Meant to be 'Mates

These five sets of roommates have a love of adventure, napping, and music, but most importantly, they all share strong friendships with each other. We asked them to reflect on their favorite memories together. This is what they had to say! BY EMMA SONNENBLICK ’23

ASHLEY GOMEZ ’22 FROM PROVIDENCE, RI

DEBORAH ROYER ’22 FROM DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA

Ashley and Deborah taking a selfie.

“Though we had an entire common room to ourselves, our double in Haskell was the unofficial common room for our entire suite. Our suite was special because we were nine Black women who got to all live together and create a space of love, joy, and unity in a world that tells us we aren’t allowed to. Because of the fact we were living amongst other Black women, our favorite memories were being able to comfort and provide a space for ourselves as roommates, and our friends to exist. Whether it was to study, a much needed dance break, or to vent, our room was the spot. One memory, in particular, was at the beginning of the year, a lot of our suitemates and friends were performing at the O(rientation)-Show. We all walked back together to our room and immediately someone played music. We sang and danced to Beyoncé into the night and set the tone for our room for the year.” —Ashley Gomez and Deborah Royer

ELLA DO ’22 FROM DANVILLE, CA

TAMARA LIANG ’22 FROM QUINCY, MA

Ella and Tamara hugging

“There was one night during finals that Tamara and I were studying pretty intensely across from each other in our room. I was starting to get fatigued around 10:30 p.m., so I half jokingly brought up the idea of a power nap. It was maybe a few minutes later that I heard, “What if we just napped for 10 minutes?” In less than a minute, we were both in our own beds when there’s a, “Wait, can we turn the lights off?” A brief moment passes in darkness when the ultimate gamechanger is proposed: “What if we just go to sleep and wake up early tomorrow?” What began as an anticipated 3-4 hours more of studying turned into a night of simple self care between two nap-loving enablers. While we had our fair share of late nights talking until 2:00 a.m. or splitting Domino’s pizza to watch Animal Planet on Netflix, that restful night was not only much needed, but also a laugh I’ll always keep in my back pocket.” —Ella Do

“In February of our first year, Lunar New Year was coming up. Usually, we both celebrate with our respective families, but since Ella is from California, she wasn’t able to celebrate as she usually does. I invited her to my Chinese New Year family gathering, and she got along super well with my immediate and extended family! This is one of my favorite memories because I have a huge family and she’s an only child, so I think it meant a lot to her to be able to bond with my family, especially on such a special holiday for us. Plus, we got some bubble tea and yummy leftovers to last us for the next couple of nights!” —Tamara Liang

HANNAH SAN SEBASTIAN ’22 FROM OLNEY, MD

EMMA DOWNS ’22 FROM SHERBORN, MA

Hannah and Emma standing at an overlook after a hike

“My favorite roommate memory was when we decided to take a trip together to New Hampshire!! We had so much fun as roommates, but it was so special to go to New Hampshire for the fi rst time with Emma. And the White Mountains were just so beautiful! One of the nights we actually witnessed a lightning show. It was an unforgettable trip, and I’m so glad I got to experience it with Emma!” —Hannah San Sebastian

“Well, Hannah already captured a fantastic memory, but some other favorite memories are the nights when we stayed together, spilled all of the tea, and watched our favorite show, What We Do in the Shadows. I really appreciated those moments when we could share things, give each other great advice, just be completely comfortable, and have a good time. I love Hannah!” —Emma Downs

EASHAN BAGIA ’23 FROM LIVINGSTON, NJ

JEEVAN PALANI ’23 FROM SIMSBURY, CT

Portrait of Eashan and Jeevan

“My favorite memory during the year is when Jeevan and I would listen to new music that came out and we’d listen to the album on speaker together and just vibe out to it.” —Eashan Bagia

“My favorite memory with Eashan is when we met in his hometown during quarantine. To make this happen, I had to persistently convince my dad to make a last minute highway detour as we came back from a road trip. Although it was a short visit, I think it made both of our summers better having had that moment to catch up.” —Jeevan Palani

AIDAN CHANG ’23 FROM LOS ANGELES, CA

NICOLE GARAY ’23 FROM SUDBURY, MA

RICKI LE ’23 FROM MEMPHIS, TN

Aidan, Nicole, and Ricki standing at the top of Memorial Steps at Tufts.

“Our favorite memory together was last year when we walked all the way to Cambridge to get free Shake Shack shakes. We all have T-Mobile, and they give weekly freebies, so we got our free shakes. We sat in a park with snow everywhere, freezing, drinking them.” —Aidan Chang, Nicole Garay, Ricki Le