells and blood clots in his all-freshman class. Taking classes at the graduate level is about gaining depth of knowledge on a particular topic, whether that topic is human genetics, agricultural development, theater and performance, or anything in between. Hayden Lizotte ’15 has taken a number of classes that included both undergraduate and graduate students, including a philosophy course on Aristotle called Happiness and the Good Life, a Greek language course, and an independent study on the history of Bengal. Professor Gibson Cima in the Department of Drama and Dance teaches a course on post-9/11 theater to both undergraduates and graduate students, and she makes sure all undergraduates understand the

true meaning of graduate level work. “The expectations [in this class] are the same for my undergraduate and graduate students,” she said. “We read on average two books every week.”

Rigor aside, taking classes that reach the depth of graduate level work in a topic can lead to some exciting class conversations. I remember taking a class my sophomore year with Professor of Japanese Hosea Hirata on the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Professor Hirata is close friends with Murakami himself, and the acclaimed author actually lived at Tufts for a year while writing one of his books. Given the intimate nature of Professor Hirata’s knowledge, I naturally assumed that all the questions being asked already had answers, until one day when we came upon a particularly cryptic passage. As usual, Dr. Hirata asked us what we thought of it. After we offered some possible interpretations, I assumed he would then enlighten us with its true meaning.

However, he simply said, “Those are some good ideas. I don’t know either.” The fact that a professor would admit to not knowing everything about a subject really changed the way I viewed the class. Instead of just listening to a lecture where we were told what was right and wrong, we were having a conversation, which made a big difference for me. At Tufts, even professors at the forefront of their fields are approachable. Professor Garlick puts it like this: “Undergraduate students have uniquely open minds and we can provide them a safe haven in which to examine the breadth and depth of their human experience. It’s our responsibility [as teachers] to allow that to happen.”

Tufts students begin doing research with professors as early as freshman year. At many big research universities, students are judged solely on their seniority when being considered for research positions. Not a junior or senior? Not going to be helping in research. At Tufts, however, not only can you be a part of this process as soon as you arrive on campus, but professors will even actively seek you out.

Emily McDowell ’15 found that to be true as a sophomore taking a Psychology of Music course with Professor of Psychology Robert Cook. Professor Cook reached out to Emily after the semester because he had noticed how interested she was in the material. He offered her a research position, and she’s still working in his Avian Cognition Lab today. There, she studies visual and auditory discrimination and comparative cognition - how different species process their environments. “Dr. Cook is always available to talk with you,” said Emily.

“Whether it’s about your research or really anything else about your life, he’ll listen to you for hours.” Now, as a senior, Emily is conducting research alongside graduate and doctoral candidates.

This experience is not uncommon. Professor of Chemistry David Walt often welcomes freshmen and sophomores into his lab, and by the time they

Research and graduate classes require the teacher to abandon the ‘sage on the stage’ approach and instead act more like a ‘guide on the side.’

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Tufts Graduate and Professional Schools Attending a university with graduate programs as an undergraduate can enrich your experience in so many ways, whether or not you plan on continuing your education after you receive your bachelor’s degree.

Take a look at all of Tufts’ graduate and professional schools, and think about the many ways they will come into play in your undergraduate experience.

graduate, he said, “They are almost as good as a PhD student in terms of how sophisticated their projects are.” Professor Walt’s research is in the development of a technology that can count single molecules of proteins and DNA in blood. The goal of his research is to develop methods for detecting both breast cancer and infectious diseases at the very earliest stages. This kind of cutting-edge work is available to undergraduates across disciplines.

Whether a scientist or diplomat, the opportunities are plentiful: maybe you want to do research at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences on the role of T-follicular helper cells in autoimmune diseases, or you’re excited about research at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy on public diplomacy practices by the United States. Whatever the topic may be, conducting research gives student the tools to really dig in. For many students research may also crystallize an interest that wasn’t totally there before, giving them an idea of what might come after graduation. For some, this might actually be continuing on to a Tufts graduate program.

For students who do hope to receive two degrees from Tufts—or become “double Jumbos”—there are a dozen different paths to take. Tufts students can begin earning master’s degree credit as early as junior year in college by applying for five-year programs in the School of Arts and Sciences or School of Engineering. These run the gamut from philosophy to astrophysics to computer science. There are two combined degrees with the School of Medicine: Public Health and Health Communications. Jasmine Bland ’15, a child study and human development major, was accepted to the School of Medicine as part of the Public Health combined degree program last year.

Mixing undergraduate and graduate courses, Jasmine will graduate with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in public health in five years. And many more students will begin graduate study at Tufts after they finish their undergraduate degrees. The Tufts Plus program, for example, features a streamlined application process: the application fee and GRE requirement are waived for many of the master’s programs across the School of Arts and Sciences. The School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine offer early assurance programs through which undergraduates can gain admission without the MCAT or GRE during their sophomore year.

Hopefully now the benefits of getting an undergraduate education at a university with accessible graduate and professional programs are clear.

Tufts is special not just because these unique graduate opportunities exist, but because they are accessible. I know coming into freshman year I was intimidated by the prospect of working alongside people who are experts and innovators in subjects that I was just learning about for the first time. But Tufts is a place where you know your professors, and your opinions carry weight.

This is due in no small part to the efforts and attitudes of the professors themselves. Associate Professor of Child Study and Human Development Calvin Gidney puts it like this: “Research and graduate classes require the teacher to abandon the ‘sage on a stage’ approach and instead act more like a ‘guide on the side.’” My classes are collaborative and discussionbased, just like graduate level seminars, because of this “guide on the side” approach. Professors at Tufts are genuinely interested in what you have to say, because at Tufts, it’s about finding your unique voice. And hey, maybe you’ll consider grad school after that.

Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offering Degrees in: • Art and Art History • Art History and Museum Studies • Biology • Chemistry • Chemistry/Biotechnology • Child Study and Human Development • Classics • Classical Archaeology • Economics • Education • French • German • History • History and Museum Studies • Mathematics • Museum Education • Music • Occupational Therapy • Philosophy • Physics • Physics: Astrophysics • Public Policy • School Psychology • Studio Art: Joint Program with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston • Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Graduate School of Engineering offering Degrees in: • Bioengineering • Biomedical Engineering • Chemical Engineering • Civil and Environmental Engineering • Computer Science • Electrical and Computer Engineering • Engineering Management: The Gordon Institute • Human Factors • Mechanical Engineering Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences Tufts University School of Medicine Tufts University School of Dental Medicine 33

ADVICE

HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT SCHOOL FOR YOU Many of you have been admitted to more than one school and are now wondering how you’ll choose where to go next year. First of all, congratulations! That’s a wonderful problem to have. Now, let us try to help you make this decision. This “How To” is all about choosing the right school for you, whether you can or cannot physically visit the schools to which you’ve been admitted. Juniors, you can use this guide as you begin forming your list.

Read on, and good luck!

IF YOU CAN VISIT 1. GO TO SCHOOL

2. LIVE THE COLLEGE LIFE FOR A DAY

3. ESCAPE YOUR PARENTS

You’re going to college to learn, so think about the classroom experience. Pick two classes that sound interesting and represent different levels of coursework—one intro, one advanced. Sit in and see what happens. Are the professors engaging? Are the students invested? Can you see yourself there? When asking yourself these questions, think not only about yourself as you are now, but also about who you want to be four years down the road. Hopefully you want to go to a school where you’ll be challenged and encouraged to grow intellectually. Will the students and professors in these classes challenge the way you think and help you mature intellectually into someone you’ll be proud of?

You are no longer thinking about this in the abstract sense; soon you will be living and learning in a totally new environment. This will be your new norm. So plan your day on campus in a way that feels authentic to your future life. Actually eat the food. Go to classes. Experience the dorms. In fact, have a slumber party! Many schools—including Tufts—offer overnight stays during their open houses for admitted students. Do this, or stay with someone you know if you can’t attend the open house. As you go about your day, think, “Can I do this every day for four years?” Factor in things like weather, traveling home, and the campus vibe. Most importantly, think about who you meet. Do these people seem like your future friends and mentors?

The first time you visited college campuses, you probably stuck close to your family. Now that it’s decision time, it makes sense to experience the campus the way you’ll be seeing it for the next four years: without parents or siblings in tow. During accepted student days, for example, a “divide and conquer” approach can work really well for families—you go to the events that appeal to you and send your well-meaning relatives off to other ones.

Being on your own frees you up to chat with your neighbors, make friends, ask your own questions, and see your (possible) future home on your own terms. And when the visit’s over, you and your family can compare notes over dinner!

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ILLUSTRATIONS BY JAN KALLWEJT

IF YOU CAN’T VISIT 1. USE SOCIAL MEDIA

2. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Now is the time to be proactive in getting the information you need. Facebook can be extremely helpful—the Tufts Class of 2019 Facebook page is buzzing with questions from others in your position, as well as answers from current students and insights into life on the Hill. You can also email current undergraduates—visit admissions.tufts. edu/life-at-tufts/connect-with-students for more information—and ask those questions you feel are most important to you. Ask friends and family if they know anyone at these schools to whom you could reach out. And don’t be afraid of print media either!

Magazines (like this one!) can give you a sense of a school’s vibe. A school’s publications—like Tufts’ student-run newspaper, The Daily, or the university’s student magazine, The Observer, can also help.

Look for articles from those publications online!

At a certain point, most of the schools you’re considering will look similar by the numbers, so asking about class size, programs, and student-faculty ratios is no longer helpful. The trick is to think about fit. Here are some questions you could ask to get answers that will actually help you determine fit at this stage of the process: What is the coolest thing a friend of yours is doing on campus? Can you describe your favorite professor? What’s the most interesting class you’ve taken so far? What did you do last weekend and what do you plan to do this weekend? Reach out to students or to the admissions office. Our email address is undergraduate. admissions@tufts.edu, and we’re more than happy to help!

3. INCLUDE A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR DECISION This is a personal decision that often becomes very public. While everyone in your world might think it is open season for unsolicited opinions, trust yourself and your judgment. Block out the white noise and do what’s best for you. Some conversations will need to include your immediate family—financial aid is an important one, distance from home might be another—but in the end, this is where you will spend the next four years. Make sure you come first in the decision process.

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PHOTO BY NICHOLAS PFOSI FOR TUFTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Students of all abilities can sail the Mystic River (and explore the new Tufts boathouse) with the FIT Pre-Orientation program.

TUFTS PRE-ORIENTATION PROGRAMS

YOU’RE OFF AND AWAY! PHOTOS BY SOPHIA CARKONEN (TWO), FOCUS PRE-ORIENTATION PROGRAM, SOPHIA LIN (FIT), ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS PHOTOGRAPHY (CAFE), KELVIN MA/TUFTS PHOTOGRAPHY (GO)

By Amanda Ng Yann Chwen ’18

For many Tufts freshmen, college begins with a PreOrientation program, which kick starts their Tufts experience a little early and a little unconventionally.

These Jumbos arrive the week before general undergraduate orientation and embark on journeys with groups of fellow incoming Jumbos, led by current students. Often, they become friends that last for long after.

Check out the five options!

TUFTS WILDERNESS ORIENTATION (TWO) If spending five days out in the wild sounds cool to you, then TWO may be the way to go. In small groups, incoming Jumbos and their upperclassman leaders embark on backpacking, canoeing, hybrid and trail crew trips. Students experience brilliant views from rocky mountaintops, paddle through pristine lakes, and stargaze under clear night skies in New Hampshire, Maine, or Vermont. “It may sound cliché,” said Benya Kraus ’18, “but hiking and camping and hitting each other with smelly socks in the middle of the mountains is the best way to discover and build the strongest of friendships.”

FITNESS AND INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AT TUFTS (FIT)

CONVERSATION, ACTION, FAITH, AND EDUCATION (CAFÉ)

If sports and fitness sounds more like your kind of thing, then this may indeed be a great FIT. Through FIT, students learn about exercise, nutrition, stress management, recreational opportunities, and how to balance school, work, and other obligations.

Activities include kayaking, yoga, rock climbing, social events, and more. In the words of Chris Anderson ’18, “FIT afforded me a chance to meet new people and feel more socially confident going into orientation. But more importantly, staying on campus and settling in eased the orientation week stress and let us explore campus more freely.”

Over five days, Jumbos participating in the CAFÉ pre-orientation program explore religious and philosophical expressions together in small groups.

The smallest and most intimate pre-orientation program at Tufts, CAFÉ allows students to connect with fellow freshmen from all kinds of religious, nonreligious, spiritual, and ethical backgrounds to develop leadership skills and engage in thoughtprovoking conversations—ones that will no doubt continue and evolve throughout their four years on the Hill.

FRESHMAN ORIENTATION COMMUNITY SERVICE (FOCUS) For service-oriented Jumbos, FOCUS is perfect.

The five-day community service experience takes place across the greater Boston area. Students serve local host communities—and get to know Medford, Somerville, or Boston along the way. As Nath Samaratunga ’18 puts it, “[FOCUS] made the beginning of school better because it allowed me to find amazing, fun people who really made me feel like part of a family, which is exactly what I needed at the start of college … [and] it made me even more excited to meet everyone else at Tufts afterwards.”

GLOBAL ORIENTATION (GO) GO appeals to students arriving from outside of the US and those who are curious about viewing the college experience through a global lens. From a late-night scavenger hunt around campus to a boat ride along the Boston Harbor, GO is an exciting way to introduce students to life at Tufts and the greater Boston area. I participated myself, and the best part was the diversity of backgrounds and stories everyone brought to campus. It was thrilling to get to know Tufts alongside classmates from as far as Thailand and Nigeria and as near as Boston and NYC.

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PROGRAMS With nearly 150 majors and minors, 30 interdisciplinary programs, and the courses of the ExCollege, Tufts’ offerings require more than a brief skimming, so you can find an expansion of this quick list on our website. But in the meantime, skim away.

Just note that Tufts undergraduate programs are offered in two schools: Arts & Sciences and Engineering. You can choose majors and minors in either or both schools, and many students do. You may even transfer from one school to the other.

SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES MAJORS

Greek and Latin

Civil Engineering

Geoengineering

History

Computer Engineering

Geology

*available only as a double major

Interdisciplinary Studies

Electrical Engineering

Geoscience

Africana Studies

International Literary and Visual Studies

Environmental Engineering

German

Mechanical Engineering

Greek

American Studies Anthropology Applied Mathematics Applied Physics Arabic Archaeology Architectural Studies Art History Astrophysics

International Relations Italian Studies Japanese Judaic Studies Latin Latin American Studies Mathematics

ADDITIONAL DEGREE OPTIONS

Architectural Studies Engineering Physics Engineering Psychology/ Human Factors

Greek Archaeology Greek Civilization Hebrew History Italian

Engineering Science

Japanese

Environmental Health

Judaic Studies

Middle Eastern Studies

Latin

Music

MINORS

Peace and Justice Studies

Africana Studies

Latino Studies

Philosophy

Arabic

Leadership Studies

Physics

Architectural Engineering

Linguistics

Political Science

Architectural Studies

Psychology

Art History

Mass Communications and Media Studies

Psychology/Clinical Concentration

Asian American Studies

Mathematics

Quantitative Economics

Astrophysics

Medieval Studies

Religion

Biotechnology Engineering

Multimedia Arts

Russian and Eastern European Studies

Chemical Engineering

Music

Child Study and Human Development

Music Engineering

Russian Language and Literature Sociology

Chinese

Physics

Spanish

Cognitive and Brain Sciences

Political Science

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Colonialism Studies

Religion

Computer Science

Roman Archaeology

FIVE YEAR COMBINED DEGREE PROGRAMS

Dance

Roman Civilization

Drama

Russian

Tufts/New England Conservatory: BA or BS and Bachelor of Music

Economics

Sociology

Education

Spanish

Engineering Education

Studio Art

Engineering Management

Urban Studies

French

Tufts/SMFA (School of the Museum of Fine Arts): BA or BS and Bachelor of Fine Arts

Engineering Science Studies

Geological Sciences/Earth and Ocean Sciences

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING MAJORS

English

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Biochemistry Biology Biomedical Engineering Sciences* Biopsychology Biotechnology* Chemical Physics Chemistry Child Study and Human Development Chinese Classical Studies Cognitive and Brain Sciences Community Health* Computer Science Drama Economics Engineering Psychology/ Human Factors English Environmental Studies* Film and Media Studies (Anticipated 2015)

Geology/Earth and Ocean Sciences

Entrepreneurial Leadership Film Studies

German Language and Literature

PROFESSIONAL DEGREES

German Studies

Biomedical Engineering

Finance

Greek

Chemical Engineering

French

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Latin American Studies

Philosophy

CLASS HIGHLIGHTS INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AND VISUAL STUDIES (ILVS) One of Tufts’ most unique majors, ILVS is the study of literature, film, and visual arts in an international context. The major has a foreign language component, and students must also choose a literature, film, or visual studies emphasis along with two geographic or conceptual areas of focus. Here are just some examples of courses an ILVS major may take: Film and Nation: Russia and Central Asia

Classical Mythology

Love and Sexuality in World Literature

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Visual Anthropology Cinema of Greater China International Women Film Directors How Films Think Black World Literature and Film Jewish Experience on Film

American Indian Writers Gender in Japanese Culture Festival and Politics in Latin America Aegean Archaeology African Art in Motion Buddhist Art Classics of French Cinema Gay and Lesbian Theater and Film

Music on Film / Film on Music Greeks and Barbarians

PHOTO BY ALONSO NICHOLS/TUFTS UNIVERSITY

CHEMICAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING Here are just some of the many classes taught through the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering this semester: Molecular Biotechnology

Protein Purification

Reactor Design

Recombinant DNA Techniques

Membrane Separation Processes Thermal-fluid Transport

Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine

Physical Chemistry of Polymers

Cell / Microbe Cultivation

Air Pollution Control

Drug Product Formulation

Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies

Clean Energy Technologies and Policy Issues

Surface and Colloid Chemistry

Electronic Devices for Energy Applications

ELIZABETH FOSTER ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY

Professor Foster didn’t always know she would be an academic specializing in Franco-African relations and modern France. Her interest in colonized people began in college when she worked on the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Montana. She then completed her undergraduate thesis on French colonial history and conducted research in France as a Fulbright scholar.

Professor Foster teaches many courses at Tufts, including France in WWI, Africa since the 18th Century, Europe’s Twentieth Century, and the Legacy of WWI. A fundamental aspect of all her courses is instilling a deep understanding of how to study history, so she works side-by-side with students to find and interpret primary sources. “Historical interpretation is an art,” she said, describing factors such as agency, power, and points of tension surrounding each primary source.

Professor Foster is adamant that students are always welcome to challenge her personal findings and research of historical sources. “Class is supposed to be a safe space where we can always [respectfully] disagree,” she said. Her goal is to teach new viewpoints that students may not have considered, and push beyond the common perspective. She views working with primary sources and first-hand accounts as the best way to learn. “It’s like a treasure hunt of history,” she explained.

Last semester, Professor Foster’s class on modern French history read a novel about delinquency written by the son of Algerian immigrants who lived in a marginalized suburb of Paris. The novel inspired many students to contact Professor Foster after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine, sparking a dialogue about the roots of discontent among immigrant communities in France.

In Tufts’ Department of History, this type of open discussion between students and professors is common. “[Tufts students are a] really great mix of curious and willing…not arrogant,” said Professor Foster, who appreciates Jumbos’ genuine desire to engage and participate in thoughtful conversation.

Professor Foster recognizes that studying history can be intimidating, but the great thing about it, she said, is that there’s something “fundamentally human” about history. After all, we have all been shaped by it and continue to live through it every single day.

—DANIELLE BRYANT ’15 40

PHOTO BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

“Class is supposed to be a safe space where we can always [respectfully] disagree,” said Assistant Professor of History Elizabeth Foster.

JUMBO SIGHTINGS TUFTS STUDENTS CAN’T LOOK AT ELEPHANTS WITHOUT SEEING JUMBO. IF YOU’VE SPOTTED ONE LATELY, SEND AN EMAIL WITH YOUR PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS TO JUMBOEDITOR@TUFTS.EDU

GABRIELLA GOLDSTEIN ’84 AKSHITA VAIDYANATHAN ’16 from Singapore Director of the Tufts “The Elephant in Bali, European Center “Tufts students at the ‘Fon- Indonesia serves great food! I had taine des Elephants’ delicious gnocchi.” in Chambery.”

HALEY COSTIGAN AND MARGI WHITTINGHAM ‘10 These Jumbo alums spotted this elephant on a safari in South Africa.

LIZZY ROBINSON ’15 from Albany NY “Taken in China during the summer of 2011”

TOM ESPONNETTE Assistant Director of Admissions “Spotted this Jumbo puzzle while spending time in Acadia National Park.”

OLIVIA MACDOUGAL ’18 from Clayton MO “This small 3D printed elephant was part of a scavenger hunt.”

DANIEL AND CONSTANCE THAYER, ’09 AND ’10 A fitting cake topper for this Jumbo wedding!

DAN GRAYSON ’06 from Baltimore MD “Spotted on Pi Day, in the campus center, with a poster.”

MR. AND MRS. MICHAEL SOKOLSKI Jumbo Parents “We had this cake at our son’s graduation party last May.”

BORIS HASSELBLATT Associate Provost and Professor of Mathematics “This sculpture in Yokohama, Japan, actually moves!”

PHOTOS BY STUDENTS & ADMINISTRATION

Equal Opportunity Applicants for admission and employment, students, employees, sources of referral of applicants for admission and employment, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with Tufts University are hereby notified that this institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, veteran status, or national origin in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries or complaints concerning Tufts University’s compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, or Section 504 is directed to contact the Office of Equal Opportunity on the Medford/Somerville campus, 617-6273298 or 800-611-5060 (TDD 617-627-3370). This office has been designated by Tufts University to coordinate the institution’s efforts to comply with the regulations implementing Title VI, Title IX, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Section 504. Any person may also contact the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202, or the Director, U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Region One, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, regarding the institution’s compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI, 34 C.F.R. Part 100; Title IX, 34 C.F.R. Part 106; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 45 C.F.R. 90; or, Section 504, 34 C.F.R. Part 104.

In addition, Tufts has formulated an administrative policy that educational and employment decisions are based on the principle of equal opportunity. The consideration of factors such as sex, race, color, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, veteran status, or disability unrelated to a person’s ability, qualifications, and performance is inconsistent with this policy.

In accordance with both federal and state law, the university maintains information concerning current security policies and procedures and prepares an annual crime report concerning crimes committed within the geographical limits of the university. Upon request to the Office of Public Safety, 617-627-3912, the university will provide such information to any applicant for admission. The report is also available online at http://publicsafety.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/Safety-Report-2013-2014.pdf.

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OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS Tufts University Bendetson Hall 2 The Green Medford, MA 02155 -7057 617-627-3170 admissions.tufts.edu